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April 13, 2010

Pilobolus Dance Theatre Comes to Cleveland May 8: Acclaimed innovators are known for humor, gravity-defying creations

Internationally acclaimed and wildly popular Pilobolus Dance Theatre comes to the Palace Theatre in PlayhouseSquare for one performance only on Saturday, May 8 at 8 p.m. Tickets starting at $10 can be purchased at 216-241-6000 or online at playhousesquare.org.

Co-presented by Cuyahoga Community College and DANCECleveland, the hyper-athletic Pilobolus is known as an innovative and almost uncategorizable dance company that combines athleticism, grace and humor with a profound sense of unity. Now in its 39th year, Pilobolus is known for smooth, organic choreography, featuring unusual partnering and lifts that often blur the lines between individual performers, creating a sense of dance-troupe-as-organism.

In Cleveland, the company will perform an eclectic program that includes: Lanterna Magica, created in 2008, a full company work that's a sensual celebration of the supernatural, choreographed by Co-Artistic Director Michael Tracy; Gnomen (1997), a Pilobolus classic with an unusually inventive physical vocabulary; Dog Id, (2009) created with Steven Banks, the lead writer for the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants; Megawatt (2004), a full throttle, full-company piece displaying the troupe's physical endurance and prowess; and Rushes (2007) a collaborative work with dance-theatre makers Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak, billed as a breakthrough for the company's constantly morphing aesthetic.

Among the Pilobolus cast is Cleveland native Christopher Whitney, who is a graduate of Cleveland Heights High School and Ohio University. He began his dance training as an intern with Inlet Dance Theatre under the guidance of Bill Wade and joined Pilobolus in 2008.

Since its founding in 1971, Pilobolus has evolved into a pioneering American arts organization of the 21st century. It has been awarded the Berlin Critic's Prize, the Brandeis Award, the Scotsman Award at the Edinburgh Festival, an Emmy award and the Samuel H. Scripps American Dance Festival award for lifetime achievement in choreography. The company has been the subject of a feature profile on the CBS program "60 Minutes," appeared in performance at the 2007 Academy Awards and created a broadcast promotion for the NFL Super Bowl.

For more information about the company, go to Pilobolus.org.

"The continuity of changing imagery, the easy sensuousness and the wonderful push-me-pull you surprises of the physicality . . ." The New York Times

"Pilobolus embodies a large part of what the best in contemporary dance is all about: discovery." Washington Post

LISTING SUMMARY

Pilobolus Dance Theatre

Co-presented by Cuyahoga Community College and DANCECleveland

Saturday, May 8, 2010, at 8:00 p.m.

Palace Theatre, PlayhouseSquare

1501 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH 44115

Call 216-241-6000

playhousesquare.org

DANCECleveland

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