The choreographer envisions this work as part of a full­ evening creation in the making, to be called "To the Moon and Back." The eventual trilogy will include Mr. Silva's Cosmos,created last year for Uptown Dance Company II, and which was performed at the Young Tanzsommer Dance Festival in Austria this summer.
Mr. Silva has performed as a member of Texas Ballet Theater, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montreal, and Ballet Augsburg. He was the first recipient of the Booz Hamilton International "Rising Star Award" for excellence in dance, and was a Silver Medalist at the International Ballet Competition in Shanghai, China.
Taking the audience to a completely different movement genre, Artistic Director Beth Gulledge-Brown presents her newest work, Redirect. Using music from Maurice Ravel's String Quartet, Ms. Gulledge-Brown's work explores the idea of finding unexpected ways around obstacles, be they figurative, literal, or artistic blocks in life. The company shines in Ms. Gulledge­-Brown's signature style, which features intricate partnering and highlights the dancers' strength and technique.
Rounding out the evening, Tony ­Award-­Winning Chet Walker returns to Uptown Dance Company for his third creation on the company. Mr. Walker is the creator of FOSSE the musical, and choreographer of Broadway classics such as Pippin, Annie Get Your Gun, Chicago, A Chorus Line, and many more. Always an audience favorite, Mr. Walker infuses his jazz based choreography with detailed musicality, and requires his dancers to perform with a distinct theatrical style.
One hour before the main show, the pre-­professional Uptown Dance Company II will perform its own show. Highlights include a new work by Chet Walker created for the youth company, the American premiere of Ms. Gulledge-­Brown's Tapestry set to selections from Mozart's Requiem, and the "Grand Pas Classique Hongroise" from the third act of Marius Petipa's ballet Raymonda.
Uptown Dance Company was originally founded in 1999 by Beth Gulledge-Brown. Ms. Gulledge-Brown understood the need to supplement her students' training with performance skills and founded the company to provide a performing outlet for her advanced students. Uptown Dance Company has since grown and now comprises of eight professional dancers from around the world. Ms.Gulledge-Brown's students continue to perform as the pre-professional company, Uptown Dance Company II.
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