DANCE NOW! MIAMI MAKES BROWARD CENTER DEBUT

Published: May 9, 2019

Fort Lauderdale, FL – Bridges are both symbols of cooperation and communication, as well as a real means of allowing people to move from one place to another, across a divide. When one of South Florida’s leading dance companies, Dance NOW! Miami, performs for the first time at the Broward Center’s Amaturo Theater, both meanings of the word will be invoked. Fresh off the company’s recent tour of Italy, the evening, on Friday, May 17, at 8 pm, includes their signature sinewy and graceful choreography in the Broward premieres of their Bridges NOT Walls, (B)ORGIA: Decadence & Decay and Fire Within, Fire Without: Dido on the Pyre; and  the world premiere of The Shifting Weight of Water.

Taking as its jumping off point the recent political struggles and turmoil that have divided America, Bridges NOT Walls, choreographed by Dance NOW! Artistic Directors Diego Salterini and Hannah Baumgarten, is an investigation of the human condition. “Differences among people cause us to fear one another, separating us, instead of allowing us to find common ground,” says Baumgarten. Inspired by the Barack Obama quote – We must guard against a tribalism that is built on us against them – the work explores ways to overcome these natural instincts and to find compassion for one another in a diverse society.

Bridges NOT Walls includes original video art by South Florida-based Francisco Javier Moraga Escalona, and a compelling musical score. It has evolved over the past two years since its world premiere in Miami, as Dance NOW! traveled to a residency in Mexico and in collaboration with the Mexico City Ballet/Compañia de Danza Clásica Quintana Roo, and most recently with Italy’s Opus Ballet.

The evening also features three other signature works from Dance NOW!, including the world premiere of Salterini’s The Shifting Weight of Water, a poetic ensemble work for six members of the company, built around the music of South African composer Phillip Miller. Two Broward premieres round out the program. Baumgarten and Salterini’s jointly created (B)ORGIA: Decadence & Decay, was inspired by the real life story of the famous Italian Renaissance-era family, with original costumes conceived and created by Haydée Morales, designer for Miami City Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, Celia Cruz and others. Salterini, who is originally from Italy, says, “It’s so wonderful for me to dive deep into Italian history with this piece, and dig into the complex contradictions that were part of the Borgia family.”  

Finally, there will be Baumgarten’s Fire Within, Fire Without: Dido on the Pyre a collaboration with composer Federico Bonacossa who uses the ancient instrument the Viola de Gamba for the score. It is a retelling of the Roman myth, chronicling the tale of a couple's passionate love and a tragic suicide.

Tickets are $35 with $15 student and senior tickets. Ticketmaster is the only official ticketing service of the Broward Center, The Parker and affiliated venues. Buy tickets online at BrowardCenter.org or Ticketmaster.com; by phone at 954.462.0222 or the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located in the Riverwalk Arts & Entertainment District at 201 SW Fifth Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. The Center is fully wheelchair accessible, with adjacent parking. To request materials in accessible format, or any disability accommodation, visit www.dancenowmiami.org or contact Dance NOW! at (305) 975-8489 and info@dancenowmiami.org. For more information visit BrowardCenter.org, like them on Facebook at Facebook.com/BrowardCenter, follow on Twitter and Instagram @BrowardCenter, subscribe to Youtube.com/user/BrowardCenter and join the conversation with #BrowardCenter.

This event is presented as part of the Broward Center’s Arts Access Program, which assists community-based organizations in presenting arts and cultural performances at the Broward Center. The program provides technical assistance and marketing support to local community groups enabling them to develop and build their audiences. Arts Access has collaborated with nearly 50 performing arts companies, nonprofit organizations and cultural and community groups to present all genres of the performing arts including music, dance, theater, poetry, and comedy.

The Broward Center 2018-2019 season is presented by the Broward Performing Arts Foundation. AutoNation, Bank of America, Brightline, Canteen, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, JetBlue and MasterCard are proud sponsors of the Broward Center.

Dance NOW! Miami, in residence at the Little Haiti Cultural Complex, and the leading contemporary dance company in Florida, was founded in 2000 by Artistic Directors Hannah Baumgarten and Diego Salterini. The two create dynamic contemporary work individually and together to critical acclaim and are renowned teachers in the international arena. Dance NOW! has collaborated with over 100 artists and organizations nationally and internationally and the company leads the South Florida dance community’s growth through its initiatives and multifaceted programming. The company has been presented in 15 states and on three continents, and has reached over 25,000 children in South Florida alone through its educational programs. For more information visit www.DanceNowMiami.org.

Support for Dance NOW! Miami is provided in part by the State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and the Board of County Commissioners; the City of Miami Beach Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; Citizens Interested in Arts; Miami Salon Group; Foundation for New Education Initiatives; Florida Dance Education Organization; Miami Dance Futures; New World School of the Arts; Miami ArtZine; the Betsy Hotel; the Samara Fund; KCC Productions; Akerman Law firm; Northern Trust Bank; Florida Memorial Sports Medicine Center; the City of Miami Parks and Recreation Department and the Little Haiti Cultural Complex; and other donors. Dance NOW! is also funded by The Children's Trust. The Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County.