[NEohioPAL] Verb Ballets at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Sept. 28 & 29

Mon Sep 24 14:50:24 PDT 2007

  Nature Moves 3: Verb Ballets to Premiere New Dance Productions at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History – September 28 and 29, 2007
  September 14, 2007 -- Cleveland, OH -- Verb Ballets, Cleveland’s National Repertory Dance Company, will present a program of four dances in the Murch Auditorium at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Nature Moves 3, Verb’s third consecutive program at the Natural History Museum, will feature new works by Verb’s Artistic Director Hernando Cortez and by Danish Choreographer William Anthony, along with one work choreographed by the late Heinz Poll. The program will take place on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28 and 29, at 8:00 p.m. 
  “Once again, we welcome the Verb Ballets’ talented dancers to our museum.” Dr. Bruce Latimer, the Museum’s executive director, continued, “Each year, the company brings fresh ideas and its outstanding dancers under the direction of Hernando Cortez, the company’s artistic director, to an audience from both worlds: lovers of dance and lovers of nature. We are honored this year to be the beneficiary of two world premieres and one piece by the highly respected Heinz Poll. It is a pleasure to collaborate with a company whose level of artistry remains as consistently high as the Verb Ballets.”
  Hernando Cortez added, “This year’s museum program is an excellent example of the Company’s artistic mandate: we foster emerging talent; we present excellence in contemporary choreographers; and we revive modern dance classics, such as those choreographed by Northeast Ohio’s master artist, Heinz Poll. I am personally thrilled to present my latest work -- Songs -- for its debut at the Museum. The premiere of Slapping Stones by Danish guest choreographer William Anthony, a native of Cleveland, adds to the excitement. In addition, the program will feature a Verb premiere of Heinz Poll’s Duet.” 
  The three dances include the following:
  Songs.  World premiere choreographed by Hernando Cortez. Music by Gustav Mahler. Mahler’s music traces a young man’s anguish as his beloved eludes him, a theme that reflects the composer’s youth at the time of writing. (Mahler was 24 years old when this music was composed in 1884.)  Mahler’s continual search for answers to life’s mysteries is a theme that pervades his symphonies and songs. This music provides an opportunity for intimate dances expressive of the taut emotion the music transmits. The creation of this dance was made possible with the support of the Cleveland Foundation.
  Slapping Stones.  World premiere by Danish guest choreographer William Anthony. After nearly 25 years abroad, Anthony has returned to Cleveland with a new dance set to songs from pop music storyteller Tom Waits. Anthony first began to perform in the theater at the age of six, followed by ballet studies at 16.  He has studied with the Dance Theater of Harlem and the School of American Ballet, and later danced with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theater, the San Diego Ballet, and numerous German modern dance companies. For six years, Anthony served as the artistic director of the Giessen Ballet in Germany, where he created more than 50 dances. The creation of this dance was made possible with the support of the Cleveland Foundation.
  Duet.  Company premiere. The late Heinz Poll choreographed this dance in the neoclassical style of the late George Balanchine, who is regarded as the foremost contemporary choreographer in ballet.  Music by Johann Sebastian Bach: the “Adagio” from the Organ Toccata in C, arranged by Alexander Siloti.  The first performance took place on Aug. 8, 1979 at the Ted Shawn Theater in Becket, Massachusetts. Verb Ballets is performing this work for the first time. The creation of this dance was made possible with the support of the AHS Foundation.
  Verb Ballets Company consists of dancers Danielle Brickman, Ashley Cohen, Erin Conway, Katie Gnagy, Sydney Ignacio, Catherine Meredith, Brian Murphy, Anna Roberts and Robert Wesner.
