Contact: Erin Harney

Marketing & Communications Associate

Shapiro & Smith Dance

651-398-7528 or erin@saoirseconsulting.com

MINNEAPOLIS, December 1, 2015 – Shapiro & Smith Dance announced their 2016 Spring performance today featuring a new work called “Hands.” In this piece the company will examine the power and beauty of humans’ smallest, yet most powerful tools. Shapiro & Smith Dance will delve into the power of human hands in extreme and diverse ways, to create and explore - to communicate and emote. “Hands” will premier at The Cowles Center for Dance and the Performing Arts on March 25th and 26th of 2016. Excerpts from this piece were shared at an eight-hour overnight performance as part of last June’s Northern Spark Festival at Northrop Auditorium.

The evening will also feature 2010’s Bolero, described by the Star Tribune as “ . . . a thrill ride of a dance . . .” the all-male cast will feature some of the Twin Cities most superlative dancers. The piece earned Shapiro & Smith Dance Artistic Director, Joanie Smith recognition as City Pages’ “Artist of the Year” in its premier year.

The evening will also include a duet featuring Twin Cities dance icon, Sally Rousse and Artistic Director, Joanie Smith – “Wee Violence” features a script by award-winning Broadway director, actor and playwright, David Greenspan and explores the tiny, intricate moments of violence that seep into our daily lives and threaten the delicate balance in life’s most vulnerable stages.

Rounding out the evening is a company favorite, “Ravel x3,” a visually lush interpretation of three works by Maurice Ravel. The choreography, driven by the music celebrates the dancer’s virtuosity and is performed by the full company.

Additionally, Shapiro & Smith Dance will be featured on TPT’s “MN Original”, airing Sunday January 10th at 6 pm and 10 pm on Channel 2. The segment highlights the 20+ year history of the company and their award-winning work in the Twin Cities dance community.

PERFORMANCE TIMES

March 25 - 26, 2016

Fri & Sat at 8:00 PM

TICKETS

$27-$31 (fees inclusive)

Group sales: A 20% discount is available for groups of 10 or more

BOX OFFICE

Tuesday-Friday, 11 AM – 5 PM; Saturday & Sunday, 2 hours prior to performances

Phone: 612-206-3600

Online: http://www.thecowlescenter.org

In person: 528 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403

PERFORMANCE VENUE

The Cowles Center for Dance & the Performing Arts

528 Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55403

http://www.thecowlescenter.org

BIOGRAPHIES

Shapiro & Smith Dance, the creative and presentation vehicle for the choreography of Joanie Smith seeks to use dance to articulate culture, express feelings, and explore ideas for a broad audience. The company enjoys a reputation for performing tales of beauty and biting wit that run the gamut from the searingly provocative to absurdly hilarious. The dancers move with a breathtaking physicality and emotional depth that has earned the company an international reputation for virtuosity, substance, craft, and abandon.

Founded in 1987, the company began as a collaboration between Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith who met while dancing for Murray Louis and Alwin Nikolais. They created their first choreography during a Fulbright Lectureship in Helsinki, Finland. Their blend of contemporary dance and dramatic theater has been presented throughout the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia by major festivals and venues including the Joyce Theater, Dance Theater Workshop, St. Mark’s DanSpace Project, P.S. 122, Festival di Milano, Teatro de Danza in Mexico City, Recklinghausen RuhrFestSpiele, and the Korean International Festival. Their work has been in the repertories of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Hubbard Street Dance Chicago among many others. Shapiro & Smith Dance is a 2012 recipient of a Sage Award for Outstanding Performance. For more information, visit Shapiro & Smith Dance on http://www.shapiroandsmithdance.org .

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