Portland Ovations to Welcome Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company

Portland Ovations is proud to present the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company at Merrill Auditorium on Wednesday, February 24th at 7:30pm.

In a rare evening of live music and dance, the revered Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company returns to the Merrill Auditorium stage for the first time in 15 years and will be joined by an octet of Portland-area professional musicians and an ensemble of 12 Maine dancers. This gorgeous and thrilling program pairs the Tony Award-winning choreographer's inventive dance vocabulary with some of the world's most seminal pieces of classical music. Featuring works by Mendelssohn, Mozart and Beethoven, the program called Play and Play showcases the joy of dancers and musicians working together and includes the pieces; Spent Days Out Yonder (2000), Continuous Play (1977, revised 1991) and the exuberant tour-de-force, D-Man in the Waters (1989).

On Tuesday, February 23rd at 10am Ovations Offstage will be offering a Masterclass with Associate Artistic Director of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Janet Wong who will share the way the company trains with a focus on finding the articulate body and mind that are informed by a strong sense of center, a hunger for movement, a love of gravity, and the desire to defy it. The class is intended for intermediate/advanced dancers. $25. Pre-registration required. Register by calling 207.773.3150 ext.3.

One hour prior to the performance at 6:30pm in the Rehearsal Hall at Merrill Auditorium, Ovations Offstage offers a pre-performance lecture, The Work Behind The Work with Annie Kloppenburg, Assistant Professor of Theater and Dance at Colby College, who discusses Bill T. Jones' work in both its historical and personal context, from an insider's perspective. This event is free and open to the public.

On Thursday morning, February 25th a Movement Workshop for LGBTQ and their Allies and Activists will be held at Mechanics Hall, Portland. Where dancers and non-dancers find themselves through movement.

Tickets for Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company range from $28.80 to $40 for Ovations' Members and $32 to $44 for the general public. To purchase tickets, visit www.portlandovations.org contact PortTIX at 207-842-0800 or walk up to the box office window at Merrill Auditorium.

Each year since 1931, Portland Ovations brings a dynamic season of exceptional performing artists from around the world to Maine including classical music, jazz, opera, dance, theater, and Broadway national tours. In addition to live performances, Ovations brings the exhilaration of the performing arts out into our community with season-long educational and outreach activities known as Ovations Offstage. A Maine-based non-profit, Portland Ovations contributes to the cultural, social and economic well-being of our community by presenting an array of high quality performing artists from around the world and creating diverse educational experiences that bring the enjoyment, energy and enrichment of the arts to all.

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