White Bird Announces Its 2010-11 Season Featuring Ailey, Jason Samuels Smith and A Celebration of American Women Choreographers WHITE BIRD CELEBRATES 13TH SEASON WITH RETURN OF ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER, PORTLAND DEBUT OF TAP GENIUS JASON SAMUELS SMITH, AND FOCUS ON AMERICAN WOMEN CHOREOGRAPHERS. White Bird, based in Portland, Oregon, is thrilled to announce its 2010-2011 season, which includes performances by legendary dance companies Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Martha Graham Dance Company. Entering its 13th season, White Bird will present companies from Brazil, South Korea, Israel, Canada and the US. A special highlight is a focus on American Women Choreographers Past, Present & Future. Inspired by the success of White Bird Uncaged over the last two seasons, White Bird will continue the Uncaged name upon the return next fall to the newly refurbished Lincoln Hall, Portland State University, signaling White Bird’s commitment to present cutting edge, outside-the-box choreography from around the world. The final Uncaged event of the season, however, will take place in an alternative venue still to be determined. White Bird Exclusive Events @ 7:30pm Special Note: Only White Bird renewing and new subscribers can now order tickets to these Exclusive Events before they go on sale to the public on August 20, 2010 and November 19, 2010, respectively. Jason Samuels Smith, Thur-Sat. Dec 2-4, 2010. Newmark Theatre (1111 SW Broadway). 3 Shows. Winner of the 2009 Dance Magazine Award, Jason Samuels Smith burst onto the scene at age 15 after joining the cast of Bring In ‘Da Noise Bring In ‘Da Funk. Accompanied by a live band, he makes his Portland debut with some of today’s of most gifted tap dancers in an original, complex and thrilling program. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Tues & Wed, Mar 15-16, 2010. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (1037 SW Broadway). 2 Shows. After a five year absence, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater returns to Portland with a program of passionate energy that features a celebration of 50 years of Revelations, the enduring classic that remains as fresh today as when it was created. White Bird Dance Series @ 7:30 pm At Newmark Theatre (1111 SW Broadway) and Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (1037 SW Broadway) Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Thur-Sat, Sept 23-25, 2010. Newmark Theatre. 3 Shows. BJM Danse Montréal makes its Portland debut with Aszure Barton’s delightfully eccentric Les Chambres des Jacques set to Quebec folk songs, klezmer and Vivaldi and Mauro Bigonzetti’s Rossini Cards, a sumptuous choreographic feast paying tribute to the operatic genius behind The Barber of Seville. Celebrating American Women Choreographers Past, Present and Future Lucinda Childs’ DANCE, Thur-Sat, Oct 7-9, 2010. Newmark Theatre. 3 Shows. The internationally acclaimed post-modern choreographer makes her Portland debut with a remounting of her seminal 1979 masterwork, DANCE. Set to the music of Philip Glass and performed against a projection of black and white images from the original performance, DANCE features Childs’ superb 11-member company in a not-to-be-missed experience. Celebrating American Women Choreographers Past, Present and Future Martha Graham Dance Company, Tues, Nov 9, 2010. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. The oldest and most celebrated dance company in American brings a program focusing on groundbreaking works from the 1930s from one of the most influential choreographers of the 20th century. The performance will include a White Bird-commissioned dance created by Portland-based choreographer, Josie Moseley, for Lamentation Variations, responses by contemporary choreographers to Graham’s classic solo Lamentation. Doug Elkins & Friends’ Fräulein Maria, Thur-Sat, Jan 13-15, 2011. Newmark Theatre. 3 Shows. Set to the complete Rodgers and Hammerstein score of The Sound of Music, Fräulein Maria is a marvelous, often hilarious deconstruction of one of the most beloved movies and musicals. Ballet, hip-hop, voguing, stomping and twirling are all incorporated into Elkins’ high-spirited, gender bending and wonderfully joyful work. Grupo Corpo, Wed, Feb 9, 2011. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. One of the most popular and memorable companies presented in White Bird’s 13-year history, Grupo Corpo returns to Portland after a five-year absence with its incomparable mix of classical ballet and Afro-Brazilian movement. Barak Marshall’s Monger, Tues, May 17, 2011. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. One of Israel’s most original new voices, Barak Marshall has created a highly theatrical piece Monger, which uses evocative imagery and intense physicality to explore the dynamics of hierarchy, power, and dignity. White Bird Uncaged (formerly White Bird/PSU Dance Series) Celebrating American Women Choreographers Past, Present and Future Gallim Dance, Thur-Sat, Oct 14-16, 2010. Lincoln Hall, PSU, 8pm. 3 Shows. White Bird returns to Lincoln Hall with the West Coast debut of Andrea Miller’s vibrant young company, Gallim Dance. A former dancer with Batsheva Ensemble in Israel, Miller choreographs movement that shifts suddenly between explosive power and contained tension, pushing her dancers to the limits of extreme physicality. Celebrating American Women Choreographers Past, Present and Future Oslund + Co/Dance, Thur-Sat, Jan 20-22, 2011, Lincoln Hall, PSU, 8pm. 3 Shows. White Bird is proud to commission Mary Oslund’s newest full-evening work, Childhood Star (working title) that will explore the challenges and unpredictability of a shifting environment, embodied by Portland-based Christine Bourdette’s sculptural set and propelled by Australian composer Darrin Verhagen’s dynamic score. Laboratory Dance Project (LDP), Thur-Sat, Mar 31-Apr 2, 2011, Lincoln Hall, PSU, 8pm. 3 Shows. Comprising some of the most boldly creative young dancers and choreographers from the Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, LDP will make its West Coast debut with three exhilarating all-male pieces, including the hip-hop inspired work No Comment that brought audiences to their feet at New York’s Japan Society in January 2010. Yossi Berg/Oded Graf Wed-Sat, Apr 13-16, 2011. Wed-Fri, 8pm; Sat 7pm & 9:30pm. Venue TBD. Since 2005 these two bold Israeli choreographers have been winning accolades for their works across the globe. Their all-male company makes its Northwest debut with the critically acclaimed, 4Men, Alice Bach and the Deer, a multi-dimension work, set to the sounds of Bach, involving masks, text, singing and inventive partnering, that is hilarious, outrageous and intensely moving. General Ticket Information Subscriptions to the 2010-2011 season are now on sale through White Bird. For a season brochure, call 503-245-1600, ext. 201 or visit www.whitebird.org. On Sale Dates for Individual Tickets through Ticketmaster: August 20, 2010 – Jason Samuels Smith, Les Ballets Jazz de Montréal, Lucinda Childs’ DANCE, Gallim Dance, Martha Graham Dance Company, Oslund + Co/Dance. November 19, 2010 – Doug Elkins & Friends’ Fräulein Maria, Grupo Corpo, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Laboratory Dance Project (LDP), Yossi Berg/Oded Graf, Barak Marshall’s Monger