A New York dance company that is artistic, athletic and humorous is coming to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
The LehrerDance Co., directed by Jon Lehrer, will explode onto the stage at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1 in Dunham Hall Theater. Also performing under the direction of Lehrer will be a community group consisting of students from area dance studios. The area dancers will perform a number choreographed by Lehrer.
“Our performance will make the audience laugh, take their breath away, and ultimately inspire them with the company’s trademark breathtaking physical excitement,” said Lehrer. “We will be presenting works that were just performed around the world. We are just coming off tours to Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Russia, where the audiences were brought to their feet night after night.”
LehrerDance, an inspiring and innovative professional dance company based in Buffalo, showcases Lehrer’s unique choreography and embodies his definitive style. Lehrer has extensive background in both the modern and jazz dance idioms. His choreography is organic, artistic, accessible and often humorous. It also reflects life experiences and the human condition.
The company is made up of eight dancers who bring their own unique skills, such as break-dancing, modern, ballet and gymnastics. For more information, visit LehrerDance (http://www.lehrerdance.org/company/).
“SIUE concert-goers are going to love this uniquely amazing dance company that is quickly becoming world-renowned,” said Grant Andree, assistant director in the SIUE College of Arts and Sciences. “Jon Lehrer is a talented choreographer who we are privileged to have here on campus.”
Lehrer will arrive in the area early to teach a community outreach class and a group of SIUE Theater Department of Theater and Dance students, said Kristin Best-Kinscherff, assistant professor and director of the Dance Department.
“It is with tremendous excitement that I will be bringing LehrerDance to SIUE,” Lehrer said. “Over the past several years, I have come to SIUE and taught master classes, as well as getting to work with SIUE dance students. I have created great relationships with the faculty and students, and now I get to come back to a place I love and bring my company.”
Best-Kinscherff coordinated the outreach program that will be part of the Feb. 1 performance. Approximately 30 students from the following studios will participate in the number: Turning Point Academy of Dance in Maryville, Jane Mannion School of Dance in Highland, Dance Station in O’Fallon, Premiere Performance in Edwardsville and The Beat School of Dance in Carlyle.
Lehrer will practice with the community group from 5-8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27-Thursday, Jan. 30 in Dunham Hall room 2015. He also will offer some dance instruction to SIUE dance students.
Dance Magazine is quoted as saying of Lehrer’s dance company: “LehrerDance took the house not so much by storm as by quantum physics. Jon Lehrer’s strikingly original choreography transformed the stage into an energy field of super-charged particles.”
For tickets and information, visit the SIUE Dunham Hall Arts & Issues Box Office, the SIUE Morris University Center Information Booth, artsandissues.com or call (618) 650-5774.
This engagement is supported by the Arts Midwest Touring Fund, a program of Arts Midwest, which is generously supported by the National Endowment for the Arts with additional contributions from the Illinois Arts Council.
The Arts & Issues series brings artistic excellence to the SIUE campus through an eclectic blend of speakers and performers. For more than 29 years, SIUE’s Arts & Issues series has showcased some of the world’s finest artists. Each season, thought-provoking speakers inspire people of all ages and backgrounds. Thanks to the underwriting of SIUE, corporations, foundations and individual donors, tickets are often discounted as much as 75 percent.
Arts & Issues is tied to the academic mission of the University and offers unique opportunities for students, faculty, staff, and the community, to engage with performers and speakers through master classes and special sessions.
Photo Information:
Jon Lehrer