Koresh Dance Company to Performat Pitt-Bradford November 2

Koresh Dance Company, hailed as “contemporary in style and sophisticated in technique” by the L.A. Times, will take to the stage on Monday, Nov. 2, at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford.

The Philadelphia-based troupe will perform at 7:30 p.m. in the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall. Tickets are $26 and $22 for the public and $11 and $9 for students. The concert is part of the Prism series, formerly known as the Season Subscription Series.

Ten members of the dance company will blend ballet, modern dance and jazz choreography into a unique and dynamic evening of dance, said Randy Mayes, director of arts programming at Pitt-Bradford. Founded in 1991, the group is led by Israel-born choreographer and artistic director Ronen Koresh.

The first half of the performance, “Looking Back,” will feature music from the 1940s and ’50s. It was partly commissioned by Dance Celebration, a co-presentation of Dance Affiliates and Penn Presents, and will include Benny Goodman’s version of “Sing, Sing, Sing”; Peggy Lee’s version of “Fever” and Ella Fitzgerald singing “Night and Day.”

The second part of the show will be one of Koresh’s newest dances, “Ev-o-lu-tion,” which examines communication of emotions before language.

“Koresh has been one of the most dominant, modern dance companies in the country now for over a decade,” Mayes said. “What makes this company stand out is Ronen Koresh himself. It is said that the role of an artist is to define us and our time for future generations. Ronen’s works defines us better than any other artist I know.”

Bringing Koresh to northwestern Pennsylvania, he said, is an unprecedented opportunity for regional dance students and audiences to see a company of this caliber.

“Dance has been under presented in this region, and we wish to fill that void,” Mayes said. “The Koresh Dance Company has won awards and acclaim most companies could only dream about, but the real test of a modern company is how the audience reacts to its works. Koresh excels in the response of the audiences where it performs. We expect a dynamic show that will be well received, and I believe the dancers will exceed that standard easily.”

A performance for area children will be presented on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in the Bromeley Family Theater for the Kaleidoscope school matinee series, formerly New Horizons. The dance company’s visit is part of a three-day residency.

Tickets are available by calling the Bromeley Family Theater Box Office at (814) 362-5113. Videos, including a documentary by public television WHYY, photos and more information about the company can be seen at www.koreshdance.org.