Dance Salad Festival 20th Anniversary

DSF 2015 will mark 20th Anniversary in Houston with a lot of exiting USA Premieres. Li Cunxin, former Houston ballet principal and author of bestselling autobiography and blockbuster film Mao’s Last Dancer is coming with his Queensland Ballet from Australia, Norwegian National Ballet will debut a curated section of Ibsen’s Ghosts, Houston Ballet Principal dancers, Connor Walsh and Melody Mennite will perform Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Shadow Lovers that she created specifically for them, Jiri Kylian’s Trompe L’Oeil will be danced by Introdans from Netherlands and MUCH more! Please read details below.

As always, photos are available for download in our photo gallery http://www.dancesalad.org/gallery.html

APRIL 2, 3 and 4, 2015, 7:30 PM @ Wortham Center, Cullen Theater.

Choreographers’ Forum, April 1, 2015, 7 PM @ Museum of Fine Arts Houston. Details are coming soon.

USA PREMIERES are marked with *

1. DSF is honored to present Queensland Ballet from Australia and also welcome its Artistic Director, Li Cunxin, former Houston Ballet principal of 13 years and an author of international best-selling autobiography Mao’s Last Dancer which was followed by blockbuster feature film under the same title. Queensland Ballet will perform Short Dialogues* by highly acclaimed choreographer Nils Christe, set to Philip Glass’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, as well as Through to You* by Andrew Simmons set to Arvo Part’s Spiegel im Spiegel.

2. Norwegian National Ballet, Oslo, will mark its 5th appearance in DSF. This top European ballet company will premiere in the USA a curated version of the very evocative production, Ibsen’s Ghosts*(premiered in Oslo on September 19, 2014) based on Henrik Ibsen’s drama Ghosts, directed by Marit Moum Aune and choreographed by Cina Espejord, set to a specially created jazz score by well known Norwegian jazz trumpeter and composer Nils Petter Molvær who will perform his composition live with another popular Norwegian musician Jan Bang.

3. EASTMAN, Antwerp, Belgium, will premiere a uniquely curated version* of Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui’s acclaimed major work,Genesis. Founded in 2010 and named European Cultural Ambassador as of 2013, Eastman was set up to produce and spread the work of Cherkaoui, the company’s Artistic Director who is one of the leading contemporary choreographers of our time. Live music will be played by 4 musicians from around the world, a guitar player, Kaspy N’dia, from Africa, a mridanga (Indian drum) player, BC Manjunath from India, a pianist, Barbara Drazkowska from Poland and beautiful singer and Eastman dancer Kazutomi  Kozuki.

4. Introdans, Arnhem, Netherlands, will debut in Houston with the very exquisite and dynamic work Trompe l’Oeil  by legendary choreographer Jiri Kylian. “As things have diverse qualities and the soul has diverse tendencies, nothing which concerns our soul is easy. So the behavior of the soul towards objects is equally complex. That is why we can laugh and cry about the very same thing. Theatre – the eternal seducer, luring us into believing our own fantasies. Theatre – the ultimate Trompe l’œil….”Jiří Kylián, (meaning in French, “deceives the eye”).

5. Semperoper Ballett, Dresden, Germany, is coming back to Dance Salad Festival with Opus.11* choreographed by David Dawson and set to music by Greg Haines and the Pas de deux from Workwithinwork* choreographed by William Forsythe, set to Luciano Berio’s Duetti for Two Violins, (usually performed as part of Semperoper Ballet’s New Suite, a multi-composite work by W.Forsythe).

6. Houston Ballet Principal dancers, Connor Walsh and Melody Mennite will premiere a very special duet, Shadow Lovers*, choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and set to Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas.
7. Bereishit Dance Company, Seoul, South Korea will debut in USA with Balance and Imbalance* by choreographer and company’s Artistic Director, Park Soon-Ho. This work will be accompanied with a live Korean traditional drum performance by the famous drum ensemble, Noreum Machi, from Seoul.
8. Patrick de Bana, Madrid, Spain, one of the notable European choreographers will debut in Houston with his dazzling flamenco inspired choreography Factum*, set to music by Fernanda and Bernanda de Utrera with arrangements by Luis Miguel Cobo. Factum will be danced by Patrick de Bana and Spanish and flamenco dancer Helena Martin.

9. Bereishit Dance Company, Seoul, South Korea will debut in USA with Balance and Imbalance* by choreographer and company’s Artistic Director, Park Soon-Ho. This work will be accompanied with a live Korean traditional drum performance by the famous drum ensemble, Noreum Machi, from Seoul.