Dance Celebration Presents FOREVER TANGO 11/16-20

Luis Bravo's sizzling Tony® Award nominated dance spectacular FOREVER TANGO dazzles Philadelphia audiences for seven performances, November 16-20, 2010. Performances of FOREVER TANGO are part of the 2010/11 Dance Celebration season presented by Dance Affiliates and the Annenberg Center. For tickets or for more information, please visit AnnenbergCenter.org or call 215.898.3900. Tickets can also be purchased in person at the Annenberg Center Box Office located at 3680 Walnut Street.

Created and directed by Luis Bravo, FOREVER TANGO features 14 world-class dancers, a vocalist, and a 9-piece orchestra, anchored by the bandoneón, the accordion-like instrument that is the mainstay of tango music. The FOREVER TANGO orchestra boasts four of only 200 bandoneón players known worldwide. Through music, dance and vignettes, the production traces the tango's colorful history, from its beginnings in turn-of-the-century Buenos Aires bordellos to its acceptance into high society. Male dancers move in sleek black tuxedos with matching ties, fedoras and shiny black shoes, and female dancers dressed in stunning cocktail dresses, high heels and fishnet stockings seductively embrace, dip and lunge at lightning speeds. The dances, performed to original and traditional music, are the result of collaboration between each couple and director/creator Bravo. Called a "must see" production according to the New York Times and described as "a sensuous, seductive, pleasure" by USA TODAY, FOREVER TANGO is the most successful theatrical dance show in history and has been seen by over six million people worldwide. According to Bravo, "tango represents so much more than just a dance: it is a music, a culture, a way of life."

FOREVER TANGO debuted in San Francisco in 1994 where it played for an unprecedented 92 weeks. The production opened on Broadway in 1997 for what was originally planed as a eight-week limited engagement that Dance Celebration presents Luis Bravo's FOREVER TANGO turned into a fourteen month run that received multiple Tony® and Drama Desk Award nominations. Since then, the show has toured internationally and returned to Broadway on two separate occasions.

Under the artistic direction of Randy Swartz, Dance Celebration maintains its tradition of bringing Philadelphia audiences the world's best contemporary touring dance companies. This season, Superstars of Dance, Today and Tomorrow, pays homage to the great masters of dance while exploring new voices who challenge the status quo and reflect the style, taste and beat of the 21st century. Notes Mr. Swartz about FOREVER TNAGO, "Luis Bravo took Tango from the clubs and brothels of Argentina to the bright lights of Broadway, forever changing the art of dance. A true dance pioneer, he helped create a cult following for this Latin dance style. FOREVER TANGO represents the best of the best in Argentine music and dance." Luis Bravo's FOREVER TANGOperformances will take place on Tuesday, November 16 at 7:30 PM; Wednesday, November 17 at 2:00 PM & 7:30 PM; Thursday, November 18 at 7:30 PM; Friday, November 19 at 8:00 PM and Saturday, November 20 at 2:00 PM & 8:00 PM. Tickets are: $34-$52 (afternoon performances) $38-$58 (evening performances).

Audience members will enjoy special pre-show demonstrations by local dance studios and dancers including Amore Tango/Andrew Conway and Linda Chase, Dance Philadelphia Argentine Tango/Lesley Mitchell and Maly Fennell, Philadelphia Tango School/Meredith Klein, Tango Hop/Lori Coyle and Sam Wilson, Temple University Tango Group/Rhonda Moore, Vittoria Natale & Guillermo Elkouss, and University City Arts League/Kelly Ray. Following each performance, the audience is invited to a tango lesson led by a couple from the cast of FOREVER TANGO. Pre and post show activities will take place in the Annenberg Center lobby.

In addition to performances and demonstrations, the cast of Luis Bravo's FOREVER TANGO will present a special school performance as part of the Annenberg Center's Student Discovery Series. For more information about the Student Discovery Series, call 215.898.6789 or visit www.AnnenbergCenter.org/studentdiscovery.

Significant funding for the 2010-11 Dance Celebration season is provided by the William Penn Foundation and also in part by The Connelly Foundation, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Friends of Dance (Affiliates), Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, The Philadelphia Cultural Fund, and the Virginia C. Mulconroy Fund of The Philadelphia Foundation.

Founded by Artistic Director Randy Swartz, Dance Celebration is the Greater Philadelphia region's major contemporary dance series and a nationally-recognized leader in its field. For the past 28 seasons, Dance Celebration has been a collaboration between Dance Affiliates and Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The 2010/11 season, titled "Superstars of Dance, Today and Tomorrow," juxtaposes blockbuster dance companies with hot, new talent emerging on the dance scene.

Throughout its illustrious history, Dance Celebration has had ancillary series including the edgy NextMove Festival (1987-2003), the groundbreaking Monday Night Series (1986-1998), and numerous special events (1987-2006). Nikolais Dance Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Pilobolus Dance Theater and Murray Louis Dance Company launched the inaugural season at Annenberg Center in 1983, followed in subsequent years by modern dance legends Martha Graham, Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Alvin Ailey, and Bella Lewitsky.

The University of Pennsylvania's Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts has been the region's leading multi-disciplinary performance venue for theatre, dance, jazz, world music, new music and children's programming since its inception in 1971. The Annenberg Center's curatorial vision emphasizes four primary values: artistic integrity, cultural diversity, curatorial balance and a willingness to take risks. By presenting world-renowned and cutting edge artists and companies who express adventuresome perspectives on contemporary issues, timeless ideas and diverse cultures, the Annenberg Center promotes critical thinking and dialogue among its audiences, creating a uniquely rewarding arts experience.

Throughout its history, the Annenberg Center has presented innovative and critically-acclaimed theatre productions with some of the biggest stars of stage and screen including Liv Ullmann and Sam Waterston in A DOLL'S HOUSE, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE with Glenn Close, Jessica Tandy in Beckett's NOT I, and Tennessee Williams' SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH with Irene Worth and Christopher Walken. University of Pennsylvania alumnus and noteworthy Broadway producer and director Harold Prince staged many of his plays at the Annenberg Center before taking them to Broadway.

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