Portland Ovations to Welcome Pilobolus to Merrill Auditorium, 4/25

Portland Ovations brings back the ever-evolving dance company Pilobolus for a Friday evening performance April 25th at 8pm at Merrill Auditorium.

Pilobolus returns for an awe-inspiring evening of visual ingenuity and physical spectacle. More than a dance company, Pilobolus continues to astound with its ever-evolving, inventive movement-based performance - pushing the envelope of what is possible and, moreover, what is expected. Twisting bodies, sheer athleticism and a delightful sense of play combine with one-of-kind sets, sound and costumes for a glorious display of what the human body - and mind - can do.

Pilobolus' Ovations program promises to be one of its most intriguing and perhaps the most diverse program for the dance company to date, ranging from the theatrical to something unexpected to classic Pilobolus - now and of the past. It is also a program created with both unexpected and refreshing collaborations from the antics of magicians Penn & Teller to the creative mind of director/choreographer Trish Sie, known for her fabulous video work with the band OK Go (Here it Goes Again).

The evening will open with Automaton, the result of an international partnering with Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui. The cyborg-like dance is described as "somewhere between Tron and Bladerunner." Following Automaton is Trish Sie's Skyscrapers, a tango Sie built in collaboration with Pilobolus and OK Go. Finishing off the first half of the evening is a classic work, Ocellus. The 1972 piece features a quartet of men moving in that liquid, mesmerizing way that is the hallmark of Pilobolus. The second half of the evening opens with [esc] created in collaboration with Penn & Teller. Using Houdini as the point of inspiration, the highly theatrical and provocative piece investigates the many ways one can escape being bound. Finishing it all off is, Megawatt, which is quickly moving into Pilobolus' signature repertoire as one of my most highly requested (and re-requested) works. Set to the music of Primus, Megawatt is a pulsing crowd pleaser.

Ovations Offstage offers a Pilobolus dance masterclass the morning of April 25th from 10am -12pm at Casco Bay Movers Dance Studio. The advanced-level class costs $25 per student. And registration is required. To register: call 207.773.3150 or email offstage@portlandovations.org.

Tickets for Pilobolus range from $29 to $40 for Ovations' Members and $32 to $44 for the general public with a limited amount of $20 Student Tickets also available. The Pilobolus performance is locally sponsored by The Portland Phoenix and supported by the New England Foundation for the Arts. To purchase tickets visit www.portlandovations.org, call PortTIX at 207.842.0800 or go to the box office window at Merrill Auditorium.