WEST CHESTER, PA — Uptown Knauer Performing Arts Center has announced a new Dance Series for the 2022-23 performing arts season.
The Saturday 2 PM series begins with signature retrospective performances by Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, one of the country’s premier contemporary Asian-American dance companies, on Saturday, November 5. Next, Uptown welcomes the internationally renowned Kulu Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble on Saturday, March 4, 2023. Kulu Mele combines both traditional dance and hip hop in their performances and audience members will find themselves on their feet! The series closes with SHARP Dance Company. SHARP blends classic dance technique with intriguing stories that speak to the human experience creating an artistic experience that is relatable to all audiences. SHARP performs Saturday, June 10.
All Dance Series performances are at 2 PM. All shows are in the 327-seat A. Roy Smith Mainstage theater. Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 at the door. For more about Uptown shows and concerts, the Dance Series, Theatre Society Subscriptions, Friends of Uptown, and more, visit https://uptownwestchester.org.
“World-class dance will now be seen right here in West Chester,” said Carmen Khan, Artistic Director. “We’re thrilled to be able to bring these three unique companies to Chester County audiences and our intimate venue is a wonderful setting for dance experiences.”
The Dance Series:
Saturday, November 5, 2022 2:00PM
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers
Tickets: $35 in advance, $40 at the door
Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL/D) is one of the country’s premier contemporary Asian-American dance companies, described as “deeply spiritual” by Dance Magazine. Hailed for superbly trained dancers and inventive choreography, KYL/D celebrates the ability of dance to integrate body, spirit and mind, inviting viewers to engage in their own journeys of self-discovery. Proceeding from a rich frame informed by living traditions, contemplative practices, and diverse philosophies of Asian origin, KYL/D creates world-class dance that integrates virtuosity with humanity. Drawing upon Eastern philosophies while expanding the perimeter of contemporary dance, Founder & Artistic Director, Kun-Yang Lin’s zen-inspired practice of dance manifests in lush works of poetic sensibility that the New York Times says “create and inhabit worlds of their own.”
KYL/D returns to the Uptown mainstage with a robust variety of signature danceworks spanning the company’s history, including choreography by Kun-Yang Lin paired alongside works by KYL/D senior dance artists Evalina (Wally) Carbonell and Weiwei Ma. Lauded as being “at the pinnacle of Philadelphia’s outstanding dance community” (Philadelphia Inquirer), you don’t want to miss this dynamic concert of world-class dance that integrates virtuosity with humanity.
Saturday, March 4, 2023 2:00 PM
Kulu Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble
Tickets: $35 in advance, $40 at the door
Kulu Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble is a Philadelphia based, internationally renowned performing arts company. For more than 50 years, Kulu Mele has preserved and perpetuated the cultural traditions of West Africa and the African Diaspora, including Afro-Cuban arts and contemporary hip-hop. Kulu Mele has performed across the country and around the globe, and was featured as part of the official entertainment for Pope Francis during his 2015 visit to Philadelphia.
This performance will include both traditional and hip-hop works. Audience members will be invited to dance at their seats in order to understand the integral relationship between the music and the movement (“two sides of a coin”), and will learn about the geographical and cultural origins of the works performed, as well as important insights into the African drums and costumes.
Bring the family! Kulu Mele African Dance & Drum Ensemble is enjoyed by audiences of all ages.
Saturday, June 10, 2023, 2:00 PM
SHARP Dance Company
Tickets: $35 in advance, $40 at the door
SHARP Dance Company was established in 2005 and this performance will be the Company’s Uptown premiere. The company and its theory of “meaning behind movement” is shown prominently throughout their work. SHARP feels that dance should be more than a performance, it should be an experience. SHARP blends classic dance technique with intriguing stories that speak to the human experience, which creates an artistic experience that is relatable to all audiences.
The Company has been touring nationally and internationally for the past 12 years and has performed in over 30 cities in the U.S. including Boulder, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Portsmouth, Rochester, and San Diego among others. They were selected as one of 11 artists worldwide to the BAU Institute in Italy for a two- week artist residency and were selected for a two-week residency in Paros, Greece, which inspired SHARP’s original work for “The Garden Tour”. SHARP has also performed in England as part of the BedFringe.
The mission of SHARP Dance Company is to connect people and communities to raw human emotion by presenting story-driven movement that is inspired by socially conscious issues.
“SHARP Dance Company is quickly becoming recognized for their combination of inspired artistry, imagination capturing “stories of performance” and the discipline required of such performance mastery,” says Barry Livingston Arts Spider Arts Scene, NH
For more information about the upcoming theatre season and all the music, film, and comedy events happening at Uptown, visit https://uptownwestchester.org/.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and Microsoft Start.