February 23 , 2007
Washington, DC— CityDance Ensemble breathes
life into Rudyard Kipling’s literary masterpiece Jungle
Books on Friday, March 23 at
the Kennedy Center’s Family Theater for
the premiere performance of this enchanting annual production
for the young and young at heart. Telling the timeless stories
of Mowgli, Shere Khan, Baloo, and other characters from the
classic tales, CityDance Ensemble mixes original choreography
with an original score to create a performance full of surprises,
humor, and magic that will leave no doubt that it’s
a jungle in there….
The concert takes place Friday, March 23 at 6pm in
the Family Theater, John F. Kennedy Center for the
Performing Arts, 2700 F Street, NW, Washington, DC.
The performance is part of the Kennedy Center’s Millennium
Stage series and is free to the public. Tickets are
not required; seating will be available on a first-come, first-served
basis.
“Creating this new production of Jungle Books has
been one of the highlights of CityDance’s first decade,” comments
CityDance Artistic Director
Paul Gordon Emerson. “It’s the perfect
way to celebrate our 10th anniversary. The opportunity to premiere
this work at the Kennedy Center as part of the Millennium Stage
series, and to do so at a rare performance in the Family Theater,
is an ideal way to invite children and adults to experience
for the first time the stories of Jungle Books through
dance, movement, and music. The powerful ideas and themes of
Kipling’s stories come alive on stage and we
are eager to begin what we hope will be an enduring annual
event. ”
Jungle Books will feature original choreography by Paul
Gordon Emerson, company member Kyra Green, and
DC-based dancers and choreographers Joseph Nontanovan (Artistic
Director of Culture Shock DC), Vladimir Angelov and Meisha
Bosma (CityDance Rehearsal Director). Composers Matthew
Jones, Clifton Brockington, Saleem Wayne Waters, and Vasily
Popov created the original score and will perform
live for this premiere performance.
With new sets that will transform the stage into an Indian
jungle and original costumes and masks that will mold the dancers
into Kipling’s characters, CityDance Ensemble will leap,
pounce, and prance its way through several segments of the
original novel in this hour-long performance.
CityDance will present its second annual production of Jungle
Books in December 2007 in the Lansburgh Theatre at
Shakespeare Theatre’s Harman Center for the Arts, where
the company takes up residence for four weeks each season
beginning in Fall 2007. Jungle Books will be the
company’s annual holiday presentation.
CityDance Ensemble’s performance of Jungle Books is
made possible by the DC Commission for Arts and Humanities.
About CityDance Ensemble, Inc.
CityDance Ensemble, Inc. is the parent organization to CityDance
Ensemble, an award-winning contemporary repertory
dance company; Early Arts, an arts outreach
program for youth serving more than 25,000 students each year; CityDance
Centers, two in-studio education centers committed
to excellence in dance training for youth and adults; and FilmWORKS, a
creator and presenter of dance-on-camera. The mission of CityDance
Ensemble, Inc. is to advance the appreciation for and participation
in the art of dance through excellence in performance, education,
film, and artistic innovation.
