ENCOUNTERING THE OTHER Plays Storefront Theater 7/29-8/1

Mordine & Company Dance Theater and Natya Dance Theatre, in association with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, present ENCOUNTERING THE OTHER at Chicago DCA's Storefront Theater July 29 through August 1st. The performance is co-created by leading choreographers Shirley Mordine and Hema Rajagopalan.

Two distinct dance traditions - the popular dance theater of India and western contemporary dance - meet in a cultural encounter that negotiates two perspectives of performance. Mordine & Company Dance Theater and Natya Dance Theatre, two of Chicago's most innovative companies, collaborate on the world premiere of a trilogy of works. Each company will also perform work from their own repertoires that juxtapose rhythm, gesture, and high-energy dance in reflections on culture, gender, philosophy, and family.

Performances are July 29 through 31 at 7:30 pm. and Sunday, August 1 at 3 pm. A post-show discussion will follow the performance on Friday, July 30.

Tickets for ENCOUNTERING THE OTHER are $18 for general admission in advance and $20 at the door, with $15 tickets for students and seniors. Discounts are available for Chicago Cultural Center Mosaic Members, theater industry affiliates, military personnel, ADA companions, and large groups. All tickets are available by calling 312.742.TIXS (8497), visiting www.dcatheater.org, or stopping by the box office, open Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 6 pm; Sundays, noon to 4 pm; and one hour prior to each performance. The Storefront Theater is located at 66 E. Randolph Street. 

Mordine & Company Dance Theater is the Midwest's longest-running contemporary dance company, celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2008. Under the direction of Shirley Mordine, the company has produced works whose coalition of choreography and theatre has won critical acclaim. Praised for original choreography combining wit and sheer movement with technical sophistication, the company's work has been described as "a two-edged sword of comedy and drama" and "adventurous, audacious, gutsy, and energetic." The company has consistently performed in the Chicago area and toured throughout the United States and abroad. Cultivating peformance and teaching talent, Mordine & Company Dance Theater has a reputation for highly developed performance skills and dance aesthetic and has been recognized by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Founcation for its "flagship role in helping develop a whole generation of promising dancers and choreographers."

Natya Dance Theatre (NDT), a critically acclaimed dance company based in Chicago, was founded in 1975 by renowned dancer, choreographer, and dance educator Hema Rajagopalan. The highly innovative work of NDT offers profound and subtle expressions of humanity's deepest questions and values in the context of our present-day lives. NDT's contemporary style uses dynamic body movement, rhythmic footwork, hand gestures, and facial expressions to convey meaning and emotion to create rasa, the aesthetic experience that transforms the audience. This style is rooted in Bharata Natyam, one of the great classical dance forms of India. A principal goal of NDT is to use dance as a means of cultural exchange through its 32-year-old dance school, a touring company that performs throughout the country and abroad, an outreach program, and a series of presentations featuring the finest Indian performing artists of various genres.

The Storefront Theater and the Studio Theater, its companion theater located in the Chicago Cultural Center at 78 E. Washington Street, comprise Chicago DCA Theater, an anchor of the downtown theater district. Chicago DCA Theater offers downtown audiences an off-Loop theater and dance experience with an exciting look at the vibrant emerging companies that call Chicago home. Proposals for creative and innovative productions for the July to December 2011 season are now being accepted through October 15, 2010.

Discounted parking is available at Wabash Randolph Self Park at 20 E. Randolph. Patrons can receive the $10 rate by validating their ticket at the Storefront Theater box office.

For more information on Mordine & Company Dance Theater, visit www.mordine.org and on Natya Dance Theatre at www.natya.com.

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