Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre Presents DINING ALONE at Baryshnikov Arts Center, 4/18-19

The Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) will present Rosie Herrera Dance Theatre this month in BAC's Howard Gilman Performance Space. Performances will be held as originally scheduled tonight, April 18 and 19, Thursday and Friday at 7:30pm, with an additional, third performance now scheduled for Thursday, April 18 at 9:30pm.

The Miami-based company recently made its New York debut at the 2013 FOCUS dance festival. With support from American Dance Festival and the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, the company returns to perform at BAC the New York Premiere of Dining Alone, an immersive dance theater work drawing from the drama associated with food and the dining experience.

Rosie Herrera stepped onto the national dance stage in July 2009 at American Dance Festival (ADF) with a performance of her first evening-length dance theater work, a commission by Miami Light Project and the Adrienne Arsht Center for Here & Now: 2009. For the up-and-coming choreographer and director, this important performance opportunity led to two additional ADF and Arsht commissions, including Dining Alone-works that have earned Herrera praise as "one of the brightest, most original choreographic talents to emerge from Miami" (The Miami Herald).

A Hialeah, Florida native of Cuban descent, Herrera began her performance career as a cabaret dancer working in nightclubs in Miami's Little Havana, and as a hip-hop dancer in concerts and music videos for various hip-hop and Latin artists. While earning her B.F.A. in Dance Performance at the New World School of the Arts, Herrera performed with a hybrid cabaret performance group called Circ X and trained as a classical opera singer. Drawing from her eclectic performance experiences, combined with her formal education, Herrera has developed a distinctive choreographic voice blending movement, music, and theatricality.

"Ms. Herrera is a woman of ideas who draws from cultures, experiences, and training not necessarily commonly represented in New York," said BAC Artistic Director Mikhail Baryshnikov, who was introduced to Herrera's work by ADF. "Miami is so rich culturally, yet we see little contemporary dance emerging from that region. The performances at BAC will provide an opportunity for New Yorkers to connect with a young and adventurous artist from that part of the country."

Herrera's multi-disciplinary approach is executed by a group of performers mostly based in Miami who also come from diverse artistic and cultural backgrounds. Her darkly comedic works highlight the subtle ironies in emotional themes, which take shape in a narrative structure. In Dining Alone, a dynamic ensemble performs to music including live performances by a pianist and an opera singer. A series of surreal scenes unfolds incorporating food as a metaphor for loneliness and longing for human connection. An exploration of age, fragility, and isolation, Dining Alone amplifies the bittersweet, private moments of the dining experience with wit and sincerity.

Dining Alone is performed by Octavio Campos, Ivonne Batanero, Leah Verier Dunn, Liony Garcia, Katie Stirman, Raymond Storms, and Melissa Toogood. Lighting design is by David Ferri.

The New York Premiere of Rosie Herrera's Dining Alone will be performed tonight, April 18 at 7:30pm and 9:30pm, and Friday, April 19 at 7:30pm at the Baryshnikov Arts Center's Howard Gilman Performance Space, located at 450 W. 37^th Street between 9^th and 10^th Avenues. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at BACNYC.ORG or 866-811-4111.

Dining Alone was commissioned by American Dance Festival and The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County. Additional commission support for Dining Alone was provided by Miami Light Project and Funding Arts Network. Dining Alone premiered in 2011 at American Dance Festival in Durham, NC.

Rosie Herrera is a graduate from New World School with a BFA in Dance Performance. She has been commissioned by The Miami Light Project, Adrienne Arsht Center, and American Dance Festival. As a rehearsal director, co-choreographer, and performer, Herrera was in residence at the Chat Noir Cabaret in Miami Beach with the interdisciplinary performance ensemble Circ X. In 2009 she was in residence at the American Dance Festival (ADF) recreating her work Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret on ADF dancers. Subsequently, her company was presented at the festival in 2010 and 2011 where she premiered the ADF/Arsht-commissioned works Pity Party and Dining Alone. Herrera is a classically trained lyric coloratura soprano. She performs with the Performers Music Institute Opera Ensemble, and choreographs and stages operas throughout Miami. She has collaborated on productions with The South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center, New World School of the Arts, Zoetic Stage, and with theater artist Rudi Goblen, as well as filmmakers Adam Reign and Lucas Leyva. Herrera is a 2010 MANCC choreographic fellow and a 2011 Miami Dance Fellow.

Founded in 1934 in Bennington, Vermont, the American Dance Festival (ADF) remains an international magnet for choreographers, dancers, teachers, students, critics, musicians, and scholars to learn and create in a supportive environment. The ADF's wide range of programs includes performances, artist services, humanities projects, publications, community outreach, educational programs and classes, archives, media projects, and national and international projects. The ADF has been presenting the best in modern dance for over 79 years. For more information, visit www.americandancefestival.org.

The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is one of the world's leading performing arts organizations and venues. Since opening in 2006, the Center has emerged as a leader in offering and presenting innovative programming that mirrors South Florida's diversity, as a catalyst for development in Miami, and as a host of impactful community outreach and education programs. Designed by world-renowned architect Cesar Pelli, of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects, the Center self-presents and produces more than 500 performances each season in six performance spaces ranging in size from 200 to 2,400 seats. The Arsht Center is dedicated to the creation of new work and has presented 13 world premiere plays, musicals, and dance works. For more information, visit www.arshtcenter.org.

Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC) is the realization of a long-held vision by artistic director Mikhail Baryshnikov, who sought to build an arts center in Manhattan that would serve as a gathering place for artists from all disciplines. BAC's opening in 2005 heralded the launch of this mission, establishing a thriving creative laboratory and performance space for artists from around the world. BAC's activities encompass a robust residency program augmented by a range of professional services, including commissions of new work, as well as the presentation of performances by artists at varying stages of their careers. In tandem with its commitment to supporting artists, BAC is dedicated to building audiences for the arts by presenting contemporary, innovative work at affordable ticket prices. BAC serves approximately 500 artists and more than 22,000 audience members annually. For more information, visit www.bacnyc.org.