TEXAS PERFORMING ARTS PRESENTS

NEW ZEALAND’S
LEADING CONTEMPORARY DANCE COMPANY

BLACK GRACE

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2010, 8:00 P.M.
AT BASS CONCERT HALL

PRE-PERFORMANCE LECTURE WITH UT THEATRE & DANCE ASSISTANT PROFESSOR REBECCA ROSSEN

TICKETS ON SALE NOW!

Black Grace performs exciting, high-octane dance that is bruising and punishing in its physicality – an explosive combination of Samoan ritual, martial arts and daredevil risk-taking. – Globe and Mail, Toronto

From the seat of the beautiful Maori culture, Texas Performing Arts presents an evening with New Zealand’s leading contemporary dance company Black Grace at Bass Concert Hall on Saturday, February 20 at Bass Concert Hall. Led by celebrated choreographer Neil Ieremia, Black Grace embodies an explosive mix of rhythm, spirit and energy. The New York Times says, “[Neil Ieremia] has spread his artistic roots in several rich pasts and grown up and out into a sunlight of his own making.”

The company will perform selections from its 15 years of repertoire. Minoi, a signature work based on the fusion of Samoan and western contemporary dance styles; excerpts from Surface, a full-length piece based on traditional Samoan tattooing; and Ieremia’s latest full-length work, Gathering Clouds.

Black Grace founder and Artistic Director Neil Ieremia is in the vanguard of New Zealand’s most accomplished choreographers and, through his vision, imbues Black Grace with an explosive mix of rhythm, spirit and energy. In recognition of his considerable achievements, Neil was the recipient of the 2005 Arts Foundation of New Zealand Laureate Award for outstanding creative achievement and his contribution to the Arts in New Zealand. In 2009 Neil accepted a Resolution passed by the Guam Legislator in recognition of the Company’s work in Guam. Neil is a 2009 recipient of the Paul D. Fleck Fellowship in the Arts from The Banff Centre, Canada.

Campus & Community Engagement Events:

Pre-Performance Lecture: By Rebecca Rossen, Assistant Professor
Saturday, February 20, 2010, 7:00 p.m.
Bass Concert Hall Lobby

DR. REBECCA ROSSEN teaches in the UT Theater and Dance Department and has taught dance history and performance practice at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago, George Mason University, and the Dance Center of Columbia College.

CALENDAR LISTING

Saturday, February 20, 2010, 8:00 pm –Texas Performing Arts presents Black Grace at Bass Concert Hall (E. 23rd St. and Robert Dedman Dr). A map of the campus:
http://www.TexasPerformingArts.org/visit/maps_directions. Tickets ($26 – $38 / $10 student tickets / discounted tickets available for UT faculty & staff, seniors and Military) are on sale now at authorized ticket outlets, which include the Bass Concert Hall Box Office, most H-E-B stores and all Texas Box Office outlets, online at www.TexasPerformingArts.org, or by calling (512) 477-6060 or (800) 982-BEVO.

PRESS CONTACT:
Gene Bartholomew
512.471.0632 gbartholomew@TexasPerformingArts.org

Download the Black Grace press release – PDF 113 KB