FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 15, 2009
Washington, DC—In a first-time reconstruction, CityDance Ensemble will bring Paul Taylor’s 1985 masterwork Last Look into its repertory during a three-week rehearsal period with former Paul Taylor Dance Company member Patrick Corbin. CityDance will premiere Last Look during its 2008-2009 season-ending concert Scandal on May 21, 2009, in Sidney Harman Hall.
The reconstruction and rehearsal process of Last Look takes place January 19-February 6, 2009, from 11am-4pm in CityDance Ensemble’s studios at CityDance Center at Strathmore (housed in the Music Center at Strathmore at 5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda, MD). Press are invited to watch rehearsal and interview Mr. Corbin. To schedule a studio visit, please contact Betsy Lundgren, CityDance Director of Marketing, at betsy@citydance.net or 202.347.3909.
CityDance’s reconstruction of Last Look marks the first time that Mr. Taylor has licensed the work to a company other than his own. Jennifer Dunning of The New York Times noted that Last Look is “this most powerful and haunting of Taylor’s works.” An ensemble piece for nine dancers, Last Look emanates tension, physicality, and theatricality as it delivers a deep commentary on a society infused with isolation and obsession. Surrounded by mirrors, the dancers blend structure with mayhem, beauty with despair.
“Adding Last Look to CityDance’s repertory is the realization of a dream I’ve had since before there was a CityDance,” comments CityDance Artistic Director Paul Gordon Emerson. “We are grateful to Mr. Taylor for his faith and trust to license this work to us. We are eager to share such a masterwork with our audiences here in DC and elsewhere. The privilege of being the first company outside Taylor’s own to stage the work is something we take very seriously. Considering that Mr. Taylor’s work is commonly only staged on the most famous and most accomplished companies in the world is both humbling and a deeply appreciated sign of his faith in us.”
Paul Taylor, who grew up near Washington, DC, has been hailed by the San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle as “America’s greatest living choreographer.” Mr. Taylor has been a leading voice in modern dance since the 1950s when he began creating cutting-edge works that have become a cannon of 127 dances performed by the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Taylor 2, as well as by renowned dance companies in the United States and abroad. At 77, Mr. Taylor continues to be one of the most sought-after choreographers working today.
Patrick Corbin, a native to the DC area, performed with the Paul Taylor Dance Company for 15 years before starting his own ensemble CorbinDances. As a Taylor company member, Mr. Corbin won critical acclaim for his lead performances in many of Taylor’s most popular works.
CityDance’s premiere performance of Last Look will take place during its concert Scandalon Thursday, May 21, 2009, at Sidney Harman Hall, Harman Center for the Arts, 610 F Street NW, Washington, DC. Tickets are priced at $20, $38 and $55 and are on sale now at the Harman Center for the Arts Ticket Office (610 F Street NW, Washington, DC), online at www.HarmanCenter.org, or by phone at 202.547.1122. Also featured in the concert are works by Larry Keigwin, Kate Weare, and others.
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 reaching thousands of students each year; CityDance Education Centers, facilities committed to excellence in dance training for youth and adults; and FilmWORKS, a creator and presenter of dance-on-camera. The mission of CityDance is to advance the appreciation for and participation in the art of dance through excellence in performance, education, film, and artistic innovation.
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