BalletX Premieres Two Works for Philadelphia Live Arts Festival

BalletX Premieres Two Works for Philadelphia Live Arts Festival

September 6-10 at the Wilma Theater

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Contemporary dance company BalletX debuts new works by renowned choreographers Jorma Elo and Matthew Neenan, the company's co-artistic director, at the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival from September 6 to 10 at the Wilma Theater, 265 South Broad Street. Tickets can be purchased for $20 by visiting the Live Arts box office at 233-35 Market Street, by calling 215.413.9006, or by visiting the website at http://www.livearts-fringe.org/ .

Mr. Elo's new work uses video storyboards, featuring text and visual images, to tell the story of a man trying to tell the story of Carmen -- and failing miserably.

"We are thrilled to be working with Mr. Elo," Christine Cox, Co-Artistic Director of BalletX. "For years, we've admired his choreography. His movement quality goes well with our company's style."

Mr. Neenan's new work, an unofficial sequel to his popular piece Wonder Why, is inspired by the music of Martha Wainwright, Joanna Newsom, She-Haw, Cynthia Hopkins and Cyndi Lauper. In the piece, seven dancers interact within a moving set, creating a fluid and athletic dance.

Ms. Cox and Mr. Neenan will both be featured in these premieres, along with BalletX dancers Amy Aldridge, Philip Colucci, James Ihde, Jermel Johnson, Tara Keating and Francis Veyette, all of whom are members of the Pennsylvania Ballet.

Jorma Elo, a native of Finland, is currently the resident choreographer for the Boston Ballet and a former principal dancer with the Netherlands Dance Theater. He recently received strong praise for his work Slice to Sharp as performed by the New York City Ballet. According to the New York Times, the piece "provoked the loudest cheering and the longest string of curtain calls seen at the New York State Theater in some time."

Matthew Neenan joined Pennsylvania Ballet in 1994, where he has danced principal roles in works by George Balanchine, John Cranko, Paul Taylor, Christopher Wheeldon and Jerome Robbins. Mr. Neenan has also choreographed a number of pieces for the Pennsylvania Ballet, including the much-acclaimed 11:11 performed this past June. He has received numerous awards and grants for his choreography.

Mr. Elo's piece for BalletX is supported by a grant from Dance Advance, a program of the Philadelphia Center for Arts and Heritage, funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts and administered by the University of the Arts.

BalletX is a dance company that seeks to expand the vocabulary of classical ballet by infusing it with original choreography and a more contemporary sensibility. More information is available on the company's newly redesigned website, http://www.balletx.org/ .

Source: BalletX

CONTACT: Christine Cox, +1-215-917-1513, cox@balletx.org, or
Michael Sheridan, +1-215-732-7237, msheridan64@msn.com, both of BalletX

Web site: http://www.balletx.org/
http://www.livearts-fringe.org/

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