WHITE BIRD CELEBRATES 15TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON WITH THE:
--RETURN OF RENOWNED CHOREOGRAPHERS PAUL TAYLOR & TRISHA BROWN--
--PORTLAND DEBUT OF 7 COMPANIES FROM AROUND THE WORLD--
--WEST COAST DEBUT OF LE GRAND CONTINENTAL FEATURING 150+ PORTLANDERS
DANCING IN UNISON IN PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE--

Based in Portland, Oregon, and the sole dance-only presenter west of the Rockies, White Bird is delighted to announce its 2012-13 season, which opens with Benjamin Millepied’s L.A. Dance Project and features performances by companies from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Great Britain, France, Algeria and the United States.  This special 15th anniversary season will feature the return of two legendary choreographers, Trisha Brown and Paul Taylor, as well as Benjamin Millepied of Black Swan fame and Akram Khan, the famed UK-based choreographer who will be contributing to the London Summer Olympics Opening Ceremonies.
It will also include White Bird’s first free public event, Le Grand Continental at Pioneer Courthouse Square, as a way for White Bird to thank Portland for 15 years of supporting contemporary dance.

Le Grand Continental, Sun, Sept 30, 2012. Pioneer Courthouse Square. Two free performances, 4pm and 6pm.
To kick off our 15th Anniversary season, White Bird will present the West Coast premiere of Le Grand Continental by Montréal-based choreographer Sylvian Émard at Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. This exciting performance brings together 150+ Portlanders of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds – non-professional dancers as well as those with no dance background at all - to perform a contemporary re-imagining of a traditional festive line dance.  An exhilarating 30-minute adventure for participants and spectators alike, Le Grand Continental will show off the enthusiasm, creativity, and community spirit for which Portland is so well known.

White Bird Exclusive Events @ 7:30pm @ Newmark Theatre
Special Note: Only White Bird renewing and new subscribers can now order tickets to these Exclusive Events before they go on sale to the public on August 19, 2011 and November 18, 2011, respectively.

MOMIX, “Botanica,” Wed-Sat, Feb 27-Mar 2, 2013. 5 Shows, Sat. family matinee at 2pm.
The renowned dancer-illusionists of MOMIX return to Portland with a spectacular Botanica, revealing nature’s ever–changing imagery, set to a score ranging from birdsong to Vivaldi. This brilliant production is enhanced by otherworldly costumes, mesmerizing projections, and the world-renowned puppetry of Portland’s own Michael Curry.

CIRCA, Wed-Sat, Apr 10-13, 2013. 4 Shows, Portland Debut
In the words of Artistic Director Yaron Lifschitz, CIRCA is “pure physical poetry, an exquisite mixture of sound, light, projection, movement, bodies and incredible circus skills.”  Seven dazzling performers fly through the air, balance precariously on each other, and hang in spellbinding suspension.  CIRCA is intimate, intense, risky, dramatic, and athletic.

White Bird Dance Series @ 7:30 pm @ Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall and Newmark Theatre

L.A. Dance Project, Wed, Sept 26, 2012. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Northwest Debut
White Bird is thrilled to launch its 15th season with an important new dance collective founded by celebrated choreographer Benjamin Millepied.  Former Principal Dancer with New York City Ballet, Millepied gained worldwide acclaim in Black Swan as featured actor and choreographer.  This remarkable program includes Merce Cunningham’s legendary Winterbranch (1964) and a new work by Millepied.

Akram Khan Company (Great Britain), “Vertical Road,”  Wed, Oct 17, 2012. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. 
Akram Khan is fascinated with blending different cultures and diverse artistic disciplines, and his recent work, Vertical Road, is inspired by the Sufi tradition and the Persian poet and philosopher, Rumi. With a cast of eight remarkable dancers from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, Vertical Road features surging, hypnotic movement that explores man’s rituals and earthly nature.

