The Pittsburgh Dance Council Announces 11/12 Season

The Pittsburgh Dance Council, a division of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, announces a season that showcases works by some of the most celebrated choreographers in America, including dance masters Paul Taylor, Moses Pendleton, Lar Lubovitch and Karole Armitage. The Dance Council season is generously sponsored by First Commonwealth to support the growth and development of dance in Pittsburgh.

"The spirit and heritage of contemporary American dance gives this season an especially rich vibrancy," said Executive Director Paul J. Organisak. "I'm proud of the fact that some of the best work in contemporary dance today is being produced by American dance companies, and that we can present these outstanding works in the Cultural District."

In addition, as part of The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Distinctively Dutch Festival in 2012, the Pittsburgh Dance Council will present two U.S. premieres: Dance Works Rotterdam/André Gingras' wry and exuberant Anatomica; and former Nederlands Dans Theater artistic director Jiri Kylian and collaborator Michael Schumacher's poignant dance theater production, Last Touch First.
New this year is a Pittsburgh Dance Council special at the August Wilson Center: Heidi Latsky's GIMP Project. Details for all the performances and subscription information follow.

The Pittsburgh Dance Council 2011-12 Season Line-up

MOMIX
Botanica
Friday, September 16, 2011
Saturday, February 17, 2011
8 P.M.
Byham Theater

With an eclectic score ranging from birdsong to Vivaldi, Moses Pendleton's Botanica reveals nature's changing imagery. An herbal remedy and natural aphrodisiac, Botanica showcases the endlessly renewable energy of the superb MOMIX performers. Fantastical costumes, projections and custom-made props and puppetry add an extra dose of whimsy to the elixir. This is dance at its most organic and inventive. The seasons will never be the same. "People shouted out, gasped and applauded furiously. MOMIX is ideal for turning audiences on to dance." -L.A. Herald Examiner
momix.com

Paul Taylor Dance Company
Saturday, October 22, 2011
8 P.M.
Byham Theater

Setting the global standard for excellence, Paul Taylor Dance Company is the epitome of modern dance. Paul Taylor's signature athleticism and graceful techniques create exquisite stories that borrow the audience's imagination for awhile. Since 1954, Paul Taylor has choreographed more than 130 works, many of which have attained iconic status and have been celebrated throughout the world. "The American spirit soars whenever Taylor's dancers dance." - San Francisco Chronicle
ptdc.org

Dance Works Rotterdam/André Gingras (U.S. Premiere)
Anatomica
Saturday, February 18, 2012
8 P.M.
Byham Theater

Dance Works Rotterdam/André Gingras, the Netherland's most explosive modern dance company, performs Anatomica, an unyielding exploration of the danger, beauty and consequences of the human body on display. Anatomica presents a wry commentary on the obsessive culture of "showing off" with its unabashed physicality and Gingras' signature high-octane partnering. "It's a terrific splurge of vibrant physicality and joie de vivre that sets out what an amazing miracle the body represents." The Times (UK)
danceworksrotterdam.nl

Armitage Gone! Dance
Three Theories
Saturday, March 3, 2012
8 P.M.
Byham Theater

Celebrated "punk ballerina" and artistic director Karole Three Theories is an evening-length work inspired by physicist Brian Greene's best-selling book, The Elegant Universe, which Armitage uses as a means for exploring new possibilities in movement and patterning. "The spectator remains dazzled by so much received pleasure." - Le MondeArmitage is renowned for pushing boundaries. In Karole Armitage's hands, classical dance receives a needed shock to its system with speed and fractured lines, abstractions and symmetry countermanded by asymmetry.
armitagegonedance.org

Last Touch First by Jirí Kylián and Michael Schumacher (U.S. Premiere)
Friday, April 6, 2012
Saturday, April 7, 2012
8 P.M.
August Wilson Center

Famed Dutch choreographer Jirí Kylián (former artistic director of Nederlands Dans Theater) and exPat Michael Schumacher eschew physical virtuosity for control, subtlety and timing with the intimate Last Touch First. Characters move surrealistically back in time to a 19th century Victorian atmosphere reminiscent of a Chekhov play. The dancers' meticulous movements, accentuated with extravagant costumes and scenery, create a dramatic and gripping work.
"Last Touch First is an intimate and moving performance." NRC Handelsblad

Lar Lubovitch Dance Company
Saturday, April 28, 2012
8 P.M.
Byham Theater

One of America's most versatile, popular and highly-acclaimed choreographers, Lar Lubovitch founded the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company 43 years ago. Lubovitch's work is extolled for its musicality, rhapsodic style and sophisticated formal structures. His radiant, highly-technical choreography and deeply humanistic voice have been acclaimed throughout the world. "One of the ten best choreographers in the world." - The New York Times
lubovitch.org

DANCE COUNCIL SPECIAL
Heidi Latsky Dance GIMP
Saturday October 15, 2011
8 P.M.
August Wilson Center
$17

Heidi Latsky, artistic director and former principal dancer with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance, is a dynamic force in the dance world. Latsky's GIMP (2008) is about beauty - the breathtaking, unexpected sort that is physical, emotional and full of grace. At the heart of GIMP"GIMP is without a doubt a gleaming milestone in the progress of contemporary dance and theater, proving that the term ‘disabled dancer' is an oxymoron." are five trained dancers and five performers with physical disabilities who create an edgy landscape of uncommon magnificence.
- Dance Magazine
heidilatskydance.net

Subscription Information

Subscription packages for the Pittsburgh Dance Council' six-show series are available for: $109-$217. To subscribe, call 412-456-1390; groups of 10 or more tickets, call 412-471-6930. Single tickets for Pittsburgh Dance Council performances will go on sale to the general public in mid-August.

About The Pittsburgh Dance Council

The Pittsburgh Dance Council joined The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust in as a programming division 2002. The mission of The Pittsburgh Dance Council is to bring the best contemporary dance companies from around the world to the Cultural District. Each season, the Pittsburgh Dance Council presents diverse, world-class contemporary works, including U.S. and world premieres.

 

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