Metropolitan Ballet Company, Settlement Music School And PHILADANCO! D/2 Perform In Variations/Collaborations

Metropolitan Ballet Company (MBC) will host Settlement Music School and PHILADANCO! D/2 in MBC's annual, Variations/Collaborations: An Evening of Music and Dance, at 7:00 pm on Saturday, March 24, 2018, at Kurtz Center of the William Penn Charter School, 3000 West School House Lane, Philadelphia. Tickets are now on sale for $20 in advance or $25 at the door; learn more and purchase tickets at www.metropolitanballetcompany.org.

MBC founder and Artistic Director Lisa Collins Vidnovic says, "Our highly trained pre-professional dancers are excited to perform three works by cutting-edge, contemporary choreographers, as well as works accompanied by the brilliant live music of Settlement Music School's talented students. We are also delighted to host PHILADANCO! D/2 for their first appearance in Variations/Collaborations, and to again welcome Settlement's talented musicians to our studio and stage. MBC has annually hosted Settlement in this evening of music and dance since 2001. Our annual Variations/Collaborations performance unites student dancers, professional dancers, and musicians from three Philadelphia-area cultural resources, giving each group the opportunity to hone their performance skills in a beautiful, high quality collaborative evening for our community.

Metropolitan Ballet dancers will perform three works by innovative choreographers, Sarah Mettin, Kanji Segawa, and Ashley Walton. Sarah Mettin, an alumna of Metropolitan Ballet, has danced nationally and abroad and received significant acclaim for her choreography. Ms. Mettin and her dance company, Mettin Movement, were well-received at Jacob's Pillow in summer 2015. Kanji Segawa, current Alvin Ailey company member, began his modern dance training with his mother, Erika Akoh and studied ballet with Kan Horiuchi and Ju Horiuchi in Tokyo, Japan. In 1997, Mr. Segawa came to the U.S. under the Japanese Government Artist Fellowship to train at The Ailey School. Mr. Segawa was a member of Ailey II from 2000-02 and Robert Battle's Battleworks Dance Company from 2002-10. Mr. Segawa assists and works closely with choreographer Jessica Lang. Ohio-based Ashley Walton is a graduate of Point Park University and has danced professionally with both Atlanta Ballet and Dayton Ballet. Her choreography has received numerous awards, including the Regional Dance America (RDA) Project Tier award in 2009 and the RDA National Choreographic Award in both 2011 and 2012. Walton has been granted five additional National Choreographic Awards for her work throughout the Northeast and Pacific regions.

The highly accomplished young musicians who will perform in Variations/Collaborations study at various branches of Settlement Music School (SMS) and will include The William A. Loeb Chamber Ensemble coached by SMS violin faculty member Jean Louise Shook.

PHILADANCO! D/2, PHILADANCO's Second Company, will perform two works by choreographers Anthony Burrell and Donald T. Lunsford.

Tickets for Variations/Collaborations on March 24, 2018, may be purchased online at www.metropolitanballetcompany.org. For additional information or assistance, contact the MBA studio office at 215-663-1665 or amberpermsap@gmail.com.

Metropolitan Ballet Company is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization providing scholarships, performance training for pre-professional dancers and outreach programs designed to promote a love and appreciation of dance in our community. For more information, visit www.metropolitanballetcompany.org or call 215-663-1665.

For more than 100 years, Settlement Music School has been a resource for excellence in community arts education, providing music, dance and the related arts for all - regardless of age, skill level, background, or financial means. At its six locations in South and Northeast Philadelphia, Germantown, Wynnefield, Willow Grove and Camden, New Jersey, Settlement Music School offers 10,000 weekly services and awards $2 million in financial aid each year. For more information, visit www.smsmusic.org or call 215-320-2630.

PHILADANCO! D/2 Apprentice Company is a program for young dancers just beginning their professional careers. Through an extensive evaluation process, members of D/2 are selected and are then trained in professional level classes. D/2 performs locally and in the surrounding counties about 25 times each year and is featured in the annual Danco on Danco concert.

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