Cool Cities + Dance + Tech = “Peninsula”

Ann Arbor, MI June 15, 2004 -- The Peter Sparling Dance Company (PSDC), Michigan’s premier modern dance company, will celebrate their 10th anniversary with the world premier of “Peninsula” at the Ann Arbor Summer Festival on Wednesday, June 23rd at 8:00 p.m. at Ann Arbor’s Power Center. “Peninsula” is a performance piece which combines live modern dance, original music by noted local composer, Frank Pahl, and the latest in video backdrop technology. With grant and sponsorship funding in the 2004/05 Season, PSDC will take “Peninsula” on a regional tour as part of a project to educate residents about Michigan’s history, provide an opportunity for people to work together creatively and build bridges between diverse community-sectors. Tickets for the world premier of “Peninsula” are available at $26.00, $33.00 and $38.00 each by calling 734.764.2538 (toll free in Michigan at 800.221.1229) or at www.annarborsummerfestival.org.

Peter Sparling has created a three-part video/dance performance which celebrates Michigan’s diverse culture and economic and geologic landscapes. From the Detroit assembly lines to the 45th Parallel to the Upper Peninsula, “Peninsula” is part history, part travelogue and part sheer dance performance featuring the acclaimed PSDC dancers surrounded by Sparling’s intricately-edited video backdrops and text and Frank Pahl’s haunting, original music. This combination of art and technology will bridge “Peninsula” with the “Cool Cities” initiative across the region.

After the world premier on June 23rd, the PSDC will take “Peninsula” on the road touring Wayne, Oakland, Monroe, Livingston, and Washtenaw counties to pay homage to unique Michigan people and places via live performances, video, workshops, master dance classes, lecture demonstrations, rehearsals, and more. The message of “Peninsula” will be conveyed via several community residencies and:

•Provide residents with opportunities to explore their history and create their own video and dance

•Have unique themes customized to meet the interests and needs of the host community

•Include local residents, volunteers and organizations as partners in the planning process

•Encourage people to work together creatively and build bridges between diverse
community-sectors

•Feature a live PSDC modern dance performance including videotaped images of the dancers at various sites throughout the state projected on a larger-than-life screen behind them

•Culminate with a showcase of the video/dance presentation created and performed by community members

“People who share the arts, technology, personal stories, culture, history and more are at the heart of the current initiative to make Michigan cities ‘cool,’ and this is what ‘Peninsula’ is about,” states Peter Sparling, PSDC Artistic Director. “’Peninsula’ confronts issues concerning the environment and natural resources, shifting from an industrial economy, workforce development and cultural heritage, and the communities which host a residency will have the opportunity to explore these issues, bring people together and discuss topics specific to their own sense of place.”

About Dance Gallery Foundation/Peter Sparling Dance Company
Dance Gallery Foundation was established in 1984 and supports Dance Gallery Studio, the only non-profit dance center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The studio offers students of all ages high-quality training in a non-competitive, nurturing environment with performance opportunities and an intensive pre-professional training program. The mission of Dance Gallery is to produce, develop, and promote contemporary dance performance, and provide dance training and educational experiences of the highest artistic quality.

Founded in 1993, the Peter Sparling Dance Company (PSDC) is the third consecutive non-profit professional modern dance company to be supported by the umbrella 501©3 organization. Peter Sparling, a prolific and internationally-respected dancer and choreographer, serves as artistic director, creating, premiering and touring works off original choreography annually with his seven-member company. A former principal dancer with the legendary Martha Graham and José Limón companies, Sparling has over thirty years of professional dance and choreography experience. He is also a tenured professor of dance at the University of Michigan and a leader in the area’s arts and cultural community. For more information on Dance Gallery Foundation and PSDC, please see www.dancegallerystudio.org or call 734.747.8885





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