SCUBA returns to Philly

On February 27 and 28 at Temple University’s Conwell Dance Theater, 2009 SCUBA Artist Charles O. Anderson and his company Dance Theatre X will represent Philadelphia in a shared program with visiting choreographers from SCUBA’s exchange network including Shinichi Iova-Koga, Artistic Director of the San Francisco based inkBoat, and the Seattle based trio Beth Graczyk, Corrie Befort and Angelina Baldoz.

Founded in 2002, SCUBA National Touring Network for Dance is a co-operative enterprise which supports the growth and expansion of the country’s next generation of contemporary dance artists through touring and the development of relationships with other artists and presenters. The consortium of sister cities includes Philadelphia Dance Projects, SCUBA founders Velocity Dance Center of Seattle, ODC Theater in San Francisco and The Southern Theater in Minneapolis. From the beginning, SCUBA has met the ambitious goal of supporting tours for regionally established and nationally emerging artists to and from the participating cities.

Philadelphia Dance Projects Presents’ SCUBA program will feature three original performances from SCUBA’s 2009 presenting artists. Visiting choreographer’s Corrie Befort and Beth Graczyk, alongside composer Angelina Baldoz, will present Salt Horse (www.salthorseperformance.com), a playful and dark dance performance inspired by evolution. Shinichi Iova-Koga of inkBoat (www.inkboat.com) will perform Milk Traces, a solo work exploring birth, and local choreographer Charles O. Anderson and his company, Dance Theatre X (www.dancetheatrex.com), will present a new dance work, to be announced.

All SCUBA artists will also participate in a residency program that includes guest artists’ classes at Temple University and community workshops, to be held on February 27. Following the Philadelphia showcase, Charles O. Anderson and Dance Theatre X will tour to Minneapolis and Seattle and present their work to the exchange cities’ respective dance communities in the Spring of 2009.

“Through our work with the SCUBA National Touring Network for Dance we have seen the breadth of work and stature of companies worthy of attention and presenting support across the country that parallels many peers here in Philadelphia,” says Terry Fox, Executive Director of Philadelphia Dance Projects and curator of Philadelphia Dance Projects Presents ‘09.

“This series provides a much-needed presenting platform for independent dance artists and small companies.” Previous SCUBA artists include Philadelphia’s Leah Stein, Artistic Director of Leah Stein Dance Company, Tania Isaac, Artistic Director of Tania Isaac Dance, and Kate Watson Wallace, Artistic Director of anonymous bodies; Seattle’s Paige Barnes; San Francisco’s Manuelito Biag, Benjamin Levy of LEVY/Dance and Jose Navarrete; and Minneapolis’ Mathew Janczewski/ARENA Dances and Karen Sherman.

The SCUBA program will be held at Temple University’s Conwell Dance Theater, located at the NE Corner of Broad & Montgomery Streets, on Friday, February 27 at 8pm and Saturday, February 28 at 2pm. Tickets are $15. Tickets are now available for purchase online at www.danceboxoffice.com or
by phone at (215) 546-2552.

ABOUT 2009 SCUBA ARTISTS

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Charles O. Anderson / dance theatre X
Recently named one of Dance Magazine’s Top 25 to Watch in 2008, Charles O. Anderson / dance theatre X is a Philadelphia-based contemporary dance company, founded in 2001. Described by the Village Voice as “a warrior of a dancer,” Anderson synthesizes the spirituality and dynamism of African derived movement and the candor and vulnerability of contemporary dance. As a company, dtX aims to create work that offers testimony to the rich and obscured cultural history of Africans in America, and to let this testimony resonate in audiences’ increasingly cosmopolitan understanding of the world.  WEB: www.dancetheatrex.com

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Shinichi Iova-Koga / inkBoat
inkBoat is a performance company who presents a hybrid of traditional and experimental dance and theater forms weaved with Physical Theater and Japanese Butoh Dance. inkBoat founder Shinichi Iova-Koga, originally a photographer, filmmaker and theater director, was born to a Japanese father and American mother, and entered the world of Butoh dance in 1991. He was recently named one of Dance Magazine’s Top 25 to Watch in 2008. WEB: www.inkboat.com

SEATTLE, WA – Beth Graczyk, Corrie Befort, Angelina Baldoz
Beth Graczyk is a movement-based artist who works as a contemporary dancer, choreographer, teacher and producer in Seattle, WA. With degrees in Dance and Molecular Biology, her performance work is influenced by her background in science. WEB: www.salthorseperformance.com

Corrie Befort has been performing and creating dance works and producing dance films in the Northwest, Minneapolis, Belgium and Japan. Her work is described as highly detailed, pressing between complex patterning and richly evocative physical imagery, precise yet enigmatic. She engages in energetic collaborations with composers, musicians, videographers / animators and dancers. WEB: www.cbefort.com

Angelina Baldoz is a sound artist, who for the last 20 years, has been performing and composing music with a diverse group of artists working in a variety of mediums throughout the Northwest. She is a member of the Seattle rock band The Celebrity Orphans and the experimental music group Instead Of. WEB: Listen to music from Salt Horse online at www.myspace.com/angelinabaldozmusic

ABOUT PHILADELPHIA DANCE PROJECTS
The mission of Philadelphia Dance Projects (PDP) is to support contemporary dance through projects that encourage artists and audiences to more fully participate and engage in the experience and pursuit of dance as an evolving form. PDP began as a three year mentoring project (1993-95) under the aegis of Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and was established as an independent organization in 1996. As an advocate for dance in Philadelphia, PDP serves the regional dance and performance community through projects which greatly enhance the capacity of dance making and the presence of dance in Philadelphia.

PDP programming includes the annual dance film festival Motion Pictures, The Studio Access Project, artist exchanges, workshops and classes, commissioning collaborative dance work, ongoing educational projects, and SCUBA, National Network for Dance, among others. For more information, visit www.philadanceprojects.org.

0 replies on “SCUBA returns to Philly”

Get The Latest Updates

Subscribe To Our Weekly Newsletter

JOIN OVER 19,500+ SUBSCRIBERS
Sent out each Sunday with all the latest dance news and updates for the Philadelphia region.

Related Posts