Endowment Guide

Acclaimed dance company performs

Date 2/21/2002 12:00 AM | Topic: Arts & Culture

Parsons Dance Company, an internationally known modern dance troupe, will perform Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. on the CFL stage.

Yvonne Kuhlman, director of Campus Programming and PAC advisor, said she thinks students will enjoy the show because of the "beauty and fascination of watching people move in ways that you can't even imagine."

This will be the company's second visit to Luther, as they performed here in 1990 and were well received.

The group is made up of 10 full-time dancers and is led by choreographer and founder David Parsons. Parsons has created over 60 original works for the group.

Kuhlman described the dancers as very athletic and says they will present a broad range of concepts. In one piece, entitled "Caught," dancers will time their music and movements with a flashing strobe light in an otherwise dark auditorium.

Born in Illinois and raised in Kansas City, Parsons founded his dance company in 1987 after years as a leading dancer for the Paul Taylor Dance Company. He also worked for many years as a choreographer, teacher, director and producer of dance productions.

Having entertained audiences on six continents, the company is immensely popular and has danced at such prestigious venues as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and at the Spoleto Festivals in Italy, Charleston, and Melbourne.

The troupe has also made television appearances, performing on the PBS series "Behind the Scenes" in 1992 and on "New Year's Eve for Times Square" in 2000.

Parsons has been honored with such awards as the Choreography Fellowship Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1988, 1989 and 1995 and also received the Dance Magazine Award for the year 2000.

"If you have never seen a dance production, give it a chance," Kuhlman said. "Watch the bodies and you will be amazed."

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Jenny Mason
Staff Writer

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