Groovaloo, The Aluminum Show & More Set For Van Wezel 2009-10 Dance Series

The Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall announced today its 2009-10 Dance Series which features one of the most eclectic mixes of world-class performers ever presented - from classical ballet to hip-hop to bodies enmeshed in silvery, slithering aluminum snake-like pipes.

The line-up includes five events: Groovaloo (Jan. 13); The Aluminum Show (Feb. 2); Martha Graham Dance Company (Feb. 3); Israel Ballet (Feb. 11); Joffrey Ballet (Mar. 8). Dance subscribers receive a 15% discount for all five shows or they may pick & choose 3 or more to make your own series with a 10% discount. (Note: no discounts in Golden Circle or Smart Seats). Subscriptions are available by calling the Box Office at (941) 953-3368 or toll free at (800) 826-9303, or by visiting the box office. Single tickets go on sale in August.

Groovaloo, won NBC's "Superstars of Dance" Competition this year, combines the authenticity of A Chorus Line with the energy of Stomp as it embarks on a journey through the diverse world of hip-hop dance, through the award winning troupes true life experiences. Driven by jaw-dropping displays of physical ability, a vibrant musical score and powerful spoken word poetry, the show's intertwined stories chronicle the struggles, hopes and triumphs of the cast. The show has been called "breathtaking, heart-stopping" and "inspirational" by leading critics. Backstage.com called Groovaloo "The Cirque du Soleil of the street."

In the magical world of The Aluminum Show, Israel's hottest dance theater creation, intertwined coils transform into centipedes, silkworms court each other, a huge waterfall and dinosaurs unfold and even a massive opera singer are constructed of metal. Reminiscent of Mummenschanz and Blue Man Group, The Aluminum Show is a sparkling world of illusion and fantasy for the entire family. Through the use of special effects, creative mechanisms and acrobatic dance, inanimate objects come alive with the same energy, emotion and personality as human beings.

Designated as "one of seven wonders of the artistic universe" by the Washington Post, the Martha Graham Dance Company is the oldest and most celebrated contemporary dance company in the world. Dancer/choreographer Martha Graham was the central figure of the modern dance movement, developing an original technique involving the expression of primal emotions through stylized bodily movement of great intensity. Her company has inspired some of modern dance's most illustrious performers including Merce Cunningham, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp and Mark Morris.

The Israel Ballet is the only company in Israel performing the great classical and neo-classical ballets of the international repertoire. Founded in 1967, the company has a rich and varied repertoire including several neo-classical works by renowned choreographer George Balanchine as well as those by Christian Spuck, Krzysztof Pastor, Rudi van Danzig, Jan Lincolns, Lar Lubovitz and the company's founder and artistic director Berta Yampolsky. A dance critic from the New York Daily News called the company "brilliant," adding "...their performance of the frequently seen Balanchine Serenade was one of the finest I have ever seen."

The venerable Joffrey Ballet is one of the leading national and international ballet companies. It was the first American company to tour the former Soviet Union and the first dance company to perform at the White House. It also pioneered dance on television, inaugurating public television's Dance in America series. The company's repertoire covers the gamut of 20th-century choreography from the cubist style of pre- and post-World War I Paris, to the Americana of the old West and the counterculture freedom of the '60s, to the MTV generation.

Complementing the Van Wezel's 40th Anniversary Broadway Season which includes Mamma Mia!, Camelot, The Wedding Singer, Avenue Q, Hairspray, 102 Years of Broadway and Xanadu are four great Broadway Specials. Broadway Specials feature some of the brightest performers and performances from the Great White Way. They include: I Love a Piano (Nov. 30); Defending the Caveman (Jan. 15) Girls Night: The Musical (Feb. 1) and Cirque Le Masque (Mar. 14).

I Love a Piano is a new musical that looks through the eyes of Irving Berlin. With over 60 enduring and popular favorites, the new show captures the spirit of America from the ragtime rhythms of the early 20th Century through the swinging sophistication of the 1920s and 30s. The Los Angeles Times called I Love a Piano "as invigorating a song-catalog revue as any since Ain't Misbehavin."

Defending the Caveman, written by Rob Becker, is a humorous exploration of the differences between men and women and how those differences make us misunderstand each other. Variety reviewer Leslie Bennetts wrote of the one-man show, "Becker sends you out of the theater with a smile on your face... Couples who were arguing before the performance stroll out into the night afterward holding hands.

Girls Night: The Musical, is a touching and hilarious 'tell-it-like-it-is' look at the lives of a group of female friends.. Girls Night: The Musical promises to have audiences around the country laughing, crying and dancing in the aisles! Follow five friends as they re-live their past, celebrate their present and look to the future on a wild and hilarious karaoke night out ... and you'll recognize every one of them! GIRLS NIGHT is bursting with energy and is packed with every female anthem you can think of including Girls Just Want to Have Fun, I Will Survive, Lady Marmalade, It's Raining Men, I Feel Like a Woman, Say a Little Prayer and many more!

In their newest production Carnivale, Cirque Le Masque brings an exciting new dimension to circus arts. Drenched in colorful light and oblivious to the forces of gravity, Cirque Le Masque is a European-style circus complete with lavish costumes and props, music and special effects. As one critic explains, "Cirque Le Masque is not your typical everyday circus. There are no animals, red-nosed clowns and no tents. It is more of a theatre circus and a thrill a minute for all ages."

These wonderful specials are available now with the regular Broadway Subscription Shows as part of the pick and choose 4 or more Broadway shows to create your own subscription for a 10% discount (Note: no discounts in Golden Circle or Smart Seats). Single tickets will go on sale in late August or early September.

For Dance, Broadway or Orchestra Subscriptions at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, contact the Box Office at (941) 953-3368 or come to the box office. A new TV show, What's New at the Van Wezel, may be viewed online at www.sarasotagov.com.