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News • New York City • United States • 2013-03-28

ELECTRIFYING “NEW WORK” BY KAREN PETERSON AND DANCERS AT MIAMI-DADE COUNTY AUDITORIUM’S BLACK BOX APRIL 11 & 12

Bold Program Celebrates 23rd Season of Inclusive Mixed Abilities Dance:

- Guest Artists from Sarajevo

- Premieres by Choreographers Dale Andree and Joanne Barrett

- Live Music by Violinist Vicki Richards

- Integration of Dancers Inclusive of All Abilities

(photo by Mariolga Ramirez)

MIAMI (March 26, 2012) ̶ Karen Peterson and Dancers, the nation’s premier mixed-abilities dance company in the southeast, present New Work April 11 and 12 at Miami-Dade County Auditorium’s On-Stage Black Box Theater.

“Our 23rd season closes with community-driven work that aggressively represents the full spectrum of dance in Miami,” says visionary Artistic Director Karen Peterson. “We set out to include dancers of all abilities, to embrace a wide range dancers\' ages (25-63), and diversity that needs to be seen now in Miami dance performances - audiences want this diversity onstage. These dancers bring more gravitas and depth to the stage.”

The new program unites two of Miami’s foremost choreographers - Dale Andree and Joanne Barrett - with guest-dancers from KPD\'s international collaborations in Sarajevo. “We continue this year’s theme of incorporating live classical music performed onstage together with dance,” adds Peterson, “by inviting Miami’s famed violinist Vicki Richards to perform alongside our Company.”

New Work also proudly features dancers aged 25-63, something that Peterson feels is necessary for Miami’s dance community today, to represent a full spectrum of ages onstage.

“We continue our mission to electrify the stage with dancers inclusive of all abilities, from diverse backgrounds, and a wide range of ages, for an evening unlike anything Miami audiences have ever seen,” says Peterson.

WHEN:

Thursday, April 11 and Friday, April12. Performances at 8:00 pm

WHERE:

Miami Dade County Auditorium’s On Stage Black Box Theater, 2901 W. Flagler Street, Miami, FL 33135

TICKETS:

$18 adults ($13 students and seniors at the door). Available via Ticketmaster 800-745-3000 or purchase at the door. For more information, call 305-547-5414.

Karen Peterson and Dancers’ New Work includes a U.S. premiere, two Miami premieres, and a debut that has been re-staged for these performances, all ranging from the abstract to traditional, narrative storytelling.

NEW WORK: THE PROGRAM …

The evening opens with soloist Katrina Weaver’s Square 1 which portrays the body as a vehicle to explore daily struggles with conformity, control, detachment and acceptance.

She has been with the company for four years and participates in the dance troupe’s international cultural exchange program, collaborating with mixed ability dance companies in Europe and Latin America.

(photo by Mariolga Ramirez)

Next, longstanding Miami dance leaders Dale Andree and Joanne Barrett premiere their new work By Chance Meeting.

This new work takes on the randomness of life and art entitled, with live music by violinist Vicki Richards.

The duo will also present My Guy, in which two female contemporary dancers without disabilities interact with a man in a tropical café (Senior Company Member John Beauregard, who performs in his wheelchair).

The program concludes with dance(4) 7 created during the Company’s recent residency in Sarajevo. In this international collaboration, dancers work with 8’ x 10’ flats and ominous shadows to recreate the atmosphere of the Sartre War Theatre where the work was originally performed. This work includes five company members alongside the guest artists invited to Miami from Sarajevo, Leila Muhic and Zeljko Budimir.

About Karen Peterson and Dancers:

Karen Peterson and Dancers (KPD), was founded in 1990 as a not-for-profit dance organization, and commissions and produces the work of dance artists with and without disabilities presenting excellence in dance through its quality-based programs, community performances and educational workshops. Dancers with and without disabilities create and perform \"mixed-ability\" dance as an inclusive art form on a year-round basis. The dancers collaborate, research and integrate their personal movement styles and discover an innovative dance language for choreography. The troupe provides a positive role model for the disability community and offers new visual inspiration for traditional dance audiences. karenpetersondancers.org

About Dale Andree:

Dale Andree is an Adjunct Professor at New World School of the Arts where she teaches Improvisation, Dance Composition and Laban Movement Analysis in the Dance and Theater Departments. She has a BFA from the Boston Conservatory of Music and received her CMA from The Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in NYC. She has performed and taught nationally and internationally with her company Mary Street Dance Theatre. She has worked with and been directed by May O\'Donnell, Pearl Lang, Paul Sanasardo, Anna Sokolow, Kei Takei, Elaine Summers and others. Ms Andree has been a catalyst in bringing improvisation and site-specific dance to the Miami community.

About Joann Barrett:

Joanne Barrett has made work, performed, and taught dance since receiving her BFA from Ohio State University in 1986. As a dancer in Chicago, Joanne performed with the Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble and independent choreographers Bob Eisen, Neta Pulvermacher and Ernst/Watson before joining the London based choreographer Michael Clark and his company in 1990. Then in 1993 while residing in South America Joanne danced and presented her work with Contradanza, and taught dance throughout Uruguay and Buenos Aires. Now Miami-based, Joanne has collaborated and danced with many artists such as Katherine Kramer, Heather Maloney and Pablo Cano.

About Katrina Weaver:

Katrina Weaver received her Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Florida International University. This is her fourth season with the company. Last year she traveled to Sarajevo as a part of the company’s international cultural exchange to collaborate with other dancers in the region to create mixed ability work. She has also served as a teacher for the YEP program providing inclusive dance classes and performance opportunities for special needs students in Miami Dade County public schools. This year she will also travel to Belgrade to help facilitate a mixed ability workshop for dancers in the region and to Guatemala City in June to perform a duet from the company repertoire. Katrina is also a National Academy of Sports Medicine certified personal trainer and plans to pursue her graduate degree in exercise science.

About Vicki Richards:

Vicki Richards’ musical roots are in traditional Indian Raga and Classical Music. With the infusion of electronic enhancements, she continues to evolve her unique musical contributions in performance and in recordings over the past 3 decades. Currently Ms. Richards and collaborators Jorge Alfano, Mitch Kopp & Jeff Deen are performing at venues from concert stages to ashrams and recording their music.

Karen Peterson and Dancers is funded in part by: the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation\'s Knight Arts Challenge, helping bring South Florida together through the arts. By The Children\'s Trust. The Trust a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County. By the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, the Cultural Affairs Council, the Mayor, the Miami Dade County Board of County Commissioners, by the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Supported in part by: Coldwell Bankers, The Mildred Pallas Levenson Dance Foundation, Miami Salon Group, Citizens Interested in the Arts, the Whitten Foundation, CEP APAP Travel Award and Power2Give.

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