It’s time to dance the night away as Dance Showcase presented by Terry and Sheldon Adelman takes center stage at the KeyBank State Theatre on Friday, September 6 at 7 p.m. Nine Northeast Ohio dance companies are currently in rehearsal, preparing to celebrate the art form at the annual, free event. The evening will feature a wide range of dance styles from ballet to contemporary to Traditional West African dance and Tahitian dance.
The local companies performing at Dance Showcase include Case Western Reserve University Department of Dance, Catherine Meredith & Artists, Cleveland Ballet, Cleveland Dance Project Company, Djapo Cultural Arts Institute, Inlet Dance Theatre, Ohio Contemporary Ballet, Pacific Paradise Entertainment and SOĀR.
Guests can also look forward to a performance from a special guest artist who will be announced in the coming weeks.
The event is free, but tickets are required. Tickets are available at playhousesquare.org or by calling 216-241-6000.
Dance Showcase Repertoire
Case Western Reserve University, Department of Dance
Piece description: To the repetitive and strong basslines of Alva Noto’s music, the fast-paced movements of Void reveal the negative mental effects of social media on young people, such as self-absorption, social homophily and anxiety.
Catherine Meredith & Artists
Piece description: Ne Me Quitte Pas (Don't Leave Me) examines loss and its many forms. The solo artist is lamenting the loss of his lover but the ‘why’ is not made clear. Humans experience loss through death (the most obvious), estrangements, divorce, and when a loved one is afflicted with dementia or Alzheimer's.
Cleveland Ballet
Piece description: Walpurgis Night is the eve of the Christian feast day of Saint Walpurga and is celebrated on the night of April 30 and throughout the day of May. In many parts of Europe, people continue to light bonfires on Saint Walpurga's Eve in order to ward off evil spirits and witches. In the opera, Faust, the last act depicts Walpurgisnacht. Mephistopheles shows Faust the folk celebration before May Day, when the souls of the dead are released briefly to wander as they will. While the ballet does not directly depict the Walpurgis Night, it does build on a sense of joyful revelry.
Cleveland Dance Project Company
Piece description: This piece is about the struggle that many people find themselves in when simply trying to sleep. Whether it be fighting insomnia, battling nightmares and night terrors, or dealing with sleep paralysis. Sleep is a reset for the body and mind, but what happens when that peaceful sleep is constantly disrupted? Throughout the piece dancers will demonstrate different aspects of sleep and dream disorders. The piece itself is set up like a night of sleep. The struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep, bad dreams, then chaos towards the end...Much like a night's sleep can become for some.
Djapo Cultural Arts Institute
Piece description: "Journey" is an evocative dance performance by the Djapo Cultural Arts Institute that transcends the boundaries of time, geography, and culture. This production weaves together a tapestry of movement, music, and storytelling, capturing the essence of the African diaspora dance in combination to paying tribute to traditional African spiritual rituals. Through a series of choreographed pieces, "Journey" explores themes of strength, resilience, tradition, and the celebration of cultural heritage.
Inlet Dance Theatre
Piece description: This is the first duet to emerge from months of physical research in the studio with all of the Inlet dancers based on this theme of "trust and care," which feels like a necessary antidote to the world right now. Moving in the opposite spirit.
Ohio Contemporary Ballet
Piece description: The audience favorite, Dark Matter, choreographed by Tommie-Waheed Evans returns to the stage. This mesmerizing contemporary dance work merges the emotional complexity of human existence with the vastness of the cosmos through powerful choreography and dramatic lighting. The piece enthralls audiences, exploring the universe's chaos and beauty alongside human resilience and inner turmoil, propelled by its driving pace to an original evocative sound score.
Pacific Paradise Entertainment
Piece description: Dancing to various drumbeats depicting nature.
SOĀR
Piece description: This piece is rooted in ELEVĀTED core values of celebrating community and rising to discover our greatness!