Celebrating its 51st Anniversary of Presenting Exceptional Contemporary Dance Companies, Choreographic Works & Performers-From Around the Globe!

The Dance Council at the Byham Theater wholeheartedly welcomes everyone back to the Cultural District to experience being a part of live performances again on stage. 

Randal Miller, Director of Dance Programming and Special Projects for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, shares this season’s goal. “This 51st season of dance will feature a diversity of artists to entertain, connect, challenge, and reframe the understanding of our community as it relates to the content of these works and dance as an art form. The lineup includes some artists whose performances were canceled due to the pandemic and several new ones, including two US premiere engagements. I am very excited to relaunch the Pittsburgh Dance Council series with the opening event by Pittsburgh native Kyle Abraham and his company AIM in partnership with the Kelly Strayhorn Theater.”

“It is an honor to support dance through this long-standing series and the 51st season. [We] will continue this legacy by showcasing some of America’s most established and respected movement artists alongside emerging international companies. It will also include a large-scale outdoor and site-specific work, trademarks of the Pittsburgh Dance Council. Our goal is to reframe how our community perceives dance,” comments Mr. Miller.

Pittsburgh Dance Council 2021-2022 Season

AIM by Kyle Abraham (United States) | Saturday, November 13, 2021 | 8:00 p.m. | Byham Theater

Presented by Pittsburgh Dance Council in partnership with Kelly Strayhorn Theater

An Untitled Love 

An Untitled Love is Kyle Abraham’s newest evening-length work. Drawing from the catalog of Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo, this creative exaltation pays homage to the complexities of self-love and the Black love. While serving as a thumping mixtape celebrating our culture, family, and community.

Led by Artistic Director and Pittsburgh native Kyle Abraham, whose accolades include being named a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and 2016 Doris Duke recipient. AIM by Kyle Abraham creates work that is galvanized by Black history and culture and characterized by a sensual and provocative vocabulary that is informed by a vital blend of artistic influences. 

This engagement is presented in partnership with the Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) and will include a full week of residency activities, events, and performances centered around Mr. Abraham as part of KST’s My People Festival, which celebrates BIPOC queer and trans-people of color. KST’s festival will conclude with the Pittsburgh Dance Council 2021-2022 season-opening presentation of Mr. Abraham’s newest work, An Untitled Love, at the Byham Theater. For more information about KST’s My People Festival, please visit kelly-strayhorn.org.

Botis Seva | Far From The Norm (United Kingdom) | Friday, February 18, 2022 | 8 p.m.| Byham Theater

BLKDOG  | U.S. Premiere Tour

Vital and gripping, BLKDOG is Botis Seva’s Olivier award-winning, haunting commentary on surviving adulthood as a childlike artist. A genre-defying blend of hip hop dance and free-form antics, BLKDOG explores the inner battlefield of an aging artist trying to retain his youth.

With music from long-standing collaborator Torben Lars Sylvest and performed by Botis’ powerhouse company Far From The Norm, BLKDOG searches for coping mechanisms in the ultimate hunt for acceptance. 

Pilobolus (United States) | April 9, 2022 | Byham Theater | 8:00 p.m.

BIG FIVE-OH! 

For this fiftieth anniversary celebration, Pilobolus questions its own “givens,” turns its traditions sideways, and brings its past into the future – in a thoroughly engaging new way. As fresh and vibrant as ever, Pilobolus – that feisty arts organism– puts the “Oh!” in BIG FIVE OH!, and continues to morph its way thrillingly into audiences’ hearts and minds. The celebration includes signature works from vintage classics to their trend-setting innovative work in shadow. For more information, visit pilobolus.org

Complexions Contemporary Ballet (United States) | May 7, 2022 | 8:00 p.m. | Byham Theater

Bach 25 and Woke 

 Combining technical precision, power, and passion, Complexions Contemporary Ballet transcends tradition in a groundbreaking mix of styles ranging from ballet to hip hop. Founded by Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater members, the company has been featured several times on the hit show So You Think You Can Dance.

 Showcasing the company’s dynamism, the evening’s program features two contrasting pieces: Bach 25, a fast-paced, jubilant work celebrating the music of classical composer Johann Sebastian Bach, and Woke, a sociopolitical work set to a remix of music by Kendrick Lamar, Logic, Drake, Diplo, and more. 

 Motionhouse (United Kingdom) | June 2022 | Times/Location: to be announced, free and open to the public | Special Event, Part of the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival, a production of Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Torque | US Premiere

Outdoor genre-bending adventure

Motionhouse creates world-class dance-circus productions that tour extensively to rave reviews across the globe. Their stunning productions integrate athletic physicality, powerful narrative, and an emotive sound score, taking inspiration from common human concerns and our connection to the world we live in.

A whirlwind of excitement and thrilling entertainment for all ages, Torque is a fast-paced show which sees four performers dancing in an extraordinary partnership with two JCB construction vehicles in a display of strength and agility. The piece premiered at the International Dance Festival Birmingham in 2016 and will make its US debut during the 2022 Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. 

Motionhouse is supported by Arts Council England with additional support from Warwick District Council and is a Hippodrome Associate Artist.

Tickets

Subscription packages are available for $40-$220. To subscribe, call 412-456-1390.  For more information visit, TrustArts.org/DANCE.

Single tickets (as low as $10) for the Pittsburgh Dance Council 2021-2022 Season (51st presenting season) will be available at a later date at TrustArts.org/DANCE, or by calling Guest Services 412-456-6666.

Categories: Show Previews