Parsons Dance Presents Two Evenings of Company Favorites 6/2, 6/3

Parsons Dance presents two short evenings as part of the company's 10th annual Summer Intensive Workshop for professional and pre-professional dancers. The performances are produced in collaboration with the company's education partners, Marymount Manhattan College and Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, and will feature performances of the acclaimed works: Wolfgang (2005), Hand Dance (2003), Caught (1981), Swing Shift (2003) and Ebben, an excerpt from the dance/rock opera Remember Me (2009). Performances will take place on Wednesday, June 2 and Thursday, June 3 at 7pm at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, 248 W. 60th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues, a brand new intimate theater space in New York City. Tickets are $25 ($18 for students), and will be available for purchase at the door (cash only) or online at www.manhattanmovement.com/event/parsons-dance.

Wolfgang (2005) juxtaposes the classical music of Mozart with the modern choreography of David Parsons. The three couples in Wolfgang create beautiful pictures throughout this piece, evincing their accomplished partnering skills. Various qualities subtly characterize each section of the piece. This dance highlights the dancers' technique and musicality, while underscoring their ability to make the constant motion seem effortless and fluid. Ebben is an excerpt from Remember Me, the dance/rock opera collaboration with East Village Opera Company. Hand Dance (2003), a playful work set to the vibrant music of Kenji Bunch, features ten "hands" that decide to take on a life of their own. Through gesture and mime, five dancers offer an endless variety of imaginative evocations, from grasping and forming pistons of a locomotive to playing air cello. Imaginative and fun, Hand Dance leaves audiences laughing and begging for more. Caught (1981) is an internationally renowned stroboscopic dance masterpiece that features a solo dancer performing more than 100 leaps in less than six minutes. Each leap is "caught" by the flash of a strobe light, to create a breathtaking illusion of flight. Caught has been performed thousands of times, worldwide, for more than 27 years. Swing Shift (2003), created for four couples and featuring compelling solos for female dancers, explores the human journey toward self-discovery through social interaction, as dancers "swing" and "shift" in order to couple, uncouple and couple again with another.

This year's Summer Intensive Workshop, held from May 24 - June 5, 2010, will give participants the unique opportunity to study with Artistic Director David Parsons and members of Parsons Dance in the heart of the modern dance capital, New York City. Participants take classes in modern and ballet technique, the repertory of Parsons Dance, Pilates and yoga, and are offered special Professional Development seminars. The Summer Intensive is presented in association with Marymount Manhattan College, the official education partner of Parsons Dance. The Summer Intensive is held at Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, 248 W. 60th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues.

David Parsons' Master Choreography Workshop will take place from June 7 - 12, 2010. Dancers will have the opportunity to be part of the development process for David Parsons' next choreographic work. This is the first time that the workshop has been offered. It is open exclusively to current (2010) and recently former (2007-2009) Parsons Dance Summer Intensive Workshop participants.

For more information about either program, call 212-869-9395 or visit www.parsonsdance.org.

ABOUT PARSONS DANCE
Parsons Dance is committed to building new audiences for contemporary dance by creating American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. The company tours regionally, nationally and internationally.

PARSONS DANCE HISTORY
Since 1985, Parsons Dance has toured an average of 32 weeks per year, to a total of more than 235 cities, 30 countries, six continents and millions of audience members. Many others have seen Parsons Dance on PBS, Bravo, A&E Network, and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched Parsons Dance perform live in Times Square as part of the internationally broadcast, 24-hour Millennium New Year's Eve celebration. In New York City, Parsons Dance has been featured at The Joyce Theater, City Center, New Victory Theater, Central Park Summerstage, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The World Trade Center.

The New York Times called David Parsons "one of the great movers of modern dance."
New York Magazine referred to him as "one of modern dance's great living dance-makers."

David Parsons (Artistic Director/Founder) has enjoyed a remarkable career as a performer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer of dance. Mr. Parsons was born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City. He was a leading dancer with The Paul Taylor Dance Company, where Mr. Taylor created many roles for him in works such as Arden Court, Last Look and Roses. He is a recipient of the 2000 Dance Magazine Award, as well as the 2001 American Choreography Award, for his work as a co-producer of AEROS, a production featuring the Romanian Gymnastic Federation that was featured on Bravo. Mr. Parsons has created more than 70 works for Parsons Dance. He has received commissions over the years from The American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, the Spoleto Festival and Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, to name a few. His work has been performed by Paris Opera Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Nederlands Danse Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Hubbard Street Dance and BatSheva Dance Company of Israel, among many others. In June 2007, Mr. Parsons was honored to be the very first contemporary choreographer ever to stage work at the centuries-old Arena di Verona, in Verona Italy, where he choreographed Verdi's Aida. The Arena is one of Italy's most respected operatic venues. In September 2007, he directed and choreographed Gotham Chamber Opera's production of María de Buenos Aires, which made its world premiere at a sold-out engagement in New York, at NYU's Skirball Center for the Arts.

Parsons Dance receives support from Bank of America, The Blavatnik Charitable Foundation, The Cowles Charitable Trust, Ellsworth Kelly Foundation, The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, The Friars Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, Lila Acheson Wallace Theater Fund of the New York Community Trust, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation, Nina W. Werblow Charitable Trust, The Shubert Foundation, Trust for Mutual Understanding.

ABOUT MANHATTAN MOVEMENT & ARTS CENTER
Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, located on the Upper West Side just south of Lincoln Center, comprises 18,000 square feet of obstruction-free dance studios and a state-of-the-art, 180-seat Off-Broadway theater. MMAC is the home of the Manhattan Youth Ballet pre-professional academy and performance company, which was founded in 1994 as Studio Maestro by Rose Caiola. MMAC also offers a full schedule of open dance and fitness classes for all levels, a comprehensive children's program and has become a popular rental venue for auditions, rehearsals and special events. Several summer programs introduced by MMAC encourage creativity and artistry in young people. www.manhattanmovement.com