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Parsons Dance to Perform at the Joyce Theater January 8-20, 2008

by Michelle Brandon
November 17, 2007
The Joyce Theater
175 Eighth Avenue (at the corner of 19th Street)
New York, NY 10011
212-242-0800
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    
November 12, 2007

Contacts: Michelle Brandon
(646) 765-4773
michellembrandon@yahoo.com

Manny Romero
(212) 869-9275
mannyromero@parsonsdance.org

PARSONS DANCE
Showcases the 20-year evolution of a dance company
The Joyce Theater, January 8 – 20, 2008

Audiences will experience the 20-year evolution of Parsons Dance as it presents two diverse programs of contemporary dance created by award-winning choreographer David Parsons, including his stroboscopic masterpiece, Caught. Parsons Dance will present ten of its greatest hits all re-staged for The Joyce Theater. With a repertoire of more than 70 dance works, Parsons Dance has evolved into an international touring sensation.

"These pieces chronicle 20 years of work," said David Parsons, artistic director and founder of Parsons Dance. "You can see the growth of my work as a choreographer from the early years to today. Audiences will see these pieces in a new light, with a new group of athletic and talented dancers."

The New York Times called David Parsons "one of the great movers of modern dance." New York Magazine referred to him as "one of modern dance's great living dance-makers."

Parsons Dance will perform ten dance works, many not seen in NYC during the past decade. The two programs of work follow:

Program A:
1/8 at 7:30p, 1/11 at 8p, 1/12 and 1/13 at 2p, 1/16 at 7:30p, 1/17 at 8p, 1/19 at 8p, 1/20 at 7:30p
Nascimento, Sleep Study, Closure, Kind of Blue, Caught and In the End

Program B:
1/9 at 7:30p, 1/10 at 8p, 1/12 at 8p, 1/13 at 7:30p, 1/15 at 7:30p, 1/18 at 8p, 1/20 at 2p
Bachiana, Sleep Study, Nascimento Novo, Brothers, Caught and Shining Star

Parsons Dance will perform January 8 – 20, 2008 at The Joyce Theater, with performances Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday at 7:30pm; Thursday through Saturday at 8pm; and Sunday at 2pm. Additional performance on Saturday, January 12 at 2pm. The Joyce Theater is located at 175 Eighth Avenue at 19th Street, NYC. Tickets are $44 (Joyce Members $33, Sunday Evenings $25) and are available by phone at 212-242-0800 or www.joyce.org.

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PROGRAM A:
An exuberant tribute to the Brazilian spirit and to the music of composer Milton Nascimento, who created the score as a gift after seeing Parsons Dance perform, Nascimento (2004) features a bright rainbow of colorful costumes as dancers fly across the stage in sophisticated spatial patterns, abandoning themselves to the uninhibited thrill of the dance. Sleep Study (1987) is "a Busby Berkeley extravaganza that's as compelling as it is hilarious" (The Globe and Mail) illustrating the universally recognizable tossing and turning of seven pajama-clad dancers who turn the stage into one large bed. The New York Times said of Closure (1997): "Fast-shifting bodies are glimpsed through rays of dazzling light … There is gentle affection here, as well as love and anger, but everything is suggested just through the movement and groupings of dancers." A tribute to the 75 anniversary of the birth of jazz great Miles David, the quartet Kind of Blue (2001) was commissioned and presented at the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy and features the music "So What" from Davis' "Kind of Blue," the best-selling jazz album of all time. Caught (1982), David Parsons' unforgettable signature stroboscopic tour-de-force, features a solo male dancer who defies gravity and flying about the stage. A dynamic piece, the intense, theatrical and athletic In the End (2005), set to the music of the Dave Matthews Band, offers 18 minutes of high-energy, fast-paced, full-throttle dance as short bursts of pas de deux punctuate longer ensemble sections.

PROGRAM B:
Set to Bach's Orchestral Suites and Air on a G String, Bachiana (1993), highlights Parsons' classical style as the paired dancers explore the formality and grandeur of the Baroque Era in beautifully patterned group movements. In Nascimento Novo (2006), the music is a central character. The music of the world-renowned percussionists' of Nascimento's band again present an astonishing array of instruments and styles rarely heard outside of Brazil, creating a stunning sensuality with the ensemble. Brothers (1982), "a physically charged duet that explores an ambivalent relationship without a wasted motion or gesture" set to music by Igor Stravinsky. Set to music by Earth, Wind & Fire, Shining Star (2004) is an upbeat, high-energy romp that "belongs to an ensemble that can effortlessly strut, slink and swirl, [making] us believe that we too could have danced like this if only we'd been on Parsons' invitation list" (LA Times).

DAVID PARSONS (Artistic Director/Founder) has enjoyed a remarkable career as a performer, choreographer, teacher, director and producer of dance. Mr. Parsons was born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City. He was a leading dancer with The Paul Taylor Dance Company, where Mr. Taylor created many roles for him in works such as Arden Court, Last Look and Roses. He is a recipient of the 2000 Dance Magazine Award, as well as the 2001 American Choreography Award, for his work as a co-producer of AEROS, a production featuring the Romanian Gymnastic Federation that was featured on Bravo. Mr. Parsons has created more than 70 works for Parsons Dance. He has received commissions over the years from The American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, the American Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, the Spoleto Festival and Het Muziektheater in Amsterdam, to name a few. His work has been performed by Paris Opera Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Nederlands Danse Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Hubbard Street Dance and BatSheva Dance Company of Israel, among many others. In June 2007, Mr. Parsons was honored to be the very first contemporary choreographer ever to stage work at the centuries-old Arena di Verona, in Verona Italy, where he choreographed Verdi's Aida. The Arena is one of Italy's most respected operatic venues. In September 2007, he directed and choreographed Gotham Chamber Opera's production of María de Buenos Aires, which made its world premiere at a sold-out engagement in New York, at NYU's Skirball Center for the Arts.

ABOUT PARSONS DANCE
PARSONS DANCE is committed to building new audiences for contemporary dance by creating American works of extraordinary artistry that are engaging and uplifting to audiences throughout the world. The company tours regionally, nationally and internationally.

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PARSONS DANCE HISTORY
Since 1985, Parsons Dance has toured an average of 32 weeks per year, to a total more than 235 cities, 30 countries, six continents and millions of audience members. Many others have seen Parsons Dance on PBS, Bravo, A&E Network, and the Discovery Channel. Millions watched Parsons Dance perform live in Times Square as part of the internationally broadcast, 24-hour Millennium New Year's Eve celebration. In New York City, Parsons Dance has been featured at The Joyce Theater, City Center, New Victory Theater, Central Park Summerstage, Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art and The World Trade Center.

For more information, visit www.parsonsdance.org.

PARSONS DANCE
The Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Avenue (at 19th Street), NYC
January 8-20, 2008
Tue, Wed and Sun at 7:30pm; Thu – Sat at 8pm; and Sun at 2pm
Additional performance: Saturday, January 12 at 2pm

Tickets: $44, $33 (Joyce Members, Sunday Evenings $25)
JoyceCharge: 212-242-0800
www.joyce.org

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