PAST SHOWS: 2008-2009

OPTIONAL BONUS PPRESENTATION FOR DANCEHOUSE SUBSCRIBERS

According to legend, Cloud Gate is the name of the oldest known dance in China, a ritual some 5,000 years old. In 1973, choreographer Lin Hwai-min adopted this classical name for the first contemporary dance company in any Chinese speaking community: Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan. Cloud Gate’s rich repertoire has its roots in Asian myths, folklore and aesthetics, but it brings a contemporary and universal perspective to these age-old beliefs and stories. The company is made up of two dozen dancers whose training includes Tai Chi Tao Yin, meditation, martial arts, Chinese Opera movement, modern dance, ballet and calligraphy.

Cloud Gate’s Moon Water is a modern exploration of ancient Tai Chi Tao Yin movement set to Bach’s Six Suites for Solo Cello.

OPTIONAL SUBSCRIBER BONUS
Add orchestra level tickets to Moon Water to your subscription for only $62.75 (including service charges),* a savings of $10 on the regular price.

This tour is made possible by a grant from the Council for Cultural Affairs, Taiwan

*Tickets are located in the left and right rear orchestra section of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. DanceHouse subscribers receive the best available tickets in that area. If you have specific seating requests, please contact DanceHouse.

Acclaimed for its exuberant and innovative repertoire; unparalleled versatility and inspiring performances, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago takes the stage April 24 & 25, 2009. Hubbard Street presents an eclectic selection of work by leading international choreographers. Their 2009 tour will feature dances selected from a number of works in the repertoire, including new work by Jorma Elo (resident choreographer at Boston Ballet), Alejandro Cerrudo, and HSDC Artistic Director Jim Vincent. Other pieces in the touring repertoire include Danny Ezralow’s work SF/LB and Doug Varone’s The Constant Shift of Pulse.

As Chicago’s leading contemporary dance company, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago is one of the only American dance companies to operate year-round, continuing to produce bold and passionate performances for its home-base of Chicago, as well as national and international audiences; always changing and evolving while maintaining the highest artistic standards.

”The ensemble [has an] ability to triumph in the face of some of the most technically difficult, rhythmically tricky, marathonlike demands while also using the fiendish speed and energy of the work in the service of laugh-out-loud humor and powerhouse grace.” - Chicago Sun-Times

“ferocious solo work, awesome and original duets and beautiful ensemble dancing from the entire cast.” - Chicago Tribune

BC choreographer Sarah Chase creates a new piece for Montréal Danse, known for its captivating repertory and for its exceptional dancers. On the ice of Labrador highlights the magical number of seven: the seven members of Montréal Danse; seven narratives woven into a biographical tapestry.

This exploration of seven combines unexpected elements: aviators, trombone players, mortality on railroad tracks, bodies washed in Hotel Dieu, blood sugar cycles of a young diabetic, a woman from England standing in a hut BC’s Interior, the journey of Alzheimer’s... Identity and memory are built up, only to collapse into something unnamable at the centre of each of our souls.

A British Columbia premiere, On the ice of Labrador is a co-production of the CanDance Network Creation Fund, the Canada Dance Festival, the Vancouver East Cultural Centre, the Agora de la Danse, the Brian Webb Dance Company.

“The cumulative effect of [her] everyday intimacy was complex and warm.” - The Georgia Straight

Presented with


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Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company is one of the most dynamic and sought-after contemporary dance companies on the international stage today. For the company’s long-overdue Vancouver visit, 20 phenomenal dancers will make their way through Deca Dance, a vibrant collage of excerpts from artistic director/choreographer Ohad Naharin’s most celebrated works. Set to music ranging from resonating Hebrew chants to “Cha-Cha de Amor”, this high-spirited work is an exuberant ode to Naharin’s creative vision and movement’s many possibilities.

Since its founding in 1964 by Martha Graham and Baroness Batsheva De Rothschild, Batsheva Dance Company has become one of the most influential dance companies in the world. Specially devised to showcase the dazzling breadth of Naharin's choreographic invention, Deca Dance features highlight scenes from his most celebrated creations during the last decade. From aggression and fierce lust for life to capricious dream worlds, Deca Dance reflects Naharin's vision of the company as a meeting place for artists of all disciplines.

80 minutes, with one intermission 

“These are not dancers or works from which the audience is shut out. We are invited to be a part of everything, and more than happy to accept.” - Ballet Dance Magazine

“Exceptionally inventive, thrilling dance.” - The New York Times

Presented with

An extraordinary collaboration between seven powerful women from Brooklyn, and seven dynamic men from Senegal...

Senegal's all-male Compagnie Jant-Bi has stripped traditional African dance of all its folkloric trappings in a positive way. Through the filter of Western movement, Artistic Director Germaine Acogny has developed a pure dance language that captures the essence of African dance, rituals, and community spirit.

With equal parts compassion, humor, muscle, and grace, Urban Bush Women Artistic Director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar's works have told evocative stories about topics ranging from black women's concepts of beauty and self-esteem to civil rights in the rural American South.

In a unique artistic exchange bridging continents and cultures, Urban Bush Women and Compagnie Jant-Bi collaborate to create Les écailles de la mémoire (The Scales of Memory) - a work that will be seen across North America, including stops at New York’s Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Kennedy Center. Fourteen dancers join forces for an evening of highly energized dance that explores the importance of place and community. The movement vocabulary created by mixing Acogny's nature-inspired technique and Zollar's brand of contemporary dance influenced by Black vernacular movement forms a compelling cross-cultural exchange.

85 minutes, no intermission

"Urban Bush Women are committed, triple-threat performers who dance, sing, and act with a sometimes searing sense of truthfulness." - The New York Times

"Compagnie Jant-Bi dances with a mind-blowing intensity." - The New York Times