DANCE

Join the Jewish Community Center of Houston January 12- February 12, 2011 for Dance Month 2011 at the Kaplan Theatre as we continue to spotlight prominent choreographers, master teachers, companies, and dancers in Houston and around the world.

Celebrating 31 years of Presenting Dance. Endeavoring to promote an appreciation of all dance forms, the series presents master classes, workshops and concerts. Dance community outreach, audience expansion and professional artistic development are continuing goals of Dance Month at the Kaplan Theatre.

Tirkedu Houston! is a fun-filled weekend of enthusiastic and energetic Israeli dancing at the Jewish Community Center. Join Shmulik Gov-Ari, a gifted Israeli folk dance choreographer and teacher who has many creative talents: dance, music, art and instruments, especially drums, who will be the guest artist in residence for the workshop. The weekend will include an Erev-Shabbat Get Together, two teaching sessions for intermediate to advanced dancers with reviews at the end of each session, a Saturday night dance party and a review session of all dances on Sunday afternoon for those who attended one or both teaching sessions will conclude the workshop.

The workshop takes place Friday, January 14- Sunday, January 16. Fees for the work shop are $70 JCC member / $100 public / $50 student with valid I.D. For complete details see the Tirkedu Houston! brochure at www.jcchouston.org.

Three dynamic professional dance companies come together for Triple Focus, an evening of dance presenting works ranging in style from hip hop to contemporary. Commissioned this year are HIStory Dance Company, Hope Stone Dance Company, and NobleMotion Dance Company.

Hope Stone Dance Company, under the direction of Jane Weiner, is a professional dance company, which has been recognized for its bold choreography, as well as cutting-edge modern dance performances. Hope Stone Dance Company was voted “The Best Dance Company -2008” by The Houston Press.

NobleMotion Dance Company focuses heavily on a dialogical process. Their end goal is always to make work of merit that will emotionally stir audiences and engage an on-going conversation with collaborators and patrons. By challenging the boundaries of their dancers/collaborators, their hope is to engage in a clear and articulate process that is reflective in the work.

HIStory is Houston’s hottest hip hop dance company, featuring daring athletics and stunning precision of movement. HIStory welcomes guest performers from Inertia Dance for this performance.

Concerts are Saturday, January 22, 8:00 PM and Sunday, January 23, 3:00 PM. Tickets are $16 JCC member / $22 public / $12 senior adult and student.

Renowned for their powerful stage presence, Koresh Dance Company will be performing two new works in an amazing concert: Passomezzo choreographed by Ohad Naharin and Sense of Human choreography by artistic director Ronen Koresh. Passomezzo, set to Baroque melodies, is a highly theatrical pas de deux depicting the intimate dialogue between a man and woman about tough love and opposition. Choreographer Ohan Naharin, Artistic Director of Batsheva Dance Company, began his training as a dancer with the Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv, and later studied and performed with the School of American Ballet, The Martha Graham Dance Company and the Julliard School of Music. Sense of Human depicts life in its purest, rawest, most guttural state. This works delves beneath our desired self-images to discover our true sense of humanity. Choreographer Ronen Koresh has danced with Martha Graham’s Batsheva 2 Dance Company and trained with Alvin Ailey. In 1991, he formed Koresh Dance Company, which has since earned him the praise and recognition of international audiences.

Don’t miss the two chances to see this exciting company: Friday, February 4 at 11:00 AM (student show) and Saturday, February 5 at 8:00 PM. Tickets for the student show are $8 JCC member, senior adult and student/ $12 Public. Tickets for the evening concert are $16 JCC member/ $22 public/ $12 senior adults and students.

Featuring a stellar array of artists, Houston Ballet II performs a wide variety of dance works, ranging from excerpts from the great classics such as Raymonda to contemporary works by Houston Ballet Artistic Director Stanton Welch. Dancers from this stunning young company have recently taken numerous prizes at the prestigious Prix de Lausanne ballet competition. Don’t miss this local favorite Saturday, February 12, 2011 at 8:00 PM. Tickets are $14 JCC member/ $18 public/ $10 senior adults and students.

Along with exciting concerts, Dance Month 2011 presents unique master classes and workshops for dancers and educators.

Koresh Dance Company, as a part of the I W Marks Master Class Series, will teach an intermediate/ advanced master class focusing on athletic and dynamic modern technique Thursday, February 3, 2011, 3:00-4:30 PM. Koresh Dance Company's critically acclaimed work attracts increasing audiences across the nation and abroad, and their reputation for passion and outstanding technique results in sold-out performances. This exciting class is a part of the I W Marks Master Class Series and will take place at the Jewish Community Center. The fee for the master class is $3.50 in advance/ $5 at the door.

The Leap ‘N Learn™ Teacher Workshop is a two-day, twelve-hour intensive focusing on the principles of the Leap ‘N Learn syllabus. The workshop is facilitated by Beverly F. Spell and Annie W. Spell, Ph.D., co-authors of the syllabus. Attending the workshop will enhance your ability to teach young dancers. For complete details, see the Leap ‘N Learn™ brochure at jcchouston.org. The workshop takes place Saturday, January 29, 9:30 AM - 6:00 PM and Sunday, January 30, 9:00 AM - 3:30 PM at the Jewish Community Center, 5601 S. Braeswood. The fee for the workshop is $115 JCC member before December 15/ $130 JCC member after December 15, $175 public before December 15/ $190 public after December 15 (does not include LL syllabus). Non-refundable $50 deposit due at registration.

Join us for a bonus addition to Dance Month 2011, a master class with international dance favorites Compagnie La Baraka as a part of the I W Marks Master Class Series. Compagnie La Baraka is an international, multi-cultural company of dancers from Lyon, France, under the direction of Abou Lagraa. The class will take place at the Jewish Community Center Friday, February 25, 2011, 11:00 AM- 12:30 PM The fee is $3.50 in advance and $5.00 at the door. For more information, visit www.spahouston.org/masterclass.asp

For tickets to Dance Month events, call the box office at 713-551-7255 or visit www.jcchouston.org  and click on Arts and Culture, then scroll down to “Dance Month.”

Dance Month at the Kaplan Theatre is funded in part by Jewish Community Center Patrons of the Arts, a grant from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Endowment. JP Morgan Chase, and RBC. Continental Airlines is the official airline of the JCC. Marriott Houston Westchase is the official hotel of the JCC. This program was made possible, in part, by funding from the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston.

Pictured above:  Koresh Dance Company, Dancer: Jessica Daley, Photo: Gabriel Biencyzcki.