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TITAS’ New Season Goes Seriously International – And Big On Debuts

ArtandSeek.net 27
Stars 862 photo by Sharen Bradford

‘Stars 862′ by Complexions Ballet. Photo: Sharen Bradford

If anyone is taking advantage of the versatility the City Performance Hall has offered Dallas in terms of staging or presenting shows here, it’s Charles Santos, executive director of TITAS. His new season presents almost half of its companies (and more than half of all performances) at the CPH. It’s a major reason TITAS’ new season is able to present nine different Dallas debuts: The smaller hall permits him to bring in exciting, daring but lesser-known companies — like Canada’s Kidd Pivot or Mr. & Mme Revé from France.

The big news about the Twyla Tharp world premiere here in Dallas has been known since February, but the news with this season announcement is just how much will be completely new to North Texas.

Full release:

TITAS Presents in association with the AT&T Performing Arts Center
2015-2016 TITAS PRESENTS SEASON
“BREAKING NORMAL”
TITAS Presents lineup to feature a diverse and exciting roster of international artists:

Twyla Tharp 50th Anniversary Tour (Debut) (World Premiere)
Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion (Debut) (World Premiere)
Akram Khan Company (United Kingdom) (Debut)
BodyTraffic (Debut)
Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan (Debut)
BalletBoyz (United Kingdom) (Debut)
Mr. & Mme Revé (Mr. & Mrs. Dream) (France) (Debut)
La Compagnie Hervé Koubi Dance (France) (Debut)
Kidd Pivot Dance Company (Canada) (Debut)
TITAS Presents Command Performance Gala
Complexions Contemporary Ballet

Dallas – TITAS Presents, in association with the AT&T Performing Arts
Center, announces the 2015-2016 TITAS Presents Season featuring an
exciting and diverse array of artists ranging from the world premiere of Twyla
Tharp’s 50th Anniversary Tour to the Dallas debut of Cloud Gate Dance
Theatre of Taiwan.

Breaking Normal: A phrase that describes the collage that is the upcoming 2015-2016
season – featuring the world premiere of the Twyla Tharp 50th Anniversary Tour, and
groundbreaking, trailblazing dance companies lighting up stages across the globe. Year
after year, our audiences have come to expect one thing: Innovation. This bold and
diverse season of nine debut performances, two world premieres, and an unprecedented
roster of international artists delivers just that. TITAS Presents is attracting new
audiences and developing new innovative programs and cultural collaborations. It
remains the coolest ticket in town.

Twyla Tharp Dance
50th Anniversary Tour (World Premiere)
8 p.m. Friday/Saturday
September 18/19, 2015
(2 shows)
Winspear Opera House

“She is an American original. From Deuce Coupe to Push Comes To Shove, from Once More Frank to Hair and The Catherine Wheel, from Nine Sinatra Songs and Movin’ Out to Americans We, the breathtaking In The Upper Room and beyond, Twyla Tharp has changed the face of American dance. With disarming brashness, she has been clear about her life’s work. ‘modern dance is not less,’ she has
said, ‘modern dance is more.’” – Kennedy Center Honors 2008

Vibrant, radiant and genius barely begin to describe a Tharp Dance experience. A
legendary dance artist, Twyla Tharp is one of the most important dancer/choreographers
of our time. The program will feature two new works to music by J.S Bach, John Zorn,
and the jazz of Henry Butler and Steve Burnstein. TITAS Presents with the AT&T
Performing Arts Center and four national powerhouse presenters have partnered to
commission Tharp’s new works celebrating five decades of groundbreaking dancemaking.
And this rare world premiere by a seminal artist is taking place here in Dallas. A
bold TITAS season led by the bold and remarkable Twyla Tharp: definitely a MUST-SEE!

TITAS Presents opens 2015-2016 Season and proudly launches the world premiere
of Twyla Tharp’s 50th Anniversary Tour. TITAS Presents is co-commissioning an
evening of new work by Twyla Tharp, one of the most important and influential
choreographers of our time. The ten-week North American tour will celebrate Tharp’s
five decades of dance-making for both modern and ballet companies, television, the
Broadway stage and Hollywood films.

The commissioning of new work by Twyla Tharp marks an important collaboration
between Dallas nonprofits TITAS Presents/AT&T Performing Arts Center and
four leading dance presenters/performing arts centers across the United States. The
Twyla Tharp 50th Anniversary Tour will be the first time since 2002 that Tharp has
toured a group of dancers. The Tour is comprised of 12 dancers, many of whom have
worked with Tharp over the years. The music for the new dances was composed by J.S.
Bach, Henry Butler, Steve Bernstein, and John Zorn.

“This commissioning project has been years in the making. The national partnership
and commissioning of an artist as important as Twyla Tharp, with the world premiere
taking place here in Dallas, is enormously important for the missions of TITAS
Presents, the Center and our city. We are establishing, internationally, our
commitment to fostering new works and that the city of Dallas is committed to the arts,”
said Charles Santos, Executive and Artistic Director of TITAS Presents.
TITAS Presents, under the leadership of Charles Santos, has a long history of
commissioning new works by such choreographers as Twyla Tharp, Mia Michaels,
Dwight Rhoden, Jessica Lang, Adam Hougland and locally, Bruce Wood, Bridgett Moore,
Ben Stevenson, Lily Weiss and Kitty Carter.

