Looking for something exciting to do this week? Check out VelocityDC’s Dance Picks for 02.15.10 – 02.21.10.
NOTE: * indicates that these local dance companies/performances are eligible to be nominated for the 2010 Metro DC Dance Awards. Click here to nominate or visit dancemetrodc.org. Nominations are accepted after performances have taken place.
Bolshoi Ballet
Time: February 16th – 20th at 7:30pm & February 20th & 21st at 1:30pm
Location: Kennedy Center Opera House – 2700 F Street NW, Washington, DC
Tickets: $47.00 – $135.00. Tickets available online at kennedy-center.org or by phone at 800.444-.324 or 202.467.4600.
Founded in 1776, Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet became a symbol of excellence in the classical tradition of Soviet-era Russia, garnering a nearly mythical reputation in the West through a series of tours organized by the great 20th-century impresario Sol Hurok. After a decade-long absence, the company made a triumphant return to prominence in the United States during its Kennedy Center–produced tour in June 2000, and also performed as part of the Center’s ballet seasons in 2002 and 2007.
*The Dinner Party
Time: February 16 at 8pm
Location: The Fridge, Rear Alley – 516 8th St. SE, Washington, DC
Tickets: $5.00. To perform and/or join the mailing list: dinnerpartyinfo@gmail.com and save the date: The next Dinner Party is Tuesday March 16 at 8pm at the Fridge.
The Dinner Party will be at The Fridge Gallery in Capital Hill. These are 2 works-in-progress not to be missed. The evening will feature experimental music, video and performance art. The menu:Nodnol The Impossible, Sesshin Ni-Fi
Dancing Israeli Identity: Looking Backward, Looking Forward
Time: February 18 at 7:30pm
Location: American University’s Katzen Arts Center, Abramson Family Recital Hall – 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
Tickets: FREE. Dessert Reception.
Please join us for a free brief performance and a behind-the-scenes discussion with cutting edge Israeli modern dance choreographer, Idan Cohen, in conversation with historian Dr. Nina Spiegel, AU Schusterman Visiting Fellow in Jewish Studies. Dr. Spiegel has written extensively on Israeli dance and culture.
Dance can provide a window into Israeli life and culture. We’ll challenge you to imagine why dance is so central in Israel by sharing engaging stories, video clips and ideas from the beginnings of Israeli dance to the thriving contemporary Israeli dance scene.
*Jason Garcia Ignacio / City Dance Ensemble: The Mountain
Time: February 19 at 7:30pm
Location: Atlas Performing Arts Center – 1333 H St. NE, Washington, DC
Tickets: $15.00. For audiences ages 14 and up. Tickets available online at intersectionsdc.org or 202.399.7993 ext. 2.
Presented as a part of INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival at the Atlas Performing Arts CenterJason Garcia Ignacio / City Dance Ensemble. The Mountain, a dance fusion of east and west by an award-winning Filipino choreographer. Commissioned and premiered by the Kennedy Center, The Mountain is a choreographic intersection of art and science – of the traditional and the contemporary.
This provocative work for fifteen dancers was envisioned and realized by Philippine-born choreographer, Jason Garcia Ignacio, winner of the 2009 Mayor’s Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist. A veteran of the American Repertory Ballet and the Martha Graham Ensemble, Mr. Ignacio fuses Filipino mythology with contemporary choreography to capture the 1998 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in Manila. Set to music inspired by the patterns in volcanic activity, The Mountain vividly explores our evolving relationship to the environment. The program will feature other works by Mr. Ignacio as well as an audience talk-back following the performance.
*Mason/Rhynes’ 7th Annual Expressions Series: Hip Hop Festival!!!
Time: February 19-20 at 8pm
Location: Takoma Park/Silver Spring Performing Arts Center at Montgomery College - Silver Spring, MD
Tickets: $22.00 general admission, $18.00 student discount/DancePass discount, $15.00/ groups of 10 or more. Tickets available online at mason-rhynes.org, email staff@mason-rhynes.org, or call 301.887.1078.
Mason/Rhynes’ 7th Annual Expressions Series: Hip Hop Festival!!! brings you the best in dance, music, and spoken word in this heart-pumping showcase of DC hip hop. Let’s put it this way, there are three exclamation points for a reason…check out the festival and you’ll see why! Featuring Capitol Movement Project, Culture Shock DC, Dimensions of Funk, DCypher, Fly Gypsy, Just Tap, Tappening & Urban Artistry! *Plus DJ 2-Tone Jones on the one’s & two’s!
*Dreaming up Dances: Equinox Dance Company’s Annual Children’s Charity Show and Workshop
Time: February 20 at 1pm & 4pm
Location: Baker Park Band Shell – Frederick MD
Tickets: $5.00 (suggested donation). More info at equinoxdance.org, contact info@equinoxdance.org, or 240.401.7484.
Each year EDC hold an educational modern dance show for families benefiting a worthy charity. Children watch the show and interact with the dancers. At the end of the show there is a short dance workshop. This year’s show will lead the audience through the process of making a dance. All proceeds will benefit the American Diabetes Association.
*Jason and Friends
Time: February 20 at 8pm & February 21 at 4pm
Location: Dance Place – 3225 8th St. NE, Washington, DC
Tickets: $22.00 general admission, $17.00 members, students, teachers, professional artists, seniors, and $8.00 for children 17 & under. Tickets available online at danceplace.org.
Jason and Friends will be performing The Mountain . The Mountain is a marriage between art and science, rooted in Filipino dance, and set to a score created from seismic waves recorded from volcanoes around the world. Choreographed by renowned dancer Jason Garcia Ignacio, the recipient of the 2009 Award for Outstanding Individual Performance from Metro DC Dance.
*Dissonance Dance Theatre Arrives East of The River for a Show at THEARC SE DC!
