For Immediate Release: February 2, 2005
Media Contact: Roy A. Wilbur, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 215.898.6706

Dance Celebration, presented by Dance Affiliates and Penn Presents, is pleased to join with Partners of the Americas www.partners.net in celebrating the Pennsylvania/Bahia Partnership in conjunction with DanceBrazil. Partners of the Americas – founded in 1964 as the people to people component of the Alliance for Progress – was created for the purpose of linking the United States with Latin American and Caribbean countries in partnerships. Pennsylvania and Bahia, Brazil have been linked to focus on a range of projects, including cultural exchange, emergency preparedness, agriculture and environmental issues, sports, public outreach and youth development.

BAHIA, BRAZIL CELEBRATION
February 15, 2005
5:30pm: University Square Dinner/Lecture
A buffet dinner in the lobby provided by Zocalo Restaurant will be followed by Brazilian desserts - soft drinks, Brazilian soda and coffee served (BYOB). A lecture on Bahian culture will be given by Dr. Ken Dossar, a Penn grad and Director of Temple's Bahia program. Dr. Dossar's exhibition of photographs of Bahia, Brazil will be on display in the lobby, as well as baianas, beads and other Bahian articles. The exhibition of photos is being previewed prior to its installation at the African American Museum.

7:30pm Dance Celebration presents DANCEBRAZIL in the Zellerbach Theatre
Drawing its inspiration from the state of Bahia, DanceBrazil blends Afro-Brazilian dance and music traditions such as Capoeira, Samba and Candomblé with contemporary dance. This virtuosic company of dancers, singers and musicians under the direction of choreographer-founder and Master Capoeirista Jelon Vieira presents spontaneous and awe-inspiring performances with live music. This makes the “entire evening an uplifting, hand-clapping event.” Show Business An additional performance of DanceBrazil will be held on February 16 at 7:30pm.

Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts
3680 Walnut Street, Philadelphia
DanceBrazil Show Tickets: $30-$45
Dinner/Lecture Tickets: $15
FOR TICKETS & INFORMATION, 215-898-3900 or www.PennPresents.org

DANCE CELEBRATION PRESENTS DANCEBRAZIL IN THE PREMIERE OF RETRATOS DA BAHIA, A DAZZLING DISPLAY OF CAPOEIRA, LIVE MUSIC AND CONTEMPORARY DANCE

Dance Celebration, co-presented by Dance Affiliates and Penn Presents, presents DanceBrazil on Tuesday, February 15 and Wednesday, February 16 at 7:30pm, in the Zellerbach Theatre of the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 3680 Walnut Street. The Philadelphia premiere of Jelon Vieira's full evening work, Retratos da Bahia, weaves capoeira, live original music and song with contemporary dance and Brazilian traditions into one joyful celebration.

The Washington Post exclaims, “There can't be much anywhere to match the strength, flexibility, speed and idiomatic allure of the dozen dancers and musicians.” Founded in 1977 by Jelon Vieira, a master capoeirista and gifted choreographer, the company delivers a virtuoso display of aerial somersaults, hurling legs, fast and fluid inversions, breathtaking handstands, scissoring headstands, gyrating torsos and no-handed cartwheels. These signature moves are derived from the ancient form of street dancing popular among African slaves in Bahia that originated in Angola, Central Africa. Named after and inspired by Pierre Verger's seminal book documenting the culture of Bahia, Retratos da Bahia, interweaves the Brazilian traditions of Samba, Candomble and Carnaval. “The generosity, vitality and eye popping virtuosity of the dancers and capoeiristas made the entire evening an uplifting, handclapping event.” (Show Business)

Tickets prices are: $45, $35, and $30. There are discounts for seniors, students, groups, and Penn alumni, as well as the TIAA-CREF university faculty/staff discount. For tickets or more information, call 215-898-3900, or visit online at www.pennpresents.org. Media Sponsors: Philadelphia City Paper and WHYY-FM. This presentation is a Dance Celebration special event and is not included in the subscription series.

Retratos da Bahia features text by Jose Antonia Saja. The music score is a collaboration between Tote Gira (music director, musician and vocalist) and Emilia Biancardi Ferreira (ethnomusicologist) reflecting the Afro-Brazilian roots of traditional Bahian music such as call and response songs from Capoeira, songs of the fisherman, traditional samba and contemporary sounds. Retratos da Bahia opens with a “Memoria” retracing the past, includes the popular “Samba de Roda” to the rare musical adaptation of the “Samba de Reconcavo” and closes with fun-loving “Carnaval.” Retratos is a homage to Pierre Verger (French photographer and anthropologist) whose book is noted for including photographs depicting the Brazilian traditions in the purest form that no longer exist.

DanceBrazil is known for its fusion of Afro-Brazilian dance such as Capoeira, Samba, and Candomblé with American Modern Dance informed by Martha Graham, Lester Horton and Katherine Dunham. Born in Bahia, Vieria and the late Loremil Machado, co-founders of The Capoeira Foundation, are credited with introducing capoeira to the United States in 1975. Vieira studied with the renowned Mestres Bimba who opened the first academy officially recognized by the Brazilian Office of Education in Brazil in 1937. Vieira has taught in private, community and university settings. His students of all ages include soccer great Pele and American movie actors Wesley Snipes and Eddie Murphy. He has worked with Dance Theater of Harlem and Alvin Ailey. In addition, he has been a guest on Views, New York, Secret African City (BBC), The Arsenio Hall Show, Good Morning America, Like It Is and Good Day New York. He is a recipient of numerous awards including fellowships from The National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Arts Council and New York Foundation for the Arts. In 1990 Vieira was inducted into the International Hall of Fame of Martial Arts and received an award from Wesley Snipes as one of “The Masters of Martial Arts of the 20th Century.”

The company has performed at the Spoleto USA, Festival of Vienna, Austria; South Bank Theater in London, England; The Kennedy Center, Washington, DC; International Arts Festival, Hong Kong; and Avery Fisher Hall, New York City. The company's repertoire also includes works by Carlos dos Santos and Nem Brito.

The company will also engage in an outreach program at the Sadie Moser Tanner Alexander School for middle school students during its Philadelphia engagement. For information education programs, contact Dance Affiliates, 215-636-9000 ext.110.

This program is presented as part of ArtesAmericas (www.artesamericas.org), developed by the University of Texas at Austin in partnership with the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies and the Center for Mexican American Studies. Founding support provided by Altria Group. This tour of DanceBrazil is made possible by a grant from Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and MidAtlantic Arts Foundation in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art. Dance Celebration is also funded in part by: Connelly Foundation, Samuel S. Fels Fund, Friends of Dance, Pennsylvania Presenters, The Philadelphia Cultural Fund and The William Penn Foundation.

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