CLEVELAND, Aug. 31, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- For the second consecutive year, Verb Ballets, Cleveland's premiere repertory dance company, will present an exciting program of dances, Nature Moves 2, at The Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Performances are scheduled for Friday and Saturday, September 15 and 16 at 8 PM.
Dr. Bruce Latimer, executive director of the Museum, commented, "We are pleased that Verb Ballets is returning again to the Museum. Our initial collaboration last year was very successful and we continue to be impressed by how well Verb Ballets' global repertory complements the Museum's vision of diversity. Our audience was thrilled, and I know everyone is looking forward to another highly original program this year."
The 2006 program features five dramatic dances with very diverse themes. Artistic Director Hernando Cortez commented, "Two dances are local premieres, and I am creating a new dance for this occasion that will be a world premiere. In addition, Chichester Psalms and Shadows of Nesmin are back by popular demand."
In order of performance, the five dances are:
Chichester Psalms
Chichester Psalms was Leonard Bernstein's first composition after The Third Symphony, Kaddish (composed for the Boston Symphony Orchestra's 75th anniversary), though not completed until 1963, eight years after that event. It is a full-company work in three movements with sweeping passages of impassioned dancing. Choreographed by Hernando Cortez, 2003.
Shadows of Nesmin
Music by Klaus George Roy, an accomplished composer and music critic, who immigrated to the United States from Vienna in 1940. Roy served as program annotator and editor for the Cleveland Orchestra from 1958 to 1988. The piece is titled Christopher-Suite (Suite Francaise), op. 23, 1953. This music, written in celebration of the birth of the composer's first son, is performed by the full Verb Ballets company with RED (an orchestra) pianist Michael Schneider. Choreographed by Hernando Cortez, 2006.
Ku'u Home. Company Premiere
Music by Keith Haugen, Ku'u Home I Pupukea (My Home in Pupukea). Choreographed by Ernest Morgan in 1967 for the Honolulu City Ballet Company. This Hawaiian-inspired solo is poignant and lyrical. Cleveland premiere by Verb Ballets, 2006.
Andante Sostenuto. Company Premiere
Music by Felix Mendelssohn, Piano Concerto No. 2, D minor, the second movement. Choreographed by Heinz Poll, a dancer, ballet master, and teacher originally in his homeland of Germany, and later in South America and France, and from 1964, in the United States. He developed the Ohio Ballet into one of America's most polished, respected and widely traveled chamber dance troupes. The dance is lyrical and neoclassic. Cleveland premiere by Verb Ballets, 2006
World Premiere of a New Cortez Dance
A new dance choreographed for the Museum by Verb Ballets Artistic Director Hernando Cortez, 2006.
The Verb Ballets dancers are: Marcela Alvarez, Danielle Brickman, Kallie Marie Bokal, Erin Conway, Katie Gnagy, Jason Ignacio, Sydney Ignacio, Catherine Meredith, Brian Murphy, Anna Roberts and Mark Tomasic.
Ticket prices are $25 per person or $40 per person. The $40 ticket includes admission to a post-performance reception at the Museum on September 16. The post-reception following the Saturday night performance gives guests an opportunity to meet and talk with the artistic director Hernando Cortez, executive director Margaret Carlson and the exciting artists who make up Verb Ballets. Hors d'oeuvres courtesy of The Mustard Seed Market and an open bar are included, along with the sounds of DJ music until midnight. Flower arrangements for the reception are courtesy of 12th St. Florist.
Performances begin at 8 PM on Friday and Saturday, September 15 and 16. The Museum lobby opens at 7 PM with a cash bar. Light refreshments will be served during the intermission. Complimentary valet parking is available.
Reserved seating. To charge tickets, call the Museum's box office at (216) 231-1177 or 800-317-9155, ext. 3279. Tickets may be purchased on the night of the performances, if not sold out.
Verb Ballets sponsors are: Abington Foundation, AHS Foundation, Eva L. and Joseph M. Bruening Foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, Kulas Foundation, The Laub Foundation, Lubrizol Foundation, John P. Murphy Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, Ohio Arts Council. Other sponsors are Clear Channel Communications, Danskin, Levy Media Group, PrimeZone Media Network, WVIZ/WCPN Ideastream, JAKPRINTS.COM, The Mustard Seed Market, 12th St Florist. Individual sponsors are: Charles and Sandy Abookire, Millie L. Carlson, Chuck and Ann Ennis, Norma and Jeffrey Glazer, and Aldona Titus.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is located at 1 Wade Oval Drive in University Circle, 15 minutes east of downtown Cleveland. Call (216) 231-4600 or 800-317-9155 for directions. Also, visit our web site at www.cmnh.org or Verb Ballets at www.verbballets.org.
Photos to download of Verb Ballets are in the Museum's Press Room at www.cmnh.org.
Verb Ballets
Verb Ballets is now in its fifth season under the leadership of artistic director Hernando Cortez, executive director Margaret Carlson and an energetic staff and board of trustees, who have established it as Cleveland's premiere dance repertory company. Verb has been named as one of "25 to Watch in 2004" by Dance Magazine, the country's leading news magazine covering dance. Verb Ballets discovers, collects, interprets and stages choreography that matters to the region and to the world of dance. As a curator of expressive movement that is globally connected and nationally respected, Verb Ballets has a mandate to support and foster emerging talent, present excellence in contemporary choreographers and revive and honor modern dance classics. Additional information can be found at www.verbballets.org.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History
The Museum is considered one of the finest natural science museums in North America, noted for its collections, research, exhibits and educational programs. The Museum fosters an understanding of the natural world and serves as an outstanding resource for public education and environmental conservation for the region and beyond. The collections encompass more than 4 million specimens and research focuses on 11 natural science disciplines. In addition to the exhibits, the Museum has an observatory and planetarium, a Discovery Center, traveling exhibits, weekend events, live animal shows, outdoor gardens and a Museum store and cafe.