“There is a reason Twyla Tharp is called a legend: her creative engine never stops
producing exciting and landmark works,” said Doug Curtis, president and CEO of the
AT&T Performing Arts Center. “This premiere and commission, alongside the premieres
of our resident companies, is a testament to the Center’s commitment to supporting
artists and the creative process.”

The Joyce Theater in New York City and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in
Washington, DC, initiated the commissioning of the evening. Besides TITAS
Presents/AT&T Performing Arts Center, the other members of the consortium
include the Ravinia Festival Association/Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University in
Chicago and the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills. The
tour will also include stops in over 15 cities (venues and locations to be announced at a
later date).

Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion
(Debut) (World Premiere)
8 p.m. Thursday/Friday
October 29/30, 2015
(2 shows)
Dallas City Performance Hall

“Avant-garde aesthetic, an original and politically minded downtown sensibility that
doesn’t distinguish between genres, but freely draws on a vocabulary that is as much
Merce and Martha as it is Eadweard Muybridge and Michael Jackson.” – Rebecca
Bengal, Vogue

Infectious Music and Magnetic Dancers—that’s Abraham.In.Motion. Urban funk meets
modern dance. MacArthur “Genius” Award recipient Kyle Abraham has forged a
meteoric rise to stardom for his unique and compelling choreography. His dancers move
with truth, earthiness and an elegance that is unique to Abraham’s choreographic genius.
Absolutely accessible and immediately sophisticated defines this dance experience. A
must-see world premiere performance with live music and phenomenal dancers.

Akram Khan Dance Company (UK)
(Debut)
8 p.m. Friday/Saturday
November 6/7, 2015
(2 shows)
Dallas City Performance Hall

“A true choreographer—Someone who asks what it is to be human and provides the
answers in dance.” – Sarah Frater, London Evening Standard

Akram Khan is one of the most acclaimed choreographers of his generation working
today. British born and of Bangladeshi decent, Khan is celebrated internationally for
stunningly crafted works that demand the audience’s attention. His work takes you to
new and unexpected places through human themes and exploration. Thoughtful,
provocative and surprising, Kaash is a stunning collaboration with famed artist Anish
Kapoor and composer Nitin Sawhney. This is a masterwork of artistic collaboration.

BodyTraffic
(Debut)
8 p.m. Friday, January 22, 2016
Winspear Opera House

“[BODYTRAFFIC] has surged to the forefront of the Los Angeles dance scene, pairing sophisticated choreographers, often Europeans, with top-rung dancers.” – Los Angeles Times

Named one of Dance Magazine’s 25 to Watch, in just three short years BODYTRAFFIC
has skyrocketed to international acclaim. Virtuosic, stylized, confident, with a diverse
repertoire of some of the world’s most sought after choreographers, this company has
taken its place on the international touring scene. Choreographers include Hofesh
Shechter, Sidra Bell, Andrea Miller, Richard Siegal and Stijn Celis, BODYTRAFFIC is
now touring the world to rave reviews. Their debut performance in Dallas will be
surprising, refreshing and unforgettable.

Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan
(Debut)
8 p.m. Friday, February 5, 2016
Winspear Opera House
“When you’re talking about Cloud Gate, magic is not too strong a word.” – Time Out

Together with the Crow Collection of Asian Art, we present a visually stunning and
thought-provoking dance, Rice, by the internationally celebrated choreographer, Lin
Hwai-min. The formidable Cloud Gate dancers, trained in Qi Gong and internal martial
arts, enact a human drama parallel to the life cycle of rice. The inspiration for Rice came from the landscape and story of Chihshang in the East Rift Valley of Taiwan. A cinematographer spent two years on location capturing the cultivation of rice: flooding, sprouting, harvesting and burning.

Choreographer Lin Hwai-min has created exuberant yet powerful movements woven
through Soil, Sunlight, Wind, Water and Fire, telling the story of the land. Visually
stunning, with awe-inspiring choreography, Cloud Gate is a remarkable and
unforgettable performance experience.

BalletBoyz
(Debut)
8 p.m. Saturday, February 13, 2016
Winspear Opera House

“A paradox of muscular impact and weightless flight.” – The Guardian

A company of men, BalletBoyz® has quickly established itself as one of the most original
and innovative forces in modern dance: revolutionizing traditional programming and
collaborating with a wide range of cutting-edge talents. Technical, athletic and stunning
artistry has quickly made BalletBoyz® an international sensation. Founders Michael
Nunn and William Trevitt have been hailed as pioneers for making dance accessible and
reaching a wider audience through their celebrated stage and television work. We
enthusiastically welcome them to Dallas.

