Lucy Bowen McCauley Announces Retirement And Company's 25th & Final Season

Bowen McCauley Dance Company an award-winning contemporary dance company with a legacy of community engagement, announces that its 25th Anniversary Season will be its last, culminating with the retirement of Founding Artistic Director, Lucy Bowen McCauley. Performances slated for the season will include four world premieres and reprises of classic BMDC works. These world premieres build on a repertoire of over 100 original dance works choreographed by Lucy Bowen McCauley in the Company's 25 year history.

"As I reflect on the past 25 years, I am thankful for the opportunity to have collaborated with more than 100 professional Company Dancers; many talented guest artists, dozens of local, national, and international musicians; and more than 120 volunteer Board members," said Lucy Bowen McCauley, "I am also grateful to have shared my choreography on stages ranging from the Kennedy Center to China's Guangdong Dance Festival."

Although COVID-19 has brought unforeseen challenges for all arts organizations, the decision to retire is not related to the current pandemic. "Over the past few years, in consultation with our Board of Directors, we developed a strategic plan to bring the Company to a close," continued Lucy Bowen McCauley. "We want to celebrate our quarter century of accomplishments and then go out with a BANG!"

Lucy Bowen McCauley has earned 16 awards for her artistic excellence and community service, including James B. Hunter, III Arlington Community Hero Award, Lifetime Award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance Education (Dance Metro DC), Best Small Nonprofits in Greater Washington (Catalogue for Philanthropy), Women of Vision Award (Commission of the Status of Women), and more

At the center of BMDC's mission is to "make contemporary dance accessible to all, through performances and community outreach activities," and that legacy of service will continue through the final season. BMDC is the only Dance Company that is a licensed affiliate of the Mark Morris Dance Group's researched-backed Dance for Parkinson's Disease program in the Mid-Atlantic region. Since 2009, BMDC has served over 700 people living with Parkinson's as part of the program. This spring, the company will also host the 12th annual MOVE ME Festival, a free event which presents 15 - 20 local artists and dance troupes for an afternoon of performances and interactive workshops, and is annually attended by 300-500 families. MOVE ME is an extension of the K-12 Residency Program which has served over 6,000 students in over sixty schools in the DC Metro region and another five schools as part of the International exchange programs, since its launch in 2009.

25TH SEASON EVENT SCHEDULE

(Dates and locations subject to change due to COVID-19 restrictions)

"A Russian Valentine" BMDC presented by the National Chamber Ensemble

FEBRUARY 13, 2021 @ 7:30 PM

Gunston Arts Center (Theater One), 2700 South Lang Street

Arlington, VA 22206

A Russian Valentine concert highlights the great romantic music of Russia, including Borodin's String Quartet No.2, featuring some of the most lush and famous melodies of all Russian music, Tchaikovsky's Overture Fantasy "Romeo and Juliet" as well as his popular Serenade For Strings.

Ticket URL: https://www.nationalchamberensemble.org/ncetickets/index.php?cPath=12z)

12th Annual MOVE ME Festival (FREE)

SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2021 @ 2:00 - 5:00 PM (tentative)

Kenmore Middle School, 200 S. Carlin Springs Road, Arlington, VA 22204

The 12th Annual MOVE ME Festival will feature 12-15 local area dance troupes and artists who will offer interactive workshops, educational activities, and performances on two stages. Participants will see a culminating performance by the Kenmore Middle School student dancers, who will join BMDC's professional Company on the main stage. Festival participants will have the opportunity to join the professional Company on stage for the grand finale.

Ticket: FREE

BMDC URL: http://www.bmdc.org/event/12th-annual-move-me-festival

BMDC Presents 25th Season Opening Performance

(Virtual) - Live from the Kennedy Center for One Night

SATURDAY, MARCH 20 @ 7:30 PM

LIVE from Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Terrace Theater

The LIVE virtual performance for BMDC will include a reprise of "Dances of the Yogurt Maker," Choreography by Lucy Bowen McCauley with music by Turkish Composer Erberk Eryilmaz. The first-ever collaboration between these two award-winning artists was commissioned by the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra (March 2019). Lucy Bowen McCauley will also premiere a new work created for the COVID socially distanced stage performance, set to the music of Composer Maurice Ravel that features a live piano solo by Nikola Paskalov. The new piece is set on eight Company dancers and highlights the graceful sweeping movements that only a Ravel composition could deliver.

The evening will begin with a pre-show discussion (7:00 PM) with Lucy Bowen McCauley and artists sharing their insights and thoughts on the evening's performance.

Two Artists Reunite for the Company's Season 25 Finale

TUESDAY, MAY 18 @ 7:00 PM

The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts - Eisenhower Theater, 2700 F St NW, Washington, DC 20566

BMDC unites with Turkish Composer Erberk Eryilmaz and German/Croatian Composer Nikola Glassl to present an Eastern European inspired journey featuring live musicians and eight BMDC dancers in a memorable farewell to Season 25 and the Company.

Finale line up includes two world premiere works. "Imago'' choreographed by Lucy and set to six songs from German/Croatian Composer, Nikola Glassl, played live by the Company's Music Director and the Composer's grandson, Nikola Paskalov with soprano, Karin Paludan. And a rhythmic and choreographic tour de force with Lucy's interpretation of Erberk's "Insistent Music." This new composition, written especially for Lucy, will feature eight dancers and five musicians from Hoppa Project that include: Evie Chen, Samuel Park, Laura Ann Krentzman, and Bree Ahern with Erberk on piano and percussion.

The evening will also present the Kardelen Turkish Dance Ensemble of Washington, DC for an authentic traditional Turkish Folk dance and "Exuberant Fanfare," McCauley's choreographed dance piece set to the music of Igor Stravinsky, Suite Italienne from Pulcinella and played live by violinist Leonid Sushansky and pianist Carlos Cesar Rodriguez.

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