Los Angeles Dance Company Diavolo Sets 2015-16 Season

Hailed as one of modern dance's most innovative companies, the Los Angeles-based DIAVOLO | Architecture in Motion today announced its 2015/16 season, which will run from August 18, 2015-June 25, 2016, at multiple venues around the world. The 2015/16 season is the first programmatic year featuring works by guest choreographers, marking an expansion for the company in several ways: the world premiere of the new collection and evening-length work L.O.S.T., new representation in North America by a leading arts management company, Opus 3 Artists, and an expansion in visibility throughout Los Angeles. In anticipation of its upcoming 2016/17 25th anniversary season, DIAVOLO continues to conjure up new, jaw-dropping ways to explode stereotypes of dance through the company's distinct, inimitable fusion of architecture and movement, leading the field as one of contemporary dance's most innovative companies.

According to Jennifer Cheng, Executive Director of DIAVOLO, "the company's upcoming 25th anniversary is a monumental benchmark for DIAVOLO. Organizations have key moments in their history that prove to be turning points and this is one of them."

Under the creative stewardship of Artistic Director/Founder Jacques Heim, DIAVOLO has formed one of the dance field's most compelling and demanding repertoires. "This season provides opportunities for audiences to see the breadth and depth of what is happening in contemporary dance today," says Heim.

"From our signature pieces like Trajectoire to new works such as Fluid Infinities, DIAVOLO introduces memorable performances through complex, powerful choreography that examines the relationship between our body and its architectural environment. The world premiere of L.O.S.T. marks an affirmed commitment to the inclusion of guest choreography as a regular part of our future programming."

Kick-starting the season is the September 2015 North American premiere of L'Espace du Temps at Valley Performing Arts Center with a live orchestral performance by the New West Symphony under the baton of Conductor Chris Rountree. Commissioned in 2007 by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the Hollywood Bowl, L'Espace du Temps comprises a trilogy of dance works: Foreign Bodies (2007) set to the music of Salonen; Fearful Symmetries (2010) set to the music of Adams, and Fluid Infinities (2013) set to the music of Glass's Symphony No. 3.

DIAVOLO's newest addition is L.O.S.T. (Losing One's Self Temporarily) is set to have its world premiere May 14, 2016, at The Irvine Barclay Center. Tackling the essence of vulnerability and control that subsequently reshapes our daily lives, L.O.S.T. is a full, cinematic evening in two parts: 1) Passengers (2016) evolves around a giant morphing staircase with multiple doorways and shifting surfaces; and 2) Cubicle (2015) manipulates heavy wooden boxes symbolizing an abstract, 20th century, corporate environment. Other repertoire currently touring include: Transit Space (2012), a creative and thoughtful tribute to the skateboarding movement that utilizes larger-than-life skateboard ramps, and Trajectoire (1999), a quick-paced, visceral journey described by The New York Times as "...straightforward playfulness with props and physicality that elicits cheers from the audience."

DIAVOLO's handpicked dancers from myriad and eclectic backgrounds instill the values of DIAVOLO both on and off stage - trust, teamwork, agility, and mental and physical prowess. DIAVOLO's dancers perform ballet, modern dance, martial arts, complex partnering, and other contemporary forms of movement with astounding athleticism, infinite grace, and polished technique. They come together to confront, challenge and manipulate their environments produced by meticulously engineered structures serving as the works' focal points. Whether it is a 12-foot wheel, a 3,000-pound boat, a gigantic sphere, ladders, or staircases, DIAVOLO's portable, architectural structures provide the platform for movement and architecture to play together.

In tandem with the company's 2016/17 silver anniversary, The DIAVOLO Institute-the company's education and outreach program for children and adults-is preparing to celebrate its fifth anniversary. By initiating new partnerships with a wide variety of cultural organizations and schools throughout the Los Angeles region, the Institute plays an integral role in fostering creative growth and developing community in the local area and beyond.

"We are thrilled to offer exciting new residency and educational programs that complement the season's performances, which provide even more ways for audiences to connect with the company and our wonderful artists," says Cheng. "Sharing the power of dance as a means of social impact is the hallmark of this company."

About DIAVOLO | Architecture in MotionTM

DIAVOLO uses dance to explore the relationship between the human body and its architectural environment. Artistic Director Jacques Heim steers DIAVOLO's diverse team of dancers, designers, choreographers and engineers to create visceral and awe- inspiring works that reveal how we are affected emotionally, physically and socially by the spaces we inhabit. Meticulously designed bespoke architectural structures serve as the central inspiration for each work, activated by the stylistically varied and intensely physical choreography which has become the hallmark of this truly original company throughout its rich 25 year history. Through The DIAVOLO Institute the company also provides educational and outreach opportunities to people of all ages and abilities while touring internationally and at home in Los Angeles, sharing the pioneering art form and the power of dance as a means of social impact.

2015-16 Performance Schedule:

8.18-19 Breckenridge Creative Arts, Breckenridge, CO

9.15-20 Valley Performing Arts Center, Northridge, CA

11.3-5 Olympic Hall, Seoul, South Korea
1.21 Macky Auditorium, Boulder, CO

1.23 Warren Miller Performing Arts Center, Big Sky, MT
2.19-20 Blumenthal Center, Belk Theatre, Charlotte, NC
4.25-30 Notre Dame, Decio Theatre, Notre Dame, IN
5.6 Center for the Arts, Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, Blacksburg, VA

5.8-11 Sharon Morse Performing Arts Center, The Villages, FL

5.12-14 Irvine Barclay Center, Irvine, CA

6.20-25 Venue TBA, Fuerth, Germany

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