PHILADANCO! Touring Repertory
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Photo by Lois Greenfield
The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHILADANCO) has over 40 years of repertory, choreographed by some of the greatest talent modern dance has seen. Works include:
BAD BLOOD
7 dancers
Choreographer: Ulysses Dove
Restaging: Debora Chase Hicks
Assisted by: Deborah Manning St. Charles & David St. Charles
Music: Laurie Anderson & Peter Gabriel
Lighting Design: Beverly Emmons
Costume: Anna-Alisa Belous
Set re-creation: Andy Jackness
Dancing at an extremely athletic and emotional visceral level, Bad Blood reveals the power and magnetic pull of courtship rites, ownership and sex. Brilliant and brutal at times, the seven dancers leapfrog over one another, hurl and fling themselves at each other, ending up in fierce and violent embraces. In this ballet, there is a desperate and futile search for connection through physical impact. The reconstruction of Bad Blood was made possible by permission from the Ulysses Dove Balletic Estate and its administrator.
Bad Blood has been commissioned by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lomax Family Foundation and Anonymous.
“BAMM”
7 dancers
Choreographer: Donald Byrd
Restaging: Kim Y. Bears-Bailey
Music: Original Score by Mio Morales
Original Lighting Design: William H. Grant, III
Costume: A. Christina Gianinni
A collaborative work originally set in collaboration with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, is set to powerful music by Morales at break neck speed while displaying Byrd’s intriguing one-sided, retrograde, on the edge of your seat style of movement. Highlighting the physicality of the Philadanco dancers, this modern/contemporary ballet is a wonderful showcase for each Company.
This ballet was made by funding from Jacob’s Pillow/Winter Pillow and the Robert S. & Grayce B. Kerr Foundation.
ENEMY BEHIND THE GATE
13 dancers
Choreographer: Christopher Huggins
Assistant to Mr. Huggins: Levi Marsman
Music: Steve Reich
Original Lighting Design: William H. Grant, III
Costume: Christopher Huggins & Natasha Guruleva
Enemy Behind the Gate is a work that was inspired by enemies that live within our midst. THEY LOOK LIKE YOU…THEY ACT LIKE YOU…THEY LIVE LIKE YOU BUT, THEY ARE NOT ONE OF YOU. The Gate is not invincible but it’s yours to secure. Set to the burning music of Steve Reich and danced by the explosive energy of PHILADANCO.
The creation of Enemy Behind the Gate is sponsored by Philip Morris Companies, Inc. Additional funding from Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation and an Anonymous Donor also made this work possible.
GATE KEEPERS
6 dancers
Choreographer: Ronald K. Brown
Assistant to choreographer: Arcell Cabuag
Music/Original Score by: Wunmi Olaiya
Original Lighting Design: William H. Grant, III
Costume: Natasha Guruleva
This ballet symbolizes the dancers as ‘soldiers walking toward heaven, searching for the wounded and looking-out to make a safe haven for others to follow’. Gate Keepers is a story of homage, celebration and an acknowledgment of conscious continuity, interconnectedness, history, tradition and perseverance.
LATCHED
Latched by Christopher Huggins is a ‘pas de six’ ballet, capturing the brilliant essence of Huggins’ amazing choreographic style. Latched is about latching on to another body, soul and spirit. Although it is a fight to pull away, this pull is also irresistible and those caught often find new ways to latch on to each other – even when trying to detach.
MOAN
12 dancers
Choreographer: Matthew Rushing
Music: Nina Simone
Lighting Design: Andre Vasquez
Costume: Dante Baylor
Honoring the musical genius of Nina Simone, Matthew Rushing’s new work MOAN for PHILADANCO illustrates the prolonged lament heard in and through the passion and truth of her timeless vocal expressions.
This ballet was commissioned by the Jerome Robbins Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation with additional support by
PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT
14 dancers
Choreographer: Rennie Harris
Assistant: Moncell Durden & Kyle Clark
Music: 3 Generations Walking, Body & Soul
Original Composition: Produced & Edited by Darrin Ross
Video Collage: John Abner
Lighting Design: Clifton Taylor
Costume: A. Christina Giannini& Anna-Alisa Belous
Hip-Hop at its finest: Philadelphia Experiment is a retrospective of the city of Philadelphia. An acknowledgement of its political, social and economic change, this dynamic, energetic piece alludes to the rhythms, posture, physicality and speed of the city of Philadelphia.
This ballet made possible by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Puma and the William Penn Foundation
SUITE en BLEU
8 dancers
Choreographer: Gene Hill Sagan
Reconstruction: Kim Y. Bears-Bailey
Music: George Frideric Handel & Johann Sebastian Bach
Lighting Design: Clifton Taylor
Costume: Anna-Alisa Belous
Choreographed by Gene Hill Sagan in Israel from the archives of Batsheva Dance Company with permission of the estate of Mr. Sagan, this neo-classical ballet danced by 8 dancers, challenges the audience with its framing balletic flavored pure dance movements set to the brilliant music of Handel & Bach.
Funding in part for this ballet was made possible by The National Endowment for the Arts, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.
SUITE OTIS
10 dancers
Choreographer: George Faison
Music: Otis Redding
Original Lighting Design: William H. Grant, III
Costume Design: George Faison & Natasha Guruleva
A ballet inspired by the genius of the late Otis Redding, dedicated to the memory of the late Thelma Hill, Mr. Faison’s teacher, mentor and friend. First performance: August 2, 1971. “Suite Otis” is a wonderful playful interaction between the men and women while at the same time a showcase for each group and or partners to strut their stuff.
This ballet was made possible by generous grants from the Harkness Foundation and the Samuel S. Fels Fund.