Verb Ballets Presents New Works at Cain Park Summer Series Tonight

Verb Ballets returns to the Cain Park Evans Amphitheater tonight, August 3, 2013, at 8pm. The 2013-14 season will fuse the elements of culture, dance and music for an exciting season of premieres. This show at Cain Park will highlight the next generation of emerging choreographers, Daryl Gray, Tommie-Waheed Evans and Antonio Brown while honoring late choreographer, Heinz Poll, who forged the path for new ideas in dance. "Verb Ballets thrives on performing repertory by notable choreographers as well as collaborating with artists to create new work. We are excited to be opening our season, FUSE, at Cain Park," said director of Verb Ballets, Dr. Margaret Carlson.

Tommie-Waheed Evans, a dancer with PHILADANCO! and founder of Waheed-Works, returns to Verb Ballets with a new contemporary work, Dark Matter.The Plain Dealer described Evans' last piece as,"sleek encounters that brim with contrasting patterns and connections." Evans new work requires percussive driving energy and athleticism of the dancers.

Hollywood choreographer, Daryl Gray, created a new work, Mozel Tov Mi Amigos, that intertwines the influences of Jewish and South American cultures. The work will feature the music of composer and Grammy award winner, Larry Harlow, known for his fusion of New York jazz and Puerto Rican salsa. Fusing the elements of music Gray will explore combinations of sounds that evolved from the Jews who fled the expulsions and inquisitions of Spain and Portugal to the New World.

Verb Ballets will revive the neo classical pas de deux by Heinz Poll, Andante Sostenuto (1988) danced to the second movement of Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 2. "Poll's - work's floating lifts and seamless weaving of gestures casting a special spell," Donald Rosenberg of the The Plain Dealer. Also on the program, Passing By (2013) choreographed by Antonio Brown, a dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. The contemporary work intertwines patterns and bodies for a visually dynamic performance.

Single tickets are $20-$24 and can be purchased by calling the Cain Park Box office at 216-371-3000 or online at cainpark.com. Cain Park is located at 14591 Superior Road Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118.

Verb Ballets will also be performing The Carnival of the Animals choreographed by Richard Dickinson at Cain Park's Kids Matinee Series on Friday, August 2, 2013, at 1pm. The Carnival of the Animals has been acclaimed as the perfect introductory classical piece for young children ages 3-11. During this 30-minute ballet, costumed dancers delight children through movements inspired by the animals they portray. Dickinson has taken the music of Saint-Saens and uses it to tell the story of the Cuckoo Bird who is made fun of by the different animals. They learn to appreciate each other's differences as the beautiful Swan teaches tolerance and acceptance followed by a grand carnival ending the ballet. The animals include lions, hens and roosters, turtles, elephants, kangaroos, a school of fish, a flock of birds and more! Single tickets available $4/Child or $7/Adult by calling the Cain Park Box office at 216-371-3000 or online at cainpark.com.

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