CELEBRATE 20! APRIL 24, 2018
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER APRIL 24-25, 2018
BALLET HISPÁNICO MAY 16, 2018
Celebrate 20!
APRIL 24, 2018
Portland Art Museum, Fred & Suzanne Fields Sunken Ballroom
A Festive Event Celebrating 20 years of White Bird. Great Food and Drink. Special Performance by Thomas Lauderdale, China Forbes and Meow Meow. White Bird Awards.
ALVIN AILEY AMERICAN DANCE THEATER
APRIL 24-25, 2018
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
“I am trying to show the world that we are all human beings and that color is not important. What is important is the quality of our work.”
- Alvin Ailey
BALLET HISPÁNICO
MAY 16, 2018
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
“Among the most technically accomplished and musical dancers you’ll find in the contemporary sphere.”
-The Washington Post
Dance Review: Stephen Petronio, Past and Present
Oregon Artswatch writer Nim Wunnan reviews Stephen Petronio Company, saying “What’s remarkable about the Bloodlines project is that it shows, in a very real way, what the historical pieces it examines were and where they went rather than fixating on the historical details that surrounded them. It is easier to list the features of history than it is to bring it back to life for an evening. But Petronio didn’t get where he is today by taking the easy route.” Read the full article.
A Closer Look at Ailey’s Tuesday Program Piece: Untitled America
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater makes their long-awaited return to White Bird, with two nights & two programs, both culminating with Ailey’s masterpiece Revelations. The Tuesday night program features a riveting work by Kyle Abraham, choreographer and founder of the dance group Abraham.In.Motion. TIME Magazine writes of his piece, Untitled America, saying: “Art is both a representation and a reflection of the way things are. It’s also a vision of the way the world might be. And for Kyle Abraham, those juxtaposing forces were key in the creation of Untitled America.
The trio of dances, Abraham’s first commission for the renowned Alvin Ailey Dance American Dance Theater, is a statement on incarceration in America. Specifically, it carries a message about the heavy toll that imprisonment takes on families, particularly in African-American communities.
The work focuses on a few central figures who journey through the loss of freedom, the isolation and the challenges of being separated from society. It’s accompanied by haunting melodies as well as spoken word narratives, some from former prisoners about their experience as inmates.
It’s Abraham’s statement about one of the most potent, and inevitably, disruptive forces in the African-American community today. Read the article and watch the preview here.
A Closer Look at Ballet Hispánico’s Program Piece: Linea Recta
White Bird is proud to celebrate Latino Culture through dance in presenting Ballet Hispánico on May 16. The program features three Latina choreographers, one of which is Annabelle Lopez Ochoa. The Herald writes of her piece Linea Recta, saying it’s “a spot-on curtain-raiser here. Choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa has unstitched elements of traditional flamenco, then woven them into a sizzling contemporary dance piece where time-honoured gender-specific movements are kicked aside as men and women swap leading roles, and bodies mesh together in duets powered by the mood shifts in Eric Vaarzon Morel’s thrilling guitar music. Costumes, in blazing red, nod to bare-chested prowess for men and lavish flounces – albeit in abbreviated bustles – for women.” – Mary Brennan
Read the full article here.
