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MARCH COMES IN LIKE A LIMÓN …
WITH DANCEMASTERS WEEKEND AT WESLEYAN, FEATURING
14 MASTER CLASSES AND A PERFORMANCE BY THREE LEADING COMPANIES

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LIMÓN DANCE COMPANY, THE PARSONS DANCE COMPANY AND PASCAL RIOULT DANCE THEATRE SHOWCASE THREE UNIQUE STYLES MARCH 5 IN THE CFA THEATER

Middletown, CT, February 17, 2005—Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts has announced an innovative and invigorating schedule of dance for DanceMasters Weekend at Wesleyan 2005, held Saturday and Sunday, March 5 and 6. The sixth annual DanceMasters Weekend will feature a showcase performance by three contemporary dance companies:  Limón Dance Company, The Parsons Dance Company and Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, and also 14 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 5 at 8pm in the CFA Theater. The works of William Shakespeare, Henry Purcell, Maurice Ravel, and others will be celebrated and re-envisioned through the work of the three featured companies. The Jose Limón Dance Company will perform one of José Limón's signature works, The Moor's Pavane, marrying the passion, jealousy and betrayal of Shakespeare's Othello to Purcell's music. The prodigious talents of the Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre will spring to life in Bolero, a bold and unique interpretation of the famous musical score, and Wien, in which a Viennese waltz by Ravel becomes symbolic of a disintegrating society. The Parsons Dance Company, lauded for the wit, exuberance, and polish of its productions, displays the spirited choreography of David Parsons, one of the most popular choreographers working today. Showcase performance tickets are $19 general and $17 for seniors and students.

DanceMasters Master Classes will take will take place Saturday, March 5 from 10:30am to 6pm and Sunday, March 6 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 14 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 Theatre, Battleworks, Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Forsythe, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Savion Glover's company, Ti Dii and the Urban Bush Women.

In addition to DanceMasters' annual activities, this year the Connecticut Dance Alliance will present its distinguished achievement award to the Center for the Arts and CFA Director Pamela Tatge. A presentation and reception will take place Saturday, March 5 at 6:30pm in the Alsop House (Davison Art Center), located on Wesleyan's campus at 301 High Street. Admission to the reception is $20 and benefits the CDA. Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 860-685-3355.

DanceMasters Weekend is made possible in part by the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, The Middletown Foundation for the Arts, the Daphne Seybolt Culpeper Foundation and the Mariam McGlone DanceMasters Endowment Fund; and also through the planning and vision of DanceMasters Artistic Coordinator Mariam McGlone, whose vast career in dance spans the past seven decades.

Wesleyan University's Center for the Arts 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.

Box Office Phone: (860) 685-3355
Box Office Fax: (860) 685-3935
E-mail: boxoffice@wesleyan.edu
Address: Wesleyan University Box Office, 222 Church Street, Middletown, CT 06459-0001

*Performers and schedule are subject to change.