  The performances will begin at 8:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, September 28 and 29. The Museum lobby opens at 7:00 p.m. with a cash bar. Light refreshments will be served during the intermission. Free shuttle parking is available. Seating is reserved. Ticket prices are $25 per person for performances only on Friday or Saturday; the $40 ticket for the Saturday performance includes admission to a post-performance reception at the Museum. An additional $5 charge will be applied to all tickets purchased at the door.  
  The Saturday night post-performance reception will provide an opportunity for patrons to meet Artistic Director Hernando Cortez, Executive Director Dr. Margaret Carlson, and the artists who make up Verb Ballets. There will be hors d'oeuvres (courtesy of Marigold Catering), a cash bar, and DJ music until midnight.  Flower arrangements for the reception are courtesy of 12th St. Florist.  
  Seating is reserved. To purchase tickets, call the Museum’s box office at (216) 231-1177 or 800-317-9155, ext. 3279. Tickets may be purchased on the day of the performances for an additional $5 charge. 
  Major sponsors of Verb Ballets include: AHS Foundation; The Bascom Little Fund; Millie L. Carlson; RSIS: a NASA Glenn Contractor; The Cleveland Foundation; The George Gund Foundation; Kulas Foundation; The Laub Foundation; The McGregor Foundation; John P. Murphy Foundation; The National Endowment for the Arts; and The Ohio Arts Council. Additional individual sponsors include: Charles and Sandy Abookire, Chuck and Ann Ennis, Norma and Jeffrey Glazer and Aldona Titus. Special thanks to Barbee Thomas. 
  DANSKIN is the official 2006-2007 sponsor of Verb Ballets. Additional Verb sponsors include: Baumgarten & Company, LLP; Cedar Hill Communications; Hotcards.com; PrimeNewswire; WCLV 104.9 FM; and WVIZ/WCPN Ideastream. Cleveland Museum of Natural History performance sponsors: Marigold Catering and 12th Street Florist. Acknowledgments: All Go Signs for sound support. 
  The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is located at 1 Wade Oval Drive in University Circle, 15 minutes east of downtown Cleveland. Call (216) 231-4600 or 800-317-9155. The museum’s web site is www.cmnh.org and for Verb Ballets: www.verbballets.org.
  Verb Ballets  Verb Ballets is now in its sixth season under the leadership of Artistic Director Hernando Cortez, Executive Director Dr. Margaret Carlson, an energetic staff and its dedicated board of trustees, who have established the Verb as Cleveland’s premiere dance repertory company. Verb Ballets has been named one of “25 to Watch in 2004” by Dance Magazine, the country’s leading news magazine covering dance. Verb Ballets discovers, collects, interprets and stages choreography that matters to the region and to the world of dance. As a curator of expressive movement that is globally connected and nationally respected, Verb Ballets has a mandate to support and foster emerging talent, present excellence in contemporary choreographers and revive and honor modern dance classics. 
  To download photos of Verb Ballets, go to the Museum’s Press Room at www.cmnh.org.
  The Cleveland Museum of Natural History  The Museum is considered one of the finest natural science museums in North America -- noted for its collections, research, exhibits and educational programs. The Museum fosters an understanding of the natural world and serves as an outstanding resource for public education and environmental conservation for the region and beyond. The collections encompass more than five million specimens, and research focuses on eleven natural science disciplines. In addition to the exhibits, the Museum has an observatory and planetarium, a discovery center, traveling exhibits, weekend events, live animal shows, outdoor gardens with wild birds and animals, along with the Museum Store and the Blue Planet Café.
  Contacts:
  At Verb Ballets:                                                For the Media:  
  Margaret Carlson                                             Dan Kilbane
  216.397.3757, ext. 3                                        216.513.3654
  mcarlson at verbballets.org                            kilbanedan at yahoo.com   

Dan Kilbane
216.513.3654
kilbanedan at yahoo.com

---------------------------------
Yahoo! oneSearch: Finally,  mobile search that gives answers, not web links. 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.neohiopal.org/pipermail/neohiopal-neohiopal.org/attachments/20070924/12a283a9/attachment-0003.htm>