Shapiro & Smith's Medea Medea Comes To The Southern 4/9-12

Dancing with breathtaking physicality and emotional depth, Shapiro & Smith Dance has earned an international reputation for virtuosity, substance and pure abandon. This exciting night of dance includes the world premieres of Medea Medea, a serio-comic rewriting of the Greek tragedy featuring the women of the company and guest artist Ananya Chatterjea; and De Bona Religione, a trio for three men by Eddie Oroyan, as part of Shapiro & Smith's mentor project. Two company favorites round out the evening, including A Moment Before (which premiered at the Southern in 2000), and a special performance featuring guest artist Carl Flink in the 20th anniversary remount of To Have and To Hold.

Show times: April 9-12, 2009
Thurs. at 7:30pm, Fri. & Sat. at 8pm, Sun. at 7pm
Tickets: $22
Southern Theater box office: 612.340.1725, www.southerntheater.org
1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55454

Shapiro & Smith Dance has a reputation for performing tales of beauty and biting wit that run the gamut from searingly provocative to absurdly hilarious. Dancing with breathtaking physicality and emotional depth they have earned an international reputation for virtuosity, substance, craft, and pure abandonment.

Founded in 1985, the Company began as a collaboration between Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith. After meeting in the companies of Murray Louis and Alwin Nikolais, they went on to create their first choreography during a Fulbright Lectureship in Helsinki, Finland. Since then Shapiro and Smith's blend of contemporary dance and dramatic theater has elicited enthusiastic receptions across the U.S., Europe, Asia and Canada. The Company has been presented by major festivals and venues including the Joyce Theater, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Dance Theater Workshop, St. Mark's DanSpace Project, PS 122, Festival di Milano, Teatro de Danza in Mexico City, Recklinghausen RuhrFestSpiele, and the Korean International Festival.

Company members: Kari Mosel, Laura Selle Virtucio, Kelly Drummond-Cawthon, Ned Sturgis, Eddie Oroyan, Luke Melsha

The Southern Theater cultivates artistic exploration by providing a vibrant home for performance, fostering a multiplicity of voices and catalyzing connections among artists and audience.

The Southern presents and produces performance characterized by innovation and originality. We value connections to the local community and celebrate artwork that holds potential for transformative exchange. On stage, we are unyielding in our commitment to the highest levels of professionalism and artistic integrity.

For more information on the Southern, please visit www.southerntheater.org or call 612.340.0155.