Boston Dance Theater Comes to The ICA

Gear up for a livewire inaugural season. . . Boston Dance Theater (BDT) takes to the local stage for the first time this November 30 and December 1, 2018 at 8PM at the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), presented by World Music/ CRASHarts. Free pre performance talks with Boston Dance Alliance Executive Director Debra Cash 30 minutes prior to curtain in the ICA Common Room. Free post performance Q&A with the artists Friday, November 30. Tickets available for $36/ $32 (World Music/ CRASHarts members) at http://tickets.worldmusic.org. The ICA is located at 25 Harbor Shore Drive, Boston, MA 02210, in the heart of the dynamic Seaport District.

Are you ready for a program of propulsive momentum, energetic shifts, and unapologetic boldness? Join Boston Dance Theater's cohort of upstanding women this 2018-2019 season for a program featuring classic gems and new favorites. This fall, BDT will make its home debut at the Seaport's own Institute of Contemporary Art, showcasing the work of award-winning choreographers Sidra Bell (New York), Itzik Galili (Israel), and Yin Yue (New York/China).

This program brings to the forefront a globally intertwined program of contemporary repertory poised to push forth BDT's mission of breaking down walls that inhibit accessible creative process. As a company born during the height of the "me too" era, BDT's first season serves to highlight the pivotal influence of woman dancers, creators, dreamers, and leaders in our field.

After an exhilarating first performance for an overflowing audience of more than 200 patrons at the Jacob's Pillow Inside/Out festival this August, we look forward to bringing home two original commissions by up and coming female choreographers. Sidra Bell's Deeper Inscription evokes an otherworldly ambiance in its examination of common language building and Yin Yue's quartet, Today for Now, explores a meeting of inward sensitivity and outward wildness set to the driving music of rock icon Janis Joplin.

Hailing from Israel, BDT's co-artistic director and veteran choreographer, Itzik Galili will round out this inaugural program with two company premieres - Chameleon (1998), and Man of the Hour (excerpt) (2015), a landmark work for 8 men, hitting the world stage for the first time with an all-woman cast at the BDT debut.

Head turning, awe inspiring, and conversation inducing, these are, in the words of Boston Magazine, who recently listed the BDT program alongside Childish Gambino and Hamilton as a fall must see, "moves not to be missed."

Under the co-artistic direction of Boston native Jessie Jeanne Stinnett and award winning, Israeli choreographer Itzik Galili, BOSTON DANCE THEATER (BDT) is Boston's first contemporary dance repertory company with international ties at the leadership level. With a commitment to presenting works of socio-political relevance that challenge the edges of current world issues, BDT matches the talents of Boston-based dancers with those of global choreographers to broaden the scope of contemporary dance practice and performance here in Boston with the goal of creating an artistically and financially sustainable home for local dancers.

ITZIK GALILI is an Israeli choreographer, co-artistic director of Boston Dance Theater, and Artistic Director of Curtain Up, Israel's "most prestigious and sought-after platform for independent Israeli choreographers" founded and supported by the Israeli Ministry of Culture and Sport (The Jerusalem Post). His choreography has received numerous prizes including the Gvanim Choreographic Competition, the Public Prize at the International Competition for Choreographers in Groningen, and the final Selection Culture Award (Phillip Morris) for exceptional talent. He holds a knighthood for his contributions to Dutch arts and culture for initiating five very successful organisations. He has built an oeuvre of more than 80 works, creating for international companies including Stuttgart Ballet, Rambert Dance Company, and Bale da Cidade de São Paulo among many others.

SIDRA BELL is a sought after master teacher, choreographer, and director of Sidra Bell New York. She has taught at major institutions for dance and theater throughout Canada, Europe, South America, and the United States. Bell has won several awards, notably a 1st Prize for Choreography at the Solo Tanz Theater Festival in Stuttgart, Germany in 2011 for Grief Point and a 2015 National Dance Project Production Award from the New England Foundation for the Arts. Additionally, NEFA awarded the company a Production Residency for Dance. February 3 was named SIDRA BELL DAY by Mayor Thomas Roach in the City of White Plains, NY. Bell has received many commissions and created over 100 new works for institutions and companies nationally and internationally.

Born and raised in Shanghai, China, YIN YUE moved to New York City to pursue MFA in contemporary dance at New York University. She is the artistic director of Yin Yue Dance Company (YYDC) which presents work featuring her signature FoCo (Folk Contemporary) Technique. She has won awards at the Shanghai Professional Dance Competition, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, BalletX, and Northwest Dance Project. Commissions include the Limon Company, 10 Hairy Legs, Whim W'him, and NYU Tisch. She was selected as Emerging Choreographer of 2015 Springboard Danse Montreal, finalist at The A.W.A.R.D Show 2010! presented by The Joyce Theater Foundation. She holds the position of Artistic Director and residency choreographer at Jiangxi Zhongshan School and is on faculty at Peabody Institute Johns Hopkins University.

To post a comment, you must register and login.