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, All-Israeli Program, Wed, Feb 13, 2013. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.
Hubbard Street returns with a special program by famed Israeli choreographers Ohad Naharin and Sharon Eyal of Batsheva Dance Company.  Naharin’s Three to Max and Eyal’s Too Beaucoup are intensely physical, full-out ensemble works that prompted the Chicago Sun Times to declare, “The sheer heat of the dancing was undeniable.”

Black Grace (New Zealand), Tues, Feb 19, 2013. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland Debut
Fusing Pacific Island and contemporary dance, Black Grace has become renowned for its artistry, creative excellence, and innovation. Making their Portland debut, the company’s powerful ensemble of Samoan and Maori dancers will perform a program of explosive athleticism and lyrical beauty.

Paul Taylor Dance Company, Thu-Sat, Apr 4-6, 2013. Newmark Theatre. 3 Shows.
White Bird was launched in October 1997 with the Paul Taylor Dance Company.  Paul Taylor is the last living member of the pantheon that created modern dance, and he continues to create work that is vibrantly alive.  Now appearing for the first time over three evenings in the intimate Newmark Theatre, this legendary company will perform an inspiring program of new and retrospective works that are set to extraordinary music and imbued with the full range of human emotion.

Ballet BC, Wed, May 8, 2013.  Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, Portland Debut
Founded in 1986, Ballet BC is now heading in a bold new direction under the leadership of Emily Molnar, former dancer with the National Ballet of Canada and William Forsythe’s Ballet Frankfurt.  Featuring 16 dancers, the company makes its Portland debut with a program encompassing today’s most gifted choreographers from around the world.

White Bird Uncaged @ Lincoln Hall, Portland State University and Newmark Theatre, 8pm

Trisha Brown Dance Company, Thu-Sat, Oct 11-13, 2012. Newmark Theatre. 3 Shows.
Trisha Brown is the most widely acclaimed artist of the postmodern era, and her company launched White Bird Uncaged  (formerly White Bird/PSU Dance Series) in October 2011.   After a 10-year absence, the Trisha Brown Dance Company will return with Brown’s brilliantly inventive work, featuring the U.S premiere of her newest creation, based on her fascination with sculpture and calligraphy. 

Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Thu-Sat, Dec 6-8, 2012. 3 Shows. West Coast Debut
An electrifying dancer, Camille Brown creates theatrical work that is strongly character-based with an eye to both the past and present.  She and her dancers make their West Coast debut with her new work Mr. TOL E. RAncE, which both examines sustained stereotypes of African-American performers and celebrates their humor.

Compagnie Marie Chouinard (Canada), Rite of Spring. Thu-Sat, Jan 31-Feb 2, 2013.  3 Shows. 
We cannot think of a more appropriate company to celebrate the centennial of Igor Stravinsky’s landmark work Le Sacre de Printemps than Compagnie Marie Chouinard, making a long-awaited return to White Bird.  Unlike most choreographic treatments, Chouinard has constructed her Rite around solos, seeking to awaken in strong, clear movement the intimate mystery of each dancer.

Contemporary Ballet of Algiers/Abou Lagraa (Algeria/France), NYA, Thu-Sat, Mar 21-23, 2013.  3 Shows. West Coast Debut
French-Algerian choreographer Abou Lagraa and his wife Nawal gathered together 400 people from all over Algeria with little or no dance experience.  Ten young men were selected for 18 months of intense training and choreographic creation, and the result was NYA (an Arab word meaning “to trust in life”).  This astounding two-part program, set to Ravel’s Bolero and Arab composers, showcases the men’s phenomenal, newly acquired dance talent. 

General Ticket Information
Subscriptions to the 2012-2013 season are now on sale through White Bird at www.whitebird.org.  For a season brochure, call 503-245-1600, ext. 201.

On Sale Dates for Individual Tickets – available on www.whitebird.org:
August 17, 2012 – L.A. Dance Project, Akram Khan Company, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Camille A. Brown & Dancers, MOMIX

November 16, 2012 – Compagnie Marie Chouinard, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Black Grace, Contemporary Ballet of Algiers/Abou Lagraa, Paul Taylor Dance Company, CIRCA, Ballet BC