PlayhouseSquare Dance Showcase Set For September 11

The PlayhouseSquare Community Engagement & Education Department presents its seventh annual Dance Showcase on Friday, September 11 at 7 p.m. in the Ohio Theatre. Featuring eight of Northeast Ohio's finest professional dance companies, the performance highlights a wide array of dance styles from contemporary to ballet.

The companies performing are Antaeus Dance, Dance/Theater Collective, The Dancing Wheels Company, Foreground Dance, Inlet Dance Theatre, Ohio Dance Theater, Travesty Dance Group and Verb Ballets. A selection committee reviewed all of the submissions received and chose these eight companies for their quality and diversity. The committee was comprised of Carol Halsted, Director of Dance at the Detroit Opera House and Professor Emeritus of Dance at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan; Linda Jackson, Education Program Manager at PlayhouseSquare and former dancer, instructor and artistic associate with the Cleveland San Jose Ballet; and Paul Organisak, Vice President of Programming, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Executive Director, Pittsburgh Dance Council.

"PlayhouseSquare is known for bringing the best of Broadway and the performing arts to Cleveland," explained Colleen Porter, director of community engagement and education at PlayhouseSquare, "but we also want to give people the chance to experience work by local artists. The diversity and level of excellence exhibited by our local dance companies is astounding."

As a not-for-profit organization, PlayhouseSquare relies on charitable giving to present the Dance Showcase and similar experiences to the community. "Our donors and sponsors make it possible for us to present the Dance Showcase with no charge for admission, which makes it a wonderful opportunity for everyone, especially those new to dance, to enjoy this beautiful art form," said Linda Jackson.

More information about the Dance Showcase is available at playhousesquare.org/community or by calling 216-348-7909. There is no charge for admission and tickets are not required.

Dance Showcase Repertoire:

Antaeus Dance - Drift In, Drop Out
"Drift In, Drop Out" is a modern dance that pairs an evocative sound score by Philip Glass and Allen Ginsberg with a gracefully idiosyncratic dance for four women. Like the words in Ginsberg's visceral poetry, the dance invites viewers to let the movement wash over them, then swim with it as it moves through space and travels from dancer to dancer. Equally at home on the floor and in the air, the dancers create a shifting landscape of flowing movement and intense, interconnected gestures.

Dance/Theater Collective - Bare Feet in the Park
The duet "Bare Feet in the Park" is a whimsical, nostalgic look at an aging couple's visit to the park. Umbrellas and a park bench set the stage for this dance in three parts choreographed and performed by Dance/Theater Collective founding members and long time dance partners Joe Booth and Lynn Deering.

The Dancing Wheels Company - A wing/a prayer
The Dancing Wheels Company presents "A wing/a prayer," choreographed for three wheelchair dancers, emphasizes the physicality, speed, power, innovation and beauty of wheelchair dance.

Foreground Dance - The Night
"The Night," choreographed by Yu Xiao of Foreground Dance, was inspired from Xiao's personal experience of living in a foreign country alone. It is a fully emotional and dreamlike piece, reminiscent of a black and white slide show, exposing and exploding loneliness, confusion, and discomfort throughout the space.

Inlet Dance Theatre - Memoriate
Issues facing the elderly and their caregivers sparked the creation of "Memoriate," a new original work and score composed by Ryan Lott. The score is composed of poignant sound bites from interviews Ryan conducted, and sampled sounds of metal kitchen mixing bowls like those found in his grandmother's kitchen. This dance was created with the intention of honoring our elderly and those that provide their care, heightening our awareness of their concerns. The work is made possible by funding from The Cleveland Foundation through the Long Term Care Ombudsman.

Ohio Dance Theater - Spindrift
"Spindrift" explores the beauty and power of the eastern coastline of the United States. The word "spindrift" means "windblown sea spray," and references small twigs, seaweed and sea foam that swirls at the base of a rocky shoreline. The rage that emerges with startling speed from a calm that seemed as though it could never end; the sunlight bouncing off small white caps; sea gulls swooping down into the water, and the moss clinging to rocks as seaweed gently swirls at their base inspired the movement.

Travesty Dance Group - Go on, then
"Go on, then," choreographed by Travesty Dance Group co-founder Kimberly Karpanty, is a collaboration with composer/musician Claudia Howard Queen, who provided an original score. The bright, witty trio explores unusual ways the three words of the title are used in contemporary language.

Verb Ballets - Urban Study
"Urban Study" is a comment on the gritty, tough, and sometimes cold atmosphere of NYC. The chance meetings even between friends and lovers are quick and not necessarily deep. The competitiveness can be harsh and the overall feeling of alienation can be pervasive.

PlayhouseSquare understands its vital role as an educator in our community, and is committed to providing arts learning opportunities of the highest quality to enrich the lives of students, families, teachers and adults. PlayhouseSquare's Community Engagement & Education Department is unique in the performing arts industry for the variety of programs it offers, the partnerships it initiates and the access it provides students, educators and aspiring artists to performing arts professionals. Since its inception in 1998, the Community Engagement & Education Department has offered thousands of events, workshops, classes and more, most with minimal or no fees, to people of all ages from all areas of Northeast Ohio. The generous support of individual and corporate donors and foundations makes it all possible.

PlayhouseSquare is a not-for-profit performing arts center whose mission is presenting and producing a wide variety of quality performing arts, advancing arts education and creating a destination that is a superior location for entertainment, business and housing, thereby strengthening the economic vitality of the region.

For more information, visit www.playhousesquare.org.

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