DANCE
By Karen Dacko, Contributing Editor
PNC BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA SERIES PRESENTS “THE RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR STARRING THE ROCKETTES”
Thursday, November 12, 2009 through Sunday, December 6, 2009
For more than 75 years, the Rockettes have been high-stepping across New York’s cavernous Radio City Music Hall stage. In November, a touring contingent tap dances into Pittsburgh with the 2009 version of the annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular, an extravaganza of stagecraft, rock-show lighting and digital wizardry.
Programming includes the “Parade of the Wooden Soldiers,” a precision dance vignette; a visit to Santa’s North Pole workshop; and a living nativity, which underscores the religious origin of Christmas. Dates and times vary.
Tickets: $30.50-$70.50
(Benedum Center, Seventh Street, downtown
Ticket phone #: 412/456-6666
Tickets online: pgharts.org)
THE RADIO CITY CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR STARRING THE ROCKETTES”
Thursday, November 12, 2009 through Sunday, December 6, 2009
Dates and times vary.
Tickets: $30.50-$70.50
(Benedum Center, Seventh Street, downtown
Ticket phone #: 412/456-4800
Tickets online: pgharts.org)
CONSERVATORY DANCE CO. PRESENTS PITTSBURGH CONNECTIONS
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 02:00PM
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 08:00PM
Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 02:00PM
Los Angeles-based choreographer Patrick Frantz, who directed Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre from the late ’70s to the early ’80s, premieres Isochone, a neoclassical ballet choreographed to Robert Schumann’s Etudes Symphoniques. Created for 12 dancers, the non-narrative work focuses on the qualities and personalities of its cast. Completing the bill are works by Jeffrey Bullock, Kristofer Storey and Marissa Balzer.
Tickets: $18-$20; students, $7-$8
(George Rowland White Performance Studio, Point Park University, 201 Wood St., downtown
Ticket phone #: Tickets: 412/621-4445
Event Website: pittsburghplayhouse.com)
Dance Alloy Theater’s “Behind the Curtain”
Saturday, November 21, 2009 at 07:00PM
Dance Alloy Theater's "Behind the Curtain" series with choreographers Pearlann Porter of Pillow Project and Gwen Ritchie, former LABCO director. Fri., Nov. 6: reception, 6:30 p.m.; work-in-progress showing, 7 p.m. $5. DAT also offers “Alloy on Alloy,” featuring company members’ works. Doors open 6:30 p.m.; performance, 7 p.m. Reservations recommended for both events.
Tickets: $10
(5530 Penn Ave., Friendship
Ticket phone #: 412/363-4321
Event Website: dancealloy.org)
PERFORMANCES BY DANCE ALLOY THEATER AND AUGUST WILSON CENTER DANCE ENSEMBLE
Friday, December 4, 2009 at 08:00PM
Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 08:00PM
Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 02:00PM
Monday, December 7, 2009 at 07:00PM
When Greer Reed-Jones initially accepted the job as Dance Alloy Theater’s education director in 2008, the retired dancer watched company rehearsals and yearned to perform again. But soon her focus shifted: She envisioned leading a troupe similar to Alloy. And that was about to happen.
This past summer, while organizing the 13-member, multicultural August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble (AWCDE)—Pittsburgh’s newest dance troupe, and under Reed-Jones’ direction—she was appointed as Alloy’s artistic director.
Both troupes rehearse in Alloy’s Friendship studios, share guest choreographers and are committed to strengthening Pittsburgh’s arts community. However, Reed-Jones underscores that Alloy remains a five-member contemporary dance-repertory company, while the Wilson group provides an artistic bridge for aspiring professionals.
“The Wilson Ensemble is my baby. I will nurture it and it will have the ‘Greer’ stamp on it. It’s time for Pittsburgh to have a company rooted in the black dance tradition,” says Reed-Jones, whose fellowship from the August Wilson Center for African American Culture supported her dream.
At Alloy, she initiated “Alloy…Unlocked,” a multifaceted project that welcomes the public into the studio, invites local choreographers to premiere works for the company’s main-stage concerts and provides an umbrella for the dance community.
Reed-Jones asked former company member Gwen Hunter-Ritchie and Pillow Project’s artistic director, Pearlann Porter, to create works for Alloy’s December performances (“Alloy…Unlocked, Part I”). Plus, she selected personal repertory favorites—Susan Marshall’s Arms, a duet about controlled abandonment, and Donald Byrd’s White Man Sleep, an emotional journey through the 9/11 tragedy—to complete the bill. Hunter-Ritchie’s contribution, Look Me in the Eye, explores the tactile, visual and auditory aspects of sensory sensitivity, while Porter offers the voyeuristic The Itch of the Key, a four-section atmospheric work set in the 19th century.
