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25.7.11

What to Hear (See) Next Season: Dance



See my preview of the 2011-2012 dance and ballet season in Washington:

Washington Area 2011-12 Dance Preview (Washingtonian, July 25):

Lovers of dance -- ballet, contemporary, and just about everything else -- can take delight that Washington is a regular stop for tours by the best international dance companies. Tickets are mostly not on sale yet, of course, nor has the casting always been announced, but you can mark the dates on your calendar, and most presenters’ Web sites will send you an e-mail reminder when the tickets go on sale. Here are the performances you will not want to miss in the upcoming season.

Dance Companies
At the top of the list are some of the world’s leading contemporary dance troupes, beginning with the Martha Graham Dance Company, appearing at George Mason University Center for the Arts (October 21). Their program will feature one of the classic choreographies by Martha Graham, Appalachian Spring, accompanied by the iconic American score she commissioned from Aaron Copland.

The Merce Cunningham Dance Company, since the death in 2009 of its legendary founder, has been in the process of closing up shop, and their last visit to the Washington area will take place at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater (December 2 and 3). Hopefully the sound levels will be tolerable for listeners this time around, unlike their last visit at Wolf Trap.

Finally, the Mark Morris Dance Group will come to the Kennedy Center Opera House (January 26 to 28), to perform Morris’s staging of Handel’s beautiful oratorio L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato (their most recent stop here was in 2010). The music will be performed live, which is key to Morris’s union of music and dance, with the choral part provided by the Washington Bach Consort, plus sopranos Christine Brandes and Lisa Saffer, tenor John McVeigh, and baritone Tom Meglioranza as soloists. [Continue reading]
What Else to Hear Next Season
Washington Performing Arts Society | Opera | National Symphony Orchestra
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra | Vocal Music | Chamber Music | Early Music | Phillips Collection

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