Time: February 20 at 5:15pm
Location: Washington Ballet Studios @ THEARC – 1901 Mississippi Ave SE 2nd Floor, Washington, DC
Tickets:$20.00 general admission; $15.00 students with ID and seniors. Free with $15 or $12 Dancepass purchase of Masterclass! For more info at ddtdc.com.
Take part in the viewing of an informal concert of past and current dance works choreographed by Shawn Short. Dissonance Dance Theatre will present several contemporary works that stem from classical to hip hop in their influence. A treat for the whole family. A brief Question & Answer session will follow the performance.
*Coyaba Dance Theater, Tappers With Attitude & Urban Artistry: Origins
Time: February 20 at 2pm & February 21 at 7pm
Location: Atlas Performing Arts Center – 1333 H St. NE, Washington, DC
Tickets: $15 student / $20 adult. For audiences of all ages. Tickets available online at intersectionsdc.org or 202-399-7993, ext. 2.
Presented as a part of INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. ORIGINS, a joyful collaboration among three top DC dance companies celebrating the heritage and soul of African American dance.
Joining forces for a one-of-a-kind dance celebration, three DC Dance companies will intersect their distinctive powerhouse styles to tell the story of African American dance. Take Coyaba Dance Theater’s high energy drumming and traditional West African dance. Add Tappers With Attitude’s sassy blend of popular percussive dance steps from the past. Mix with Urban Artistry’s hot funk, pop, lock and hip-hop. Season with Latin flavors, and you have a recipe for an unforgettable retrospective of the dance that defines America. Ideal for the whole family, this show will get you on your feet!
BodyMoves Contemporary Dance Company: Dance Through the Decades
Time: February 20 & 27 at 4:30pm
Location: Atlas Performing Arts Center – 1333 H St. NE, Washington, DC
Tickets: $10. For audiences of all ages. Tickets available online at intersectionsdc.org or 202-399-7993 ext 2
Presented as a part of INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Dance Through the Decades, a lively journey with Maryland-based young performers through the history of black dance.
Celebrate the history of Black Dance in America. Take a journey from slavery to the present day in this popular performance by Maryland-based BodyMoves that incorporates ballet, modern, tap, jazz and ethnic and contemporary styles. Connect decades of culture through a performing arts presentation that is both entertaining and educational. Created by award-winning choreographer Katherine Smith, Dance Through the Decades pays tribute to those who have paved the way for all people to be free to dance. A perfect show for fans of dance history and for families to enjoy together.
10th Annual Flamenco Festival DC: Marina Heredia and the Arab-Andalusian Chekara Orchestra of Tetouan
Time: February 21 at 7pm
Location: GW Lisner Auditorium – 21 H Street NE, Washington, DC
Tickets: $35-$65.00. Tickets available online at lisner.org.
This program brilliantly brings together flamenco with the Andalusian repertoire of Morocco – music that originated in the courts of Sevilla, Granada and Córdoba during the Golden Age of Andalusia when Muslims, Jews and Christians co-existed in southern Spain.
Marina Heredia is an entrancing voice from Granada and important figure in the new generation of flamenco singers. She shares the stage with the Arab-Andalusian Chekara Orchestra of Tetouan, which has collaborated with many of flamenco’s leading singers and includes musicians on violin, oud (lute), kanun (zither), guitar, and percussion, and dancer Jara Heredia.
This performance is part of Preview Spain: Arts and Culture Program. This performance is presented in co-operation with the Spain-USA Foundation, the Embassy of Spain, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Presidency of European Union.
Project Dance: Café Concert Performance
Time: February 21 from 1– 2pm
Location: Atlas Performing Arts Center, Kogod Lobby – 1333 H St. NE, Washington, DC
Tickets: Free. For more at intersectionsdc.org or 202-399-7993 ext 2.
Presented as a part of INTERSECTIONS: A New America Arts Festival at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Artists from four liturgical dance companies bring the hope and joy of the universal language of dance to surprising spaces within the Arlene and Robert Kogod Lobby.
Enjoy an inspiring prelude to your Sunday matinee with a unique performance from dancers from Project Dance/DC Team. Project Dance was founded by Cheryl Cutlip in New York City after 9/11 with a mission to bring a message of hope and healing to the city through the universal language of dance. The vision has grown, and Project Dance now serves dancers worldwide through classes, performances and events, including a major 2011 Washington, DC event. This unique Café Concert includes dancers Clarissa Stroud, Masters Movement Dance Company; Richelle Dickerson, Worship Explosion Dance Company; Ronya-Lee Anderson, Dancing by the Power Ministries and Angella Foster, alight dance theater.
DragonFly Dance Experiment presents: Rhapsody, a collection of new works
Time: February 21 at 2:30pm
Location: Pascal Center for Performing Arts at Anne Arundel Community College – 101 College Parkway, Arnold, MD
Tickets: $13 general admission, available at the door. For more info, regarding DragonFly Dance Experiment andRhapsody, a collection of new works please visit dragonflydance.com.
This concert features new Contemporary dances choreographed by Artistic Director Megan Morse Jans, Artistic Contributor Stephanie Yezek with a performance by special guests the Annapolis High School Dance Company.
DragonFly Dance Experiment is a professional dance company in residence in Annapolis, MD that explores Modern/Contemporary Dance as well as Aerial Dance and Multimedia to create collaborative and original choreography. DragonFly has been seen on stages in Washington DC, Richmond, Virginia as well as New York City. Co-Artistic Director Megan Morse Jans was a recipient of a 2009 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Choreography. This past season, DDE proudly produced Dock Side Dance a free event featuring professional dance from the Annapolis and surrounding areas on the City Docks and was featured as one of the professional companies in the Artists’ Concert of the Maryland Council for Dance Festival.
