Pilobolus Performs New Works at Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts This Weekend

Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts will present three performances by the acclaimed dance company Pilobolus today and Saturday, March 28-29.

Tickets are available for $39, $49 and $69 through www.ScottsdalePerformingArts.org or (480) 499-TKTS (8587).

Named after a barnyard fungus that propels its spores with extraordinary speed, accuracy and strength, Pilobolus was founded in 1971 by a group of Dartmouth College students and quickly became renowned the world over for its witty and gravity-defying works using the human body as a medium of expression. The distinctive Pilobolus approach focuses on how people, working together, can create form and movement with breathtaking effect.

Pilobolus engages and inspires audiences around the world using diverse collaborations that break down barriers between disciplines and challenge the understanding of dance. The original company, Pilobolus Dance Theater, has been touring its 115 pieces of repertory to more than 64 countries during the past four decades.

Pilobolus has been featured at the 79th Annual Academy Awards (2007) as well as on Sesame Street, Oprah, 60 Minutes and Late Night with Conan O' Brien. It has been recognized with prestigious honors, ranging from the Berlin Critic's Prize to a Primetime Emmy Award and a TED Fellowship. Pilobolus also holds the 2011 Guinness World Record for fitting the most people (26) into a Mini Cooper. In 2012, the company was nominated for a Grammy Award for All is Not Lost, its interactive music-video collaboration with the band OK Go and Google Chrome Japan.

In Scottsdale, Pilobolus will perform a thrilling selection of original works, ranging from one of the company's early masterpieces to several of its most recent creations, including:

Trio (2014), set to vocal music inspired by the classical Baroque, a graceful and riveting sculptural work exploring the power of iconic bodies to tell a story about the birth of desire and its intertwined connection to shame and revenge.

All is Not Lost (2011), a kaleidoscopic view of human connection and the live companion to Pilobolus' viral hit video collaboration with OK Go.

Ocellus (1972), the second work ever created by the company, a classic Pilobolus men's quartet that explores the precision and grace with which bodies move when they are continually connected to one another.

[esc] (2013), created in collaboration with masters of trickery Penn & Teller, the ultimate piece of gripping, do-not-try-this-at-home choreography combining fantasy, athleticism, strength, confinement, fetters and escape.

Licks (2013), a high-octane romp, full of raw energy and berserk horseplay that features 12 ropes and six dancers, along with a unique soundtrack fusing infectious modern rhythms and traditional Northern Mexican border music.

To post a comment, you must register and login.