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03.16.06

CONTACTS: Sally Corbett, 404-727-6678, sacorbe@emory.edu and Nancy Condon, 404-727-1687, ncondon@emory.edu

Toronto Dance Theatre to Present "Sly Verb" at Emory

Emory University presents the Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) performing the Atlanta premiere of their evening-length work “Sly Verb” (2004) as part of the Emory Coca-Cola Artists in Residence Program and Emory’s Flora Glenn Candler series. The performances are March 23-25, 2006, at 8 p.m. in Emory’s Schwartz Center, Dance Studio at 1700 N. Decatur Rd. A post-concert reception supported in part by the Canadian Consulate in Atlanta follows the Thursday performance. Tickets are currently available; organizers recommend advance ticket purchase as Emory dance events usually sell out. Tickets are: $20 for the general public; $15 for non-Emory students and patrons over 65; and $5 for Emory students. For tickets, call 404-727-5050, visit the Arts at Emory Box Office (Monday-Friday, 10:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.) or go online to www.arts.emory.edu.

Peter Randazzo, Patricia Beatty and David Earle founded the Toronto Dance Theatre in 1968; each was a talented dancer, choreographer, and teacher. They created a company in which varied artistic visions could be expressed while commitment to original work celebrating the power of human imagination, to elevating dance as a medium for artistic expression in Canada, and to teaching dance served as unifying principles and goals. Martha Graham’s techniques, a framework for dance that TDT founders knew thoroughly, became the core of The Professional Training Program of The School of the TDT. The company is credited with transforming dance in their own country and far beyond Canada’s borders. The twelve dancers of today’s TDT are acclaimed for their virtuosity and physical daring. The performance home for TDT is Winchester Street Theatre but the dancers often perform in Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre and on international tours.

Christopher House, artistic director of the ensemble since 1994 and one of Canada’s top choreographers, has a long history with the organization. He first danced with TDT in 1979. In 1981 TDT’s founders named him resident choreographer. House was raised in St. John's, Newfoundland. He studied dance with Elizabeth Langley in Ottawa and Nikki Cole and Alfredo Corvino in New York. He has a political science degree from University of Ottawa and a BFA from York University. More than 50 TDT works were choreographed by House, who also develops pieces for many leading international ballet companies. His teaching credits include work with The Juilliard School, The Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and the Rotterdam Dansacademie. Under House’s leadership TDT established an array of innovative choreography projects and performance series, including “The Process Revealed” and “Four at the Winch.” “Four at the Winch” provides choreographers in the early stages of their careers with a breakthrough opportunity to work with the professional company and its resources.

House’s recent work, “Sly Verb,” is a provocative work about human sensation and perception. Connections and barriers among the dancers are explored through fluid, organic movement in the unique work. “Our skin is the surface layer of our brain. Without the sense of touch, we have no relationship with the present moment. Touch is the mother of the senses,” says House about his inspiration for the dance. “‘Sly Verb’ is about perception, the human gaze and the flesh of the world. It was inspired by Deane Juhan’s seminal text, ‘Job’s Body,’ David Abram’s ‘The Spell of the Sensuous,’ and the remarkable life energy of my collaborators.”

Large-scale sculptural elements of the “Sly Verb” set designed by sculptor, architect and furniture designer Scott Eunson are suggestive of networks of human nerve cells and sensory systems. House also called on the talents of composer Phil Strong for the work, their fourth collaboration, and lighting designer Steve Lucas. The show’s costumes are by Jeremy Laing, a young Toronto designer whose first collection debuted during last February’s Fashion Week in New York.

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