Local Dance Companies Take Center Stage at PlayhouseSquare 9/10

The PlayhouseSquare Community Engagement & Education Department presents its eighth annual Dance Showcase on Friday, September 10 at 7 p.m. in the Palace Theatre. Featuring nine of Northeast Ohio's finest professional dance companies, the performance highlights a wide array of dance styles from ballet to contemporary to classical Indian dance.

The companies performing are Dance/Theater Collective, The Dancing Wheels Company, Inlet Dance Theatre, MorrisonDance, Ohio Dance Theatre, Shri Kalaa Mandir, Travesty Dance Group, Verb Ballets and Sara Whale. A selection committee reviewed all of the submissions received and chose these nine companies for their quality and diversity. The committee was comprised of Laura Burkhart, Director of Programming and Marketing for the New Orleans Ballet Association and member of the Board of Trustees and Presenters Council of Dance/USA; Linda Jackson, Education Program Manager at PlayhouseSquare and former dancer, instructor and artistic associate with the Cleveland San Jose Ballet; and Paul Organisak, Vice President of Programming, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Executive Director, Pittsburgh Dance Council.

"PlayhouseSquare is known for bringing the best of Broadway and the performing arts to Cleveland," explained Colleen Porter, director of community engagement and education at PlayhouseSquare, "but we also want to give people the chance to experience work by local artists. The diversity and level of excellence exhibited by our local dance companies is astounding."

At the close of the show, guests will be treated to a special sneak peek dance performance from Elton John's new show Billy Elliot the Musical. Giuseppe Bausilio, currently playing the role of "Billy" in Chicago, will perform "Electricity."

As a not-for-profit organization, PlayhouseSquare relies on charitable giving to present the Dance Showcase and similar experiences to the community. "Our donors and sponsors make it possible for us to present the Dance Showcase with no charge for admission, which makes it a wonderful opportunity for everyone, especially those new to dance, to enjoy this beautiful art form," said Linda Jackson.

More information about the Dance Showcase is available at playhousesquare.org/community or by calling 216-348-7909. There is no charge for admission and tickets are not required.

Dance Showcase Repertoire
Dance/Theater Collective - Sight Through Surface (Excerpt)
"Sight Through Surface" is a dance celebrating the connection of women through their life cycle. The sextet was created using movement derived from water imagery, using the concepts of surging and receding to reveal layered emotions and bodies, with strength underlying flow. The excerpt is a metaphoric folk dance interspersed with moments of the dancers asserting each individual's identity and also interdependence. The evocative music and vocal score by Lisa Gerard was selected for its both ancient and contemporary melding of feminine voice and haunting sensibility as a "Swan Song."

The Dancing Wheels Company - Far East of the Blues (Excerpt)
"Far East of the Blues," is a dance work set to four movements from Duke Ellington's 1966 "Far East Suite," an album inspired by a world tour the composer embarked on with his orchestra in 1963. For this piece, legendary choreographer Donald McKayle sought to capture the mood and imagery evoked in Ellington's score by incorporating elements of Indian and Balinese culture into the work's movement which he observed while touring Asia with the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1956 and '57.

Inlet Dance Theatre - Snow
Six dancers (representing the six points of a snowflake) reveal and are held aloft for their distinct characteristics, working in ensemble to transform the space much like snow transforming our yards and parks into winter wonderlands.

MorrisonDance - Conflict Resolution
"Morrison teams with Taliesin Haugh in their zany creation, 'Conflict Resolution.' The stressed couple gives literal meaning to the music, Velvet Underground's 'I'm Sticking With You,' through elastic sleeves that connect them at every moment. Things work out in the end as the dancers shape the fabric into an endearing reflection of domestic bliss." - Donald Rosenberg, The Plain Dealer

Ohio Dance Theater - Tabula Rasa
"Tabula Rasa" is described by Ohio Dance Theater's artistic director, Denise Gula, as "a movement inspired by this and that."

Shri Kalaa Mandir - Aangika
"Aangika" is a classical Indian dance of joy and celebration incorporating vigorous rhythmic footwork, kaleidoscopic dance formations and exotic costumes choreographed to exciting music.

Travesty Dance Group - Lachen und Weinen (laughing and crying)
"Lachen und Weinen (laughing and crying)," choreographed by Travesty Dance Group/Cleveland Director Kimberly Karpanty, is a duet for two men who take a journey from sadness to joy, reveling in the comfort of friendship. The dancers, donned in unique costumes by Tasha Walls, exuberantly fulfill the demands of the movement style and the need for split-second transitions between sensitivity and comedy.

Verb Ballets - Ambiguous Drives (Excerpt)
A world premiere by Tommie-Waheed Evans, a dancer with Philadanco and one of the new emerging choreographers coming from the ballet/Ailey tradition, Ambiguous Drives explores feminine tension in relationships. It is led by a female figure who is seen as the "Protector of Women" and four couples.

Sara Whale - In Retrospect
"In Retrospect" is a solo work inspired by the intimate act of reflection.

PlayhouseSquare understands its vital role as an educator in our community, and is committed to providing arts learning opportunities of the highest quality to enrich the lives of students, families, teachers and adults. PlayhouseSquare's Community Engagement & Education Department is unique in the performing arts industry for the variety of programs it offers, the partnerships it initiates and the access it provides students, educators and aspiring artists to performing arts professionals. Since its inception in 1998, the Community Engagement & Education Department has offered thousands of events, workshops, classes and more, most with minimal or no fees, to people of all ages from all areas of Northeast Ohio. The generous support of individual and corporate donors and foundations makes it all possible.

About Billy Elliot The Musical
Thrilling audiences worldwide and winning ten 2009 Tony Awards including Best Musical, "the best show you will ever see" (New York Post) is coming to Cleveland November 19 - December 12, 2010! Billy Elliot The Musical is a joyous celebration of one young boy's journey to make his dreams come true. Called "the most inspiring show I've seen in years" by Ben Brantley of The New York Times, set in a small town, the story follows Billy as he stumbles out of the boxing ring and into a ballet class, discovering a passion that takes him by surprise, and takes his whole family on an incredibly uplifting adventure. Billy Elliot is part of the KeyBank Broadway Series at PlayhouseSquare.