Office of Public Affairs

(315) 312-2265


Aug. 27, 2003


CONTACT: Mary Avrakotos, 312-4581, artswego@oswego.edu


PHILADANCO TO KICK-START ARTSWEGO SERIES

    OSWEGO -- The modern dance of Philadanco will kick off the 2003-04 Artswego Performing Arts Series at SUNY Oswego with 8 p.m. performances on Sept. 19 and 20 in Tyler Hall's Waterman Theatre.
 
   Started as a community arts organization in Philadelphia in 1970, Philadanco has flourished into a top touring modern-dance troupe, Artswego coordinator Mary Avrakotos said.

    "They are an innovative ensemble with high emotion and energy," she said. "That they are doing two shows and a residency in support of local dancers is a real coup for the college."

    One of the nation's most respected modern dance troupes, Philadanco presents innovative, and often cutting-edge, work from renowned black American choreographers, Avrakotos said. "Their pieces are rooted in the legacy of such celebrated choreographers as Katherine Dunham and Alvin Ailey," she said. "Their dramatic work has won unanimous critical praise both nationally and internationally."

    The program at SUNY Oswego will include work by David Brown, set to music by Zap Mama; Urban Bush Women choreographer Jawole Willa Jo Zollar; and Ronald K. Brown. Avrakotos said the performance will crescendo with "Enemy Behind the Gates," a work by Christopher Huggins set to a driving score by Steve Reich.

    "With 9/11 still very much a part of our consciousness, 'Enemy Behind the Gates' has special meaning," Avrakotos said. The troupe says the piece is inspired by "the enemies that live within our midst."
  
    Members of the company will provide a Sept. 18 master class and a Sept. 19 lecture/demonstration during their residency. Founder, executive director and artistic director Joan Myers Brown will deliver a keynote address on Sept. 20 at Oswego's 17th annual African, Latino, Asian and Native American Student Leadership Conference.

    Critics praise the fluidity, flexibility and fundamentally sound nature of the troupe. "Philadanco's dancers are a miracle of skill and energy," Dance Magazine wrote. "They work in a range of idioms most companies don't even try to possess."

    The New York Times describes the group as "a venerable institution" that retains its "youthful verve" while offering "silken grace . . . perfect form . . . excitingly rendered."

    This project is partially supported by a grant from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed by the Vira I. Heinz Endowment; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; the Pew Charitable Trusts; and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. It is also supported by SUNY Oswego's Student Association Program Board.

    Media support for the production is provided by Power 106.9 FM and WCNY Classic FM 91.3.

    Tickets cost $22 for general admission, $18 for seniors and students, $7 for SUNY Oswego students. A family package of $72 for two adults and two children also is available.

    For information or reservations for the performances, contact the Tyler Hall box office at 312-2141 or visit the new SUNY Oswego performing arts Web site at www.oswego.edu/arts. For more information about the master class or lecture/demonstration, contact Avrakotos at 312-4581 or artswego@oswego.edu.

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Philadanco ready to kick off Artswego lineup

READY TO DANCE -- Modern dance troupe Philadanco will kick off the 2003-04 Artswego Performing Arts Series at SUNY Oswego with 8 p.m. performances on Sept. 19 and 20 in Tyler Hall's Waterman Theatre. The New York Times describes the group as "a venerable institution" that retains its "youthful verve" while offering "silken grace . . . perfect form . . . excitingly rendered." For information or reservations for the performances, contact the Tyler Hall box office at 312-2141 or visit the new SUNY Oswego performing arts Web site at www.oswego.edu/arts. (Photo credit: Lois Greenfield)


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