Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall Announced Upcoming Season

From pantomime to tango to tap dancing, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall has taken the steps to put together a new season of dance performances that will appeal to all ages and tastes.

Subscriptions to the complete 2010-11 Dance Series are now available, and range from $308.55 to $78.50. Subscribers, depending on the series they choose, receive 10% to 15% off single tickets.
The series includes five diverse productions: Mummenschanz (Nov. 3, 2010); Savion Glover: SoLo iN TiME (Feb. 22, 2011); Russian National Ballet's Romeo and Juliet (Feb. 25); Rhythm of the Dance (Mar. 18) and Tango Buenos Aires (Mar. 26). All performances are at 8pm.

Mummenschanz-the company that revolutionized mime art with a new vocabulary of body language-brings its new show "3x11" - a 33 year retrospective of the best acts from their heralded past. A joy for the entire family, Mummenschanz creates an original and captivating universe of whimsy, wonder and ingenuity with outsize props and colorful costumes.

In his latest production SoLo iN TiME, the inimitable Savion Glover continues the HooFeRzCLuB tradition of exploring tap dancing's percussiveness - using tap as sound and sound as dance. Accompanied by his newest dance band Bare Soundz, live flamenco vibes and his acclaimed Hooferz style, Glover and company create a percussive medley of flamenco music and dance. Glover made his Broadway debut at age 12 in The Tap Dance Kid and his film debut in 1989's Tap, co-starring with Gregory Hines and Sammy Davis, Jr. He came to prominence in 1996, starring in Broadway's Bring in 'da Noise/Bring in 'da Funk.

A change of pace is provided by the esteemed Russian National Ballet Theatre's production of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet set to Prokofiev's lush romantic score. The company was founded in Moscow during the transitional period of Perestroika in the late 1980s, when many of the great dancers and choreographers of the Soviet Union's ballet institutions were exercising their newfound creative freedom by starting new, vibrant companies dedicated not only to the timeless tradition of classical Russian ballet but also to incorporate new developments in dance from around the world.

The music and dance extravaganza known as Rhythm of the Dance is an inspiring epic that relives the journey of the Irish Celts throughout history. Using the traditional and modern arts of dance (ballet, modern dance, jazz) and music, the richly costumed show combines traditional Irish dance and music with state-of-the-art technology. Since its debut performance in 1999 in Norway, Rhythm of the Dance has played to over five million fans in 33 countries and, along with River Dance-with which it is compared-has heralded a new era in Irish entertainment. It is a perfect show for St. Patrick's Day entertainment.

Stepping up last in the series is Tango Buenos Aires, the hot Argentine export that is considered by many to be the most authentic and uncompromising representative of the tango. The show, Fire and Passion of Tango, presents the evolution of tango with a narrative of love, fire, passion and seduction.

Subscriptions are available by calling the Box Office at (941) 953-3368 or toll free at (800) 826-9303 or stopping in-person at the box office. Current Van Wezel subscribers can renew their same great seats. After renewals are filled, new subscriptions will be processed in the order they are received.

Dinner is available prior to most shows by Michael's on East at the Van Wezel by calling (941) 366-0007 or logging onto http://www.bestfood.com. .

For more information, visit online at www.vanwezel.org.

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