Ordway presents TU Dance 10th Anniversary Concert with World Premiere May 10
For Immediate Release
Media Contacts:
Anne Q. Ulseth : 612.272.0588 | aulseth@ordway.org
Ticket Office: 651.224.4222 | ordway.org
Groups: 651.282.3111
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts presents
TU Dance 10th Anniversary Dance Concert with World Premiere
One night only May 10, 2014
SAINT PAUL, MINN. (April 10, 2014) The Ordway will present TU Dance in performance for one night only, May 10, 2014, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the celebrated St. Paul-based company founded by Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands. This special performance includes Hikari, an Ordway-commissioned world premiere by choreographer Uri Sands in collaboration with master wood block print artist Hiroki Morinoue.
Inspired by Morinoues abstract vision, Sands joined the artist at his studioa former Kona coffee plantation in Hawaiideveloping movement as a dialogue with Morinoues forms. The dialogue continues on stage, with a large, original scenic work by Morinoue created for the performance.
The program will also feature Alvin Aileys duet Twin Cities from his legendary The River (1970), performed by Uri Sands and special guest Laurel Keen. Keen, a St. Paul native, trained at Minnesota Dance Theatre and went on to an internationally acclaimed career with Alonzo King Lines Ballet in San Francisco, where she won the Princess Grace Award in dance. The program also includes the Minnesota premiere of Uri Sands One, recently commissioned by Dance St. Louis to honor the legacy of Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa cell. (Lacks, an African-American tobacco farmer, unknowingly sparked a new era of modern medicine when her cells, taken without permission during cancer treatment in 1951, became the foundation of advancements such as the polio vaccine and in-vitro fertilization.)
Reflecting on their first decade of TU Dance, Pierce-Sands and Sands, veterans of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, will join their company in a performance of Ladya signature, celebratory early work by Sands inspired by the couples travels in South Africa. Lady concluded the companys sold-out opening run at Minneapolis Southern Theater in 2004.
TU Dance has garnered audience and critical acclaim for its diverse repertory, versatile artists, and dynamic performance. Modern dance, classical ballet, African-based and urban vernacular movements are combined in inventive and unpredictable ways. In 2011 the organization opened TU Dance Center in Saint Paul, which provides year-round educational programming for dance students of all ages and levels of experience and also serves as a home studio for the professional company.
Toni and Uri are powerhouses. Their knowledge and passion has propelled TU Dance into the forefront of the national dance scene, said James A. Rocco, vice president of programming and producing artistic director for the Ordway.
Local and national recognition for TU Dance includes Star Tribunes Artists of the Year, the Princess Grace Award in Choreography, DANCE Magazines 25 to Watch, City Pages 2011 Artists of the Year, McKnight Artist Fellowships for dance and choreography, multiple Sage awards for outstanding performance and dance education, and the 2011 Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Initiative.
The Ordway is helping to celebrate TU Dances 10th anniversary by commissioning this new piece, created by Uri especially for this occasion, said Ordway Artistic Director of World Music and Dance Dayna Martinez. We are proud to continue to support and present on our stage wonderfully talented artists that live right here in the Twin Cities. Saint Paul is lucky to have TU Dance, a world class contemporary dance company.
RELATED EVENTS
TU Dance Open Rehearsals with Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands and company members
Thursday, April 24, 5:30-7:00pm
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Drake Room
345 Washington Street, Downtown Saint Paul
Attend an open rehearsal and preview TU Dances new work commissioned by the Ordway to premiere on May 10. Free and open to all ages, pre-registration required. Please call 651-282-3115 to register.
Master Class with Toni Pierce-Sands
Tuesday, May 6, 6:00-7:30pm
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Drake Room
345 Washington Street, Downtown Saint Paul
Participants will be guided through a Horton-based warm-up that will prepare them to learn phrases from the company repertory commissioned by the Ordway to premiere on May 10. Class is open to ages 14 and up, with Intermediate to Advanced/Professional level of dance experience. Participants should be prepared to dance bare foot.
The class costs $10, or $5 with a ticket to the TU Dance public performance on Saturday, May 10. Please call the Ordway Ticket Office to reserve a space in the workshop: 651.224.4222.
ORDWAY EXTRA: From Saint Paul to the World: Ten Years of TU Dance
May 10 at 6:30pm
Tickets holders to the evening performance are invited to hear from TU Dance insiders and fans on the impact of the companys 10-year journey in a pre-show conversation in the Ordways Marzitelli Foyer.
Post-Show Party with the artists
Saturday, May 10 at 9:30 p.m. following the performance
All are invited to celebrate TU Dance and their 10-year anniversary in a post-show party in the Ordways Marzitelli Foyer.
ABOUT THE ORDWAY CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
The Ordway is widely recognized as one of the nations leading nonprofit performing arts centers and Saint Pauls most elegant and inviting performance space. The Ordways Music Theater and soon-to-be completed Concert Hall attract diverse audiences with an array of productions showcasing the finest in American musical theater, world music, dance and vocal performance. Education and community engagement are integral to the Ordways mission, with major initiatives including the annual Flint Hills International Childrens Festival and Ordway Education programs that serve more than 50,000 students annually. The Ordway also sponsors the Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, a professionally guided academic and artistic environment that trains aspiring pre-professional performing artists. Together with The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Minnesota Opera and The Schubert Club, the Ordway is a member of the Arts Partnership and serves as the principal venue for their performances.
Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
345 Washington Street
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Ticket Office: 651.224.4222
Groups: 651.282.3111
ordway.org
Artwork for download:
QUICK REFERENCE
Production: TU Dance
Date: Saturday, May 10, 2014
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Theater Venue Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
& Location: 345 Washington Street
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55102
Tickets: ordway.org
Ticket Office: 651.224.4222
Groups: 651.282.3111
Price: $23.00-48.00, subject to change
Pre-Show: Saturday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m.
ORDWAY EXTRA: From Saint Paul to the World: Ten Years of TU Dance
Post-Show: Party & Talk back with artists at 9:30 p.m. following the performance on Saturday, May 10
Artistic Directors: Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands
Choreographers: Alvin Ailey, Uri Sands
Company Members: Berit Ahlgren, Darwin Black, Tara Cacciatore, Kendra Dennard, Hassan Ingraham, Alanna Morris-Van Tassel, David Rue, Duncan Schultz, Katelyn Skelley and Elayna Waxse
Media Contacts: Anne Q. Ulseth 612.272.0588 | aulseth@ordway.org
Press photosincluding TU Dance, Toni Pierce-Sands, Uri Sands, Hiroki Morinoue, and Laurel Keenare available for download at:
userid (leave blank); password: Minnesota
