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Urban Bush Women, Dianne Walker with The Masters of Tap and nicholasleichterdance Showcase Three Unique Styles During DANCEMASTERS WEEKEND AT WESLEYAN

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(Middletown, Conn., February 21, 2006)—Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts has announced an innovative and invigorating schedule of dance for DanceMasters Weekend at Wesleyan 2006, held Saturday and Sunday, March 11 and 12. The seventh annual DanceMasters Weekend will feature a showcase performance by three contemporary dance companies:  Urban Bush Women, Dianne Walker and Masters of Tap and nicholasleichterdance, and also 15 master classes taught by top dance professionals. DanceMasters Weekend was created to introduce and promote dance to the people of Connecticut and to support and nurture young artists. It has become one of the most eagerly anticipated annual events for dancers, teachers and dance enthusiasts in the region, bringing the best of contemporary dance from around the world to Middletown.

More information about participating in DanceMasters Weekend, including master teacher and company bios, is available from the box office, 860-685-3355 or on the web at www.wesleyan.edu/cfa/dancemasters.

The Dancemasters Showcase Performance will take place Saturday, March 11 at 8pm in the CFA Theater. Showcase performance tickets are $19 general and $17 for seniors and students. This year’s showcase will feature dancers and choreography from three outstanding companies. Led by Artistic Director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Urban Bush Women is an internationally renowned performance ensemble that engages a diverse audience by producing bold and life affirming dance theater based on women’s experiences, African American history and cultural influences of the African Diaspora. For over 25 years, as a pioneer in the resurgence of tap, Dianne Walker’s career has taken her to Broadway, television, theater, numerous universities and jazz performance venues throughout the world. She was a featured dancer in the movie Tap with Gregory Hines and recently completed a tour with Savion Glover and Jimmy Slyde. Choreographer Nicholas Leichter, who has performed with the companies of Ralph Lemon, Jennifer Muller and Ronald K. Brown and is a graduate of the Connecticut College Dance Department, is this year’s recipient of the Mariam McGlone Emerging Choreographer Award. His company nicholasleichterdance offers work that is accessible and daring, and wholly reflects the street culture of today—fusing modern dance with hip-hop, jazz and street dance styles.

DanceMasters Master Classes will take will take place Saturday, March 11 from 10:30am to 6pm and Sunday, March 12 from 11am to 4:30pm in the CFA’s two dance studios. Master classes are $95 for a weekend pass (six classes plus one ticket to the performance) or $17 per class ($15 each for four or more) with group discounts available. This year’s 15 classes represent a variety of forms, including ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop and contemporary dance, as well as dancers from the showcase performance companies and teachers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theater, Battleworks, Séan Curran Company, Momix, Pascal Rioult Dance Theater and the Urban Bush Women.

DanceMasters is made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, Middletown Foundation for the Arts, Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Foundation, Mariam McGlone DanceMasters Endowment Fund and the Ensworth Charitable Foundation.

Wesleyan University’s Center for the Arts (www.wesleyan.edu/cfa) is an 11-building complex on the Wesleyan campus that houses the departments of art and art history, film studies, music, theater and dance. It serves as a cultural center for the region, the state and New England. The CFA includes the 400-seat Theater, the 260-seat Cinema, the World Music Hall (a non-Western performance space), the 414-seat Crowell Concert Hall and the Ezra and Cecile Zilkha Gallery. For more information about CFA performances and events, call (860) 685-3355, or visit www.wesleyan.edu/cfa.

For more information and tickets

Box Office Phone:         (860) 685-3355                           Address:    Wesleyan University Box Office

Box Office Fax:             (860) 685-3935                                           222 Church Street

E-mail:                       boxoffice@wesleyan.edu                               Middletown, CT 06459-0001

* Performers and schedule are subject to change.

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