Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Announces The Pittsburgh Dance Council 2023-2024 Season

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has announced the Pittsburgh Dance Council 2023-2024 season, celebrating its 53rd anniversary. The season will feature performances by renowned American contemporary dance companies and emerging International Artists at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's Byham Theater, 101 Sixth Street, located in Pittsburgh's world-renowned Cultural District. Everyone is welcome to experience dance through contemporary works and creative vision in the months to come, featuring Rocío Molina; Grupo Corpo; Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo; Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, A Dance Company; Vertigo Dance Company, and MOMIX. This season of extraordinary repertoire continues to grow the Cultural Trust's commitment to this ever-changing and inspiring art form, welcome new audiences, and support thousands of artists from the U.S. and around the globe.

Randal Miller, Director of Special Projects and Pittsburgh International Festival of Firsts for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust shares, "I am very excited about this season's visionary artists and repertoire that will grace the Byham Theater stage. The Dance Council's legacy as a presenter has diligently supported and created opportunities that connect us through dance and continues to seek diverse artistry to expand our horizon of experiences. We look forward to hosting these artists and for our community to be part of each unique evening of dance."

As the season begins, Pittsburgh audiences will be amazed by Flamenco superstar Rocío Molina whose long-awaited appearance (U.S. Premiere Tour) is one not to miss! The national and international roster of dance continues with returning icons Brazilian contemporary company Grupo Corpo, and in the new year Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo who will dazzle everyone with unique choreography fusing comedy, drag and dance in celebration of their 50th anniversary. Great American choreographer and dance company Ronald K. Brown and EVIDENCE returns as well, followed by the Pittsburgh debut of Vertigo Dance from Israel. The season is complete with MOMIX bringing a theatrical dance staging of ALICE, based on the story Alice in Wonderland.

Saturday, September 23, 2023
Rocío Molina (Spain)
U.S. Premiere Tour
Spanish choreographer Rocío Molina has coined her own artistic language based on a reinvented traditional flamenco style which respects its essence, but embraces the avant-garde. Radically free, she combines technical virtuosity, contemporary research and conceptual risk in her pieces. A graduate of the Royal Dance Conservatory in Madrid, Molina was awarded the National Award for Dance by the Spanish Ministry of Culture at age 26. Recently she was awarded the 2022 Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts from the Spanish Ministry of Culture and Sports, and the 2022 Silver Lion Award for Dance at the Venice Biennale.

In Caída del Cielo (Fallen From Heaven), Molina contrasts light and darkness, celestial and savage. Accompanied by a live band, Molina's dancing goes deep into her roots while pushing the norms of movement and gender, making a loud declaration that flamenco is an expression of freedom that cannot and should not be domesticated. Contains partial nudity. rociomolina.net

Saturday, October 14, 2023
Grupo Corpo (Brazil)
The historic Brazilian dance theatre company Grupo Corpo share their works Gil Refazendo and Gira in one impactful evening. Led by duo Paulo & Rodrigo Pederneiras, and with over 40 choreographies, this contemporary company has performed all over the world sharing their rhythmic, modern, cerebral, and distinct cultural works.

Gil Refazendo is set to and inspired by the music of one of the godfathers of Brazilian music, Gilberto Gil and encapsulates essences of renewing, rebuilding, revising, reviving, and remaking. Gira responds to the universe of Afro-Brazilian religions-re(constructing) the powerful glossary of gestures and movement accessed from the religions and ceremonies. Contains partial nudity. grupocorpo.com.br

Saturday, February 10, 2023
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo (United States)
February 10, 2024
50th Anniversary Program
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo brings its internationally beloved troupe of male dancers to Pittsburgh to perform a brilliant combination of skillful pointe work and hilarious parodying of classical ballet favorites. Founded in New York City in 1974, the company, affectionately known as the Trocks, began by appearing in late-late shows in off-off Broadway lofts for small audiences who appreciated the iconoclastic humor of it all. In the 50 years since then, the company has grown to achieve great appeal among more mainstream audiences who, each season, flock to theaters throughout the world to see these prima ballerinas perform. Revered by ballet aficionados as well as the uninitiated-those who don't know a plié from a jeté-the Trocks are "a guaranteed hoot for people who know nothing of ballet and an absolute must for those who think they know the originals," ─Star Observer. trockadero.org

Saturday, March 2, 2024
Ronald K. Brown/EVIDENCE, A Dance Company (United States)
The acclaimed and sought after choreographer Ronald K. Brown and EVIDENCE, A Dance Company from Brooklyn, New York return to Pittsburgh with captivating new works. For over 30 years, EVIDENCE has focused on the seamless integration of traditional African dance with contemporary choreography and spoken word-and has provided a unique view of human struggles, tragedies, and triumphs. "No major choreographer has worked harder to bring spiritual awareness to the human heart than Ronald K. Brown," ─The Washington Post.

Brown's new work The Equality of Night and Day examines concepts of balance, equity, and fairness in the light of the conflicting present-day issues faced by young people, women, and people of color. Open Door provides a journey into Afro Cuban social and traditional dance forms embodying the music of Arturo O'Farrill's Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble. evidencedance.com

Saturday, April 20, 2024
Vertigo Dance Company (Israel)
Pittsburgh Debut
Founded by Noa Wertheim and Adi Shaal, Vertigo Dance Company has been sharing their work for over 30 years-providing audiences with unexpected and exciting journeys of unfamiliar territories. Having established a distinct presence in the contemporary dance scene in Israel and around the globe, Vertigo Dance Company has become a worldwide Ambassador for Israeli Art. Through Noa Wertheim's unique artistic creative expression and movement, Vertigo is committed to expanding the boundaries of dance to raise social and environmental awareness.

In Makom (Hebrew for "Place"), Noa Wertheim engages spirituality with existentialism, our inner world with life around us. By carefully navigating between these poles, Noa turns movement into inspiration, as part of "our perpetuate quest for the place that engages us with ourselves", she says. vertigo.org.il/en

Friday, May 10* and Saturday, May 11, 2024
MOMIX (United States)
*also part of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust's 2023-2024 Dentons Cohen & Grigsby Trust Presents
Known internationally for presenting work of exceptional inventiveness and physical beauty, MOMIX is a company of dancer-illusionists under the direction of Moses Pendleton. Seamlessly blending illusion, acrobatics, magic, and whimsy, MOMIX sends audiences flying down the rabbit hole in Pendleton's newest creation, ALICE, inspired by Lewis Carroll's classic Alice in Wonderland. "I don't intend to retell the whole Alice story" Pendleton says, "but to use it as a taking off point for invention." Join this dazzling company on a mind-bending adventure, as Alice encounters time-honored characters including the undulating Caterpillar, a lobster quadrille, frenzied White Rabbits, a mad Queen of Hearts, and a variety of other surprises. Filled with visual splendor and startling creative movement, Alice reveals that nothing in MOMIX's world is as it seems! momix.co