Pilobolus Dance Theatre
“Quelle superbe explosion of imagination! Et aussi, quelle perfection d’execution.”
Le Figaro

Pilobolus is all about having fun as we saw in the 2007 Academy Awards telecast, the Oprah show, and the 2002 Olympic Games. Theatrical innovation at its best, Pilobolus creates work with the imaginative use of costumes and props, precarious aerial work, and message and meaning all wrapped up in an accessible story. The program features its first collaborative creation, Pilobolus, conceived as a Dartmouth College dance composition project in 1971. This troupe of superhuman artist/athletes has since turned heads and eyes with its novel approach to weight- sharing, eye-catching gymnastics and over-the-top group partnerings. Pilobolus is serious fun!

Paul Taylor Dance Company
“One of the few indisputably great dance companies in the world.”
The New York Post

"The master of light and dark," Paul Taylor has created more than 105 dances. Taylor's splendid company returns to Philadelphia with two extraordinary programs featuring six works, including four Philadelphia premieres. Taylor is recognized for his remarkable talent to blend comedy with commentary, and his fresh views on the human condition. This immense talent brings us a new work still in development, along with the infectious Esplanade, a work of simple, sublime celebration; the inspirational Promethean Fire; the tongue-in-cheek, Stravinsky-inspired Le Grand Puppetier; the emotionally-charged Lines of Loss; and the tartly-sweet Antique Valentine, with music played on music boxes, mechanical organ and player piano.

Past Performances
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
“Intriguing, tantalizing … lush and gorgeous.”
Chicago Tribune

One of the world’s great repertory ensembles, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, returns with a program featuring the works of Tony Award-winning choreographer Twyla Tharp, celebrated for her film (Amadeus) and Broadway (Movin 'Out) choreography, and Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, whose Minus 16 left Dance Celebration audiences breathless. The program includes a revival of Tharp's signature work Baker's Dozen, a clever romp built on social dance forms set to Willie "the Lion," Smith's 1920 ragtime music and Naharin's powerful and passionate duet, Passomezzo.

Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company
“Audiences were in awe.”
Tampa Tribune

East meets West when Beijing LDTX Modern Dance Company makes its Dance Celebration debut for one night only with The Cold Dagger. Based on the Chinese game of Weigi and set to hauntingly beautiful music by American cellist David Darling, this explosive yet introspective full-evening work examines fear and confrontation. Dancers costumed in black and white, reminiscent of Chinese warriors, weave, dart and collide in a dazzling and thrilling display of traditional and contemporary choreography. The set, consisting of tae kwon do mats, resembles a chess game that moves and shifts, leaving dancers straddling between two worlds.

Martha Graham Dance Company
“One of the seven wonders of the artistic universe.”    
The Washington Post 

Declared a "National Treasure" and bestowed the highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, Martha Graham truly defined modern dance in America. Almost everyone dancing today has been influenced by her uncompromising viewpoint and rigorous dance technique. The program includes American masterpiece Panorama, a starkly-compelling work from 1935 for a cast of 33 female dancers dressed in red. Danced to a driving score that features a mobile set inspired by Calder, the work was created as a social commentary. The program also consists of rarely-seen early dances from the Denishawn period, accompanied by narration and archival video by Janet Eilber, Artistic Director. Graham’s later works, Acts of Light and Embattled Garden, provide a retrospective spanning 80 years.

José Limón Dance Company
“a masterpiece of theater dance.”    
Dance critic Walter Terry 

Mexican-born and American-bred, José Limón was a towering force in the development of modern dance. Known for his powerful dance dramas, Limón created works of great integrity and emotional depth. Limón electrified the world with his enthralling masculine dancing and imaginative theatrical visions. Lauded as one of our country’s “cultural treasures,” the Limón Dance Company celebrates the 100th year of its founder’s birth with the revival of Limón's work, The Traitor. Danced by an all-male cast, this theatrical work, based on the story of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, features a stunning set resembling archways in Old Jerusalem.

Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane
Dance Company
“…one of the glories of American dance.”
San Francisco Chronicle

Expect the unexpected when Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company takes the stage with the Philadelphia premiere of Chapel/Chapter! Jones, who won a Tony Award for best choreography for the Broadway hit, Spring Awakening, has been at the vanguard of experimentation for the past 20 years. He always has something important to say and he does so with dramatic force, uncompromising honesty, piercing intensity and great artistry. His newest tour-de-force, the evening- length multi-media Chapel/Chapter, explores the sacred and the secular. Built on three provocative stories exploring the underbelly of the court and prison systems with text both spoken and sung live, the production is set to a score of madrigals, folksong and plainsong. 

Merce Cunningham Dance Company
“Illuminating and boundary breaking…he has pushed modern dance into new realms.”
The Washington Post

MCDC returns with an all Philadelphia premiere program. An iconic cutting-edge master of time and space, Cunningham is unparalleled in his inventive and memorable approaches to artmaking that include I Ching and the LifeForms software. The Village Voice exclaims, “Everything he does is art.” BIPED, perhaps the pinnacle of Cunningham’s masterpieces, revels in the possibilities of humanity’s two-leggedness featuring arresting motion-capture projections. eyeSpace, Cunningham's newest artistic triumph, invites viewers to listen to the score on iPods (available at no additional cost to the audience), giving audiences an option to hear different music and create their own experience.

Nikolais Dance Theatre
Performed By Ririe-Woodbury
Dance Company
Directed by Murray Louis
and Alberto del Saz
“Lovers of Harry Potter’s wizardry might well be enchanted by that of Alwin Nikolais.”
The New York Times

Lauded as “The greatest showman in American theatre” (New York Times), Alwin Nikolais created a total theatrical experience for which he designed projections, lights, sound, costumes, props and choreography, paving the way for the likes of Pilobolus with his amazing kinetic and visual thrills. His legacy resides in the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, founded by former Nikolais dancers. The psychedelic ‘60s come to life in the surreal multi-media extravaganza Tent. Tensile Involvement (1955) uses colorful, pliant fabric to redefine stage space. Noumenon Mobilus (1953) has dancers in steel-colored stretched material with back projections, and Liturgies (1983) features a cascade of images and colors projected on dancers creating an eye-catching fantasy environment.