[NEohioPAL] PRESS RELEASE: Verb Ballets @ Cain Park Aug. 1, 2008

[Dan Kilbane]

For
Immediate Release 

 


  

                                                Contact:  Dan
Kilbane 

 216.513.3654 

 kilbanedan at yahoo.com 

www.verbballets.org 

        

   

Verb Ballets Begins its Seventh Season
with a Return to Cain 
 Park 

One World Premiere and One Company
Premiere on the Bill 

August 1, 2008 

   

June 24, 2008 -- Cleveland ,
 OH -- Verb Ballets, Cleveland ’s
National Repertory Dance Company, returns to Cain Park 
for the sixth consecutive year.  On
Friday, August 1, 2008, Verb will perform under the stars in the beautiful
Evans Amphitheatre, as part of Cain 
 Park ’s 70th
anniversary season.  The Board of
Trustees, Artistic Director Hernando Cortez and Executive Director Dr. Margaret
Carlson are pleased to announce one world premiere, one company premiere, the
return of an intimate duet, and the return of a crowd pleaser.  Dance
Magazine, in 2004, named Verb one of “25 to Watch,” and in February
bestowed more kudos on the company by naming Verb one of 5 “Great Tiny Troupes”
in America .  Advanced reserved
seats are $20, $18, and $16; day of show tickets are $25, $23, and $21, and are
available by calling 216.371.3000, www.cainpark.com, or the Park box office 

   

The repertory for these performances includes
the following: 

   

EarthBeat.  World Premiere.  As in the popular “Planet Soup,” Cortez’s exploration of the fusion of world and ethnic dance forms continues.  “EarthBeat” is a celebratory swirl of long sweeping passages of African, West Indian, Chinese, and Caribbean dances, accompanied by world music and an ensemble from The University of Akron Steel Drum Band.  The Band’s Co-Director Matthew Dudack’s own compositions spice up the
 world music mix.  Skin tight jungle-style costumes are by New York designer Edward Sylvia and resident costume designer Suzy Campbell.  The creation of this work is made possible with the support of The Cleveland Foundation and the Bascom Little Fund. 

  

Ski-Du.  Company
Premiere.  In homage to Moses Pendleton’s popular “Skiva,”
which was created for Pilobolus, Cortez expands on Mr. Pendleton’s original
exploration of “the possibilities for motion when
one’s feet are encased in boots attached to skis.”  Suzy Campbell’s sleek
silver unitards and Trad A Burn’s dramatic lighting enhance the gravity defying
effects.  The creation of this work is made possible with the support of
The Cleveland Foundation and the Gund Foundation.  

   

Andante
Sostenuto.  Revival.  Ohio Ballet Founder
Heinz Poll’s romantic duet features music by Felix
Mendelssohn (his Piano Concerto No. 2, D minor, second movement).  The piece is restaged by former Ohio Ballet
dancer Richard Dickinson.  Janet Bolick
recreates the original Ohio Ballet costumes. 
The mounting of this work is made possible through the generous support
of The AHS Foundation.  

   

Frontrow.  Choreographed by
Cortez, with music by David Lang, recorded by Bang on a Can All Stars.  Cortez re-explores neo-classic
abstraction.  Composer David Lang's music
"Cheating, Lying, Stealing," recorded by the popular Bang on a Can
All Stars, mixed with “Verbtuosity” (2003), by CSU Director of Music Eric
Ziolek, propel the dance.  Cortez's
formal choreographic background continues to align him with an emphasis on
musically motivated movement patterns and formal elegance.  Trad A Burns’ evocative lighting brings
mystery and sculpture to the dance area. ”Verbtuosity” was created through the
generous support of the John P. Murphy Foundation and Millie L. Carlson.  

   

The company includes Danielle Brickman, Ashley Cohen, Erin
Conway, Katie Gnagy, Sydney Ignacio, Catherine Meredith, Jennifer Moll, Brian
Murphy, Anna Roberts, and Robert Wesner. 
Intern:  Alyssa Marquez.  Trainees: 
Leisa DeCarlo, Annie Gagen, and Alexis Spooner.  Lighting
designer Trad A Burns once again joins Verb. 

   

Cain Park ’s Evans Amphitheater and box office are located
at Goodnor & Superior Avenues in Cleveland
  Heights , Ohio .  The Park’s west entrance is at Lee Road &
Superior; the east entrance is at Goodnor & Superior.  Advanced reserved seats are $20, $18, and
$16; day of show tickets are $25, $23, and $21, and are available by calling
216.371.3000, www.cainpark.com,
or the Park box office. 

   

Major sponsors of
Verb Ballets include AHS Foundation; Akron Community Foundation; The Bascom
Little Fund; Millie L. Carlson; Cuyahoga Arts and Culture; The Cleveland
Foundation; The George Gund Foundation; Kulas Foundation; The Laub Foundation;
Margaret Clark Morgan 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,
David Pierce, and Rob Schwab.  

   

DANSKIN is the official 2008-2009 sponsor of
Verb Ballets.  Additional Verb sponsors
include Baumgarten & Company, LLP; Cedar Hill Communications; Fitworks; Mann
Jewelers; PrimeZone Media; Shima Limo; WCLV; and WCPN. 

Verb Ballets is now beginning
its seventh 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 Verb as Cleveland ’s premiere dance repertory company.
Verb Ballets was named one of “25 to Watch in 2004” by Dance Magazine,
the country’s leading news magazine covering dance, and recently the magazine
bestowed more kudos on the company by naming Verb one of 5 “Great Tiny Troupes”
in America. 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.  

Cain Park is a summer performing art park owned and
operated by the City of Cleveland
  Heights .  

No ordinary city
park, Cain Park begins where most leave off: an outdoor, intimate, covered
theater similar to a mid-sized off-Broadway space (Alma Theater); an outdoor
covered amphitheater (Evans Amphitheater); an air-conditioned art gallery
(Audrey & Harvey Feinberg Art Gallery), and outstanding programming that
includes professional theatrical productions, a nationally recognized Arts
Festival, cabaret series, professional dance companies, children's programming,
and concerts featuring national, regional, and local performers, surrounded by
22 acres of bicycle and jogging paths, tennis and basketball courts, a wading
pool, playground, skate park, and picnic areas. 

   

   

   




      
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