Jessica Lang Dance Will Return to Eccles Center This Winter

Jessica Lang Dance, the company founded by award-winning choreographer Jessica Lang, will perform a return engagement on the Eccles Center Stage, Friday, January 13 at 7:30 PM.

"We are thrilled to have Jessica Lang Dance return to Park City Institute," says PCI Executive Director Teri Orr. "It's exciting to have Jessica Lang Dance on our stage as Ms. Lang continues to receive accolades for innovation and creativity in dance. In fact the day after her company performs for us, Jessica will be the Arison Honoree at the National YoungArts Foundation."

Lang, received the prestigious Bessie Award in 2014, not long after her company's Park City debut. "We had a wonderful experience the first time we performed in Park City in 2014," says Lang. "We had the opportunity to teach many outreach activities and found that the community of Park City is is a vibrant and welcoming community. We can't wait to perform on the Eccles stage again, bringing a new program of world class dance."

Lang has created more than 95 works for companies worldwide since 1999, including American Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet (2013 Manchester Theatre Award nominee), the National Ballet of Japan and Joffrey Ballet, among many others. She was a 2015 New York City Center Fellow and is currently a NYU Center for Ballet and the Arts Fellow. Lang, a graduate of The Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy, is a former member of Twyla Tharp's company, THARP! Dance Magazine called her a "master of visual composition," for the blend of classical ballet and pointe with elements of gymnastics and barefoot modern dance.

Her receipt of a Joyce Theater Artist Residency supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation helped launch Jessica Lang Dance (JLD) in 2011. JLD has been presented by major venues including The Kennedy Center, The Harris Theater, New York City Center, Northrop Auditorium, Winspear Opera House, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival and BAM Fisher. JLD's performance for the Park City Institute is part of a tour of more than 29 cities in the 2016-17 season. "We love performing in the ski town vibe of Park City," says Lang. "I am a big fan of winter sports. I grew up skiing out West. Coming back this January to Park City not only gives me joy to share my art to a very cultured town, but I get to connect to the local excitement of the season. I simply love Park City!"

Lang will once again conduct a workshop with her dancers and students at the Park City School District.

Founded in 2011, Jessica Lang Dance is dedicated to creating and performing the work of Jessica Lang. JLD has been presented in world renowned venues including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Winspear Opera House and Northrop Auditorium, among many others. The company's performances have been named among the best dance events of the year by major publications in Dallas, Chicago and Boston. JLD's funding includes support from Rockefeller Brothers Fund, NEA, Jerome Robbins Foundation, Shubert Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Harkness Foundation for Dance, and more. Visit jessicalangdance.com, and watch videos of Jessica Lang Dance performances, here.

Tickets to Jessica Lang Dance start at $29, with student tickets available, through the generosity of donors to the Park City Institute, for $5. For this performance, parents who purchase a full-price ticket in the Amethyst section can add a $5 student ticket in the same section.

Park City Institute is a non-profit organization, dedicated to bringing world-class performances and new ideas to the community. Since 1998, PCI has presented internationally renowned and cutting edge musicians, actors, authors, comedians, dancers, speakers and film at The George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center for the Performing Arts (a joint-use facility with the Park City School District). The organization will embark on its 14th season of headliner concerts at Deer Valley Resort next summer. PCI is dedicated to introducing young people to the arts through free student outreach workshops, shows and demonstrations. Since 2010, PCI has offered a free after-school literacy program to students in grades one through 12 at the thinky and fun retail-fronted tutoring hub, the Mega-Genius Supply Store and IQ HQ (located at 435 Swede Alley in Old Town). The organization continues to illuminate with Curiosities evenings and the Saints and Sinners Ball.

Pictured: Jessica Lang Dance performing Among the Stars; Dancers L. Mead, C. Brown. Photo by Todd Burnsed.