“We have great talent here. Pearlann’s aesthetic and style are a good mix with ours. Gwen was part of the Alloy—what a great opportunity in terms of community, why not bring back Gwen?” says Reed-Jones. She also plans to welcome local companies to present in-studio showcases that generate creativity and shared audiences, concepts gleaned from previous initiatives of the Pittsburgh Dance Council, Pittsburgh Dance Festival and Alloy. Thanks to Alloy’s reputation and community standing, Reed-Jones believes there’s a solid foundation. “We have the ability to be a platform for the artistic voice,” she says.
Through the AWCDE, comprising students from the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School and local universities, she hopes to entice young talent to stay in Pittsburgh, and she invites notable choreographers (among them New York City-based choreographers Robert Battle and Christopher Huggins) to serve as mentors. “Pittsburgh is a good city for dance. Why leave?” asks Reed-Jones, who pursued her career in New York City and with Dayton Contemporary Dance Co., where she was a principal dancer.
This month, the AWCDE performs with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra for the August Wilson Center’s “Family Holiday Show,” which combines new and traditional holiday favorites, and appears in the building’s windows on New Year’s Eve as part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s First Night celebration.
“When the dancers perform, I see their passion, joy and love of dance,” says Reed-Jones, a director with vision, confidence and determination. Her dancers’ enthusiasm mirrors her own.
Tickets: $25
(New Hazlett Theater, 6 Allegheny Square East, North Side
Ticket phone #: 412/363-4321
Event Website: dancealloy.org)
PITTSBURGH YOUTH BALLET PRESENTS THE NUTCRACKER
Friday, December 4, 2009 at 07:30PM
Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 02:30PM
Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 07:30PM
Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 02:30PM
Guest artist and Pittsburgh native Alan Obuzor joins the 150-member cast of Pittsburgh Youth Ballet for the Nutcracker. The symphony from the Creative and Performing Arts High School accompanies the downtown performances.
Tickets: $15-25
(pper St. Clair Theater, 1825 McLaughlin Run Road, Upper St. Clair
Ticket phone #: 724/969-6000
Tickets online: pybco.com)
SLIPPERY ROCK UNIVERSITY’S DANCE DEPARTMENT’S FALL CONCERT
Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 03:00PM
Sunday, December 6, 2009 at 08:00PM
Tickets: $5
(Swope Music Hall, Slippery Rock University, Slippery Rock, Butler County
Event phone #: 724/738-2036
Event Website: sru.edu)
CONSERVATORY DANCE CO. PRESENTS THE BENCH
Friday, December 11, 2009 through Sunday, December 20, 2009
Collaborating cousins and Aliquippa natives Kiesha Lalama-White (choreographer), David Lalama (composer) and Ralph Lalama, a Grammy Award-winning jazz musician, join with the Conservatory Dance Co. to premiere a multimedia dance production, The Bench, which includes live music and visual images that chronicle the ups and downs of a couple’s journey through life. Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.
Tickets: Matinees, $18; evenings, $20
(Pittsburgh Playhouse, 222 Craft Ave., Oakland
Ticket phone #: 412/621-4445
Tickets online: pittsburghplayhouse.com)
PITTSBURGH BALLET THEATRE’S THE NUTCRACKER
Friday, December 11, 2009 through Sunday, December 27, 2009
Dates and times vary.
Tickets: $20.50-$88.50
(Benedum Center, Seventh Street, downtown
Ticket phone #: 412/456-6666
Tickets online: pgharts.org)
PILLOW PROJECT PRESENTS [SORTA] SATURDAY
Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 08:00PM
Saturday, December 12, 2009 at 11:00PM
Pillow Project’s 2009 “Second Saturday Series” was slated to conclude in November, but the multimedia troupers are offering a special celebration commemorating their fifth anniversary. “Our very first show was called “kinda [sorta].” We’re presenting new works and works from past years—our greatest hits. The show is just one night, but it’s been five years in the making!” says Pearlann Porter, artistic director, who welcomes back collaborators Dionna PridGeon, Ben Wegman, Angela Essler, Kaylin Horgan, Beth Ratas, Ryan Hose, Denise Sorvola and DJ Sorta, who inspired the company’s modern-art/happening approach.
Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door
(he Space Upstairs, 214 N. Lexington St., Point Breeze
Ticket phone #: 412/225-9269
Tickets online: pillowproject.org)
PERFORMANCES BY DANCE ALLOY THEATER AND AUGUST WILSON CENTER DANCE ENSEMBLE
Friday, December 18, 2009 at 08:00PM
Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 08:00PM
Sunday, December 20, 2009 at 03:00PM
When Greer Reed-Jones initially accepted the job as Dance Alloy Theater’s education director in 2008, the retired dancer watched company rehearsals and yearned to perform again. But soon her focus shifted: She envisioned leading a troupe similar to Alloy. And that was about to happen.
This past summer, while organizing the 13-member, multicultural August Wilson Center Dance Ensemble (AWCDE)—Pittsburgh’s newest dance troupe, and under Reed-Jones’ direction—she was appointed as Alloy’s artistic director.
Both troupes rehearse in Alloy’s Friendship studios, share guest choreographers and are committed to strengthening Pittsburgh’s arts community. However, Reed-Jones underscores that Alloy remains a five-member contemporary dance-repertory company, while the Wilson group provides an artistic bridge for aspiring professionals.
“The Wilson Ensemble is my baby. I will nurture it and it will have the ‘Greer’ stamp on it. It’s time for Pittsburgh to have a company rooted in the black dance tradition,” says Reed-Jones, whose fellowship from the August Wilson Center for African American Culture supported her dream.
At Alloy, she initiated “Alloy…Unlocked,” a multifaceted project that welcomes the public into the studio, invites local choreographers to premiere works for the company’s main-stage concerts and provides an umbrella for the dance community.
Reed-Jones asked former company member Gwen Hunter-Ritchie and Pillow Project’s artistic director, Pearlann Porter, to create works for Alloy’s December performances (“Alloy…Unlocked, Part I”). Plus, she selected personal repertory favorites—Susan Marshall’s Arms, a duet about controlled abandonment, and Donald Byrd’s White Man Sleep, an emotional journey through the 9/11 tragedy—to complete the bill. Hunter-Ritchie’s contribution, Look Me in the Eye, explores the tactile, visual and auditory aspects of sensory sensitivity, while Porter offers the voyeuristic The Itch of the Key, a four-section atmospheric work set in the 19th century.
“We have great talent here. Pearlann’s aesthetic and style are a good mix with ours. Gwen was part of the Alloy—what a great opportunity in terms of community, why not bring back Gwen?” says Reed-Jones. She also plans to welcome local companies to present in-studio showcases that generate creativity and shared audiences, concepts gleaned from previous initiatives of the Pittsburgh Dance Council, Pittsburgh Dance Festival and Alloy. Thanks to Alloy’s reputation and community standing, Reed-Jones believes there’s a solid foundation. “We have the ability to be a platform for the artistic voice,” she says.
Through the AWCDE, comprising students from the Pittsburgh Creative and Performing Arts High School and local universities, she hopes to entice young talent to stay in Pittsburgh, and she invites notable choreographers (among them New York City-based choreographers Robert Battle and Christopher Huggins) to serve as mentors. “Pittsburgh is a good city for dance. Why leave?” asks Reed-Jones, who pursued her career in New York City and with Dayton Contemporary Dance Co., where she was a principal dancer.
This month, the AWCDE performs with the Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra for the August Wilson Center’s “Family Holiday Show,” which combines new and traditional holiday favorites, and appears in the building’s windows on New Year’s Eve as part of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s First Night celebration.
“When the dancers perform, I see their passion, joy and love of dance,” says Reed-Jones, a director with vision, confidence and determination. Her dancers’ enthusiasm mirrors her own.
Tickets: $22.50
(AWCDE: August Wilson Center for African American Culture, 980 Liberty Ave., downtown
Ticket phone #: 412/456-6666
Event Website: augustwilsoncenter.org)
PITTSBURGH YOUTH BALLET PRESENTS THE NUTCRACKER
Friday, December 18, 2009 at 07:00PM
Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 07:00PM
Guest artist and Pittsburgh native Alan Obuzor joins the 150-member cast of Pittsburgh Youth Ballet for the Nutcracker. The symphony from the Creative and Performing Arts High School accompanies the downtown performances.
Tickets: TBA
(Creative and Performing Arts High School Theater, Fort Duquesne Boulevard at Ninth Street, downtown
Ticket phone #: 724/969-6000
Event Website: pybco.com)