(Debut)
(Mr. & Mrs. Dream)
8 p.m. Friday/Saturday, March 18/19, 2016
(2 shows)
Dallas City Performance Hall

“Everything we dream is realizable.” – Eugène Ionesco

A new genre of performance, Mr. and Mrs. Dream is a groundbreaking three
dimensional dreamlike world unlike any performance experience TITAS Presents has
ever brought to Dallas. Based on the writings of the absurdist playwright Eugene
Ionesco, the duo dancers use themes from his plays to create a fantastical, visually
baffling piece of modern dance where all the elements are morphing before your eyes via
3D technology. Virtual reality backgrounds, ranging from a claustrophobic home, to
breathtaking mountain landscapes that move through the seasons. This is all
accompanied by a fitting musical score, arranged by Laurent Garnier. Unlike anything in
our season, Mr. & Mme. Rêve will be the talk of the season.

La Compagnie Hervé Koubi Dance (France)
(Debut)
8 p.m. Friday/Saturday
March 25/26, 2016 (2 shows)
Dallas City Performance Hall

“Powerful, graceful, surprising and fiercely masculine, Cie Hervé Koubi is immensely
moving and beautiful.” – Charles Santos

Bold, masculine and exciting barely begin to describe Hervé KOUBI. Drawing from his
Algerian roots, Hervé KOUBI’s work What the Day Owes To The Night, combines
capoeira, martial arts, urban and contemporary dance. Powerful and breathtaking
imagery, this group of 12 male Algerian and West African dancers defying gravity. Fed by
Orientalist paintings and the stone filigree of Islamic architecture, KOUBI traces his own
path made of entanglements: a complex weave.

Kidd Pivot Dance Company (Canada)
(Debut)
8 p.m. Thursday/Friday
April 21/22, 2016 (two shows)
Dallas City Performance Hall

“Text, sound, light and movement intertwine as magically and swiftly as in a fever
dream. Shadows and illusions abound… brilliantly abandoned.” – Seattle Times

Integrating movement, original music, text, and rich visual design, Kidd Pivot’s
performance work is assembled with recklessness, risk and rigour. Their newest work,
Betroffenheit, co-produced with Electric Company Theatre and created by
internationally renowned Canadian choreographer Crystal Pite and director Jonathan
Young, is an innovative, boundary-stretching hybrid of theatre and dance. Kidd Pivot has
a unique choreographic language fusing classical elements with the complexity and
freedom of structured improvisation, marked by a strong theatrical sensibility and a keen
sense of wit and invention. The company brings their newly premiered production to
Dallas for their debut performance in Texas.

Command Performance Gala
7 p.m. Saturday, May 7, 2016
Winspear Opera House

“…mesmerized the sold-out house with Superb Performances” –
Marilee Vergati, Dallas Dance Examiner

“Ballet was stripped down to its rawest form . . . contemporary and
progressive movements.” –Danielle Georgiou, KERA’s Art & Seek

“A mix of classical and modern dance…awe inspring, powerful and dazzling.” – The
Dallas Morning News

Year after year, Command Performance delivers one of the most exciting and jawdropping
performances of the year. Dynamic and unforgettable, this truly is world-class
dance!Twelve artists from leading companies light up the stage with spectacular and
surprising performances. It is the pyrotechnics of dance—the most exciting, innovative
and beautiful works being performed today. Command Performance also showcases
newly commissioned works created specifically for this gala performance. Works by
some of the world’s leading choreographers such as Twyla Tharp, Dwight Rhoden,
Jessica Lang, Mia Michaels and Adam Hougland. A not-to-be-missed event!

Complexions Contemporary Ballet
8 p.m. Saturday, May 21, 2016
Winspear Opera House

“[Desmond Richardson] one of the great modern dancers of our time, and [Dwight]
Rhoden is one of the most sought-out choreographers of the day.” – New York Times

Overflowing with virtuosity, technique and cutting-edge choreography, Complexions is
the future of contemporary ballet. Embracing diversity with 16 dancers of different
ethnic and dance backgrounds, this company is pure dance, pure excitement. Founded
by two former stars with Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dwight Rhoden and
Desmond Richardson, the performance will feature new works and stunning, complex
and rich choreography.

Ten Regular Season Shows and one Special Event, a spectacular season of
innovative and awe-inspiring performances!

Tickets for TITAS Presents regular season performances begin at $12.
Performance tickets to TITAS Presents Command Performance also begin at
$12.

TITAS Presents subscribers receive discounted pricing depending on the
number of shows they purchase and priority seating.
Currently, patrons may purchase either the full season subscription or a
minimum of six titles on a flex-subscription plan. Individual tickets, should
they remain available after subscription sales, will be made available at a
later date.

TITAS Presents Official Hotel Sponsor: Sheraton Dallas
Season Sponsors include: Heritage Auctions, American Airlines, TACA, Texas
Commission on the Arts, City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs, National Endowment
for the Arts and Neiman Marcus

Tickets can be purchased online at www.attpac.org/titas, by phone at
214-880-0202 or in person at the AT&T Performing Arts Center Information Center,
2353 Flora Street (Monday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.; Tuesday thru Saturday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m.;
Sunday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.).