Renowned Koresh Dance Company to Perform Two Shows in Doudna
Apr-07-2010
Philadelphia's Koresh Dance Company will bring its powerful stage presence and high-energy style to Eastern Illinois University's Doudna Fine Arts Center for two shows on April 23 and 24.
Both performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. in The Theatre. Tickets are $15 for the general public; $12 for seniors and EIU employees; and $7 for students. Seating is reserved.
Founded in 1991 by Israeli-born choreographer Ronen Koresh, the Koresh Dance Company presents its audiences with an exciting and emotional blend of ballet, modern and jazz molded into a style of choreography that is eloquent and explosive.
Koresh Dance Company performances feature an eclectic repertoire of work by its founder (who serves as the troupe's artistic director) and guest choreographers, including Donald Byrd (Spectrum Dance Theater), Robert Battle (Battleworks), Itzik Galili (Galili Dance) and Brian Sanders (JUNK).
The Company's critically acclaimed work attracts a continually increasing audience across the nation, and Koresh's reputation for passion and outstanding technique regularly results in sold-out performances.
Reviewers have lavished praise on the troupe.
- "Koresh dancers have long been known for their exceptionally fine-toned physiques -- and the caliber of their movement execution is simply marvelous, regardless of the technical requirements." -- Philadelphia City Paper
- "This is an exciting company, with choreography full of surprises and dancers equipped to execute the often-stunning shifts in dynamic and mood. They consistently astonish with their skill; when all nine of them move together as a unit, they become a single entity, a piece of life moving as if with one heartbeat." -- San Antonio Express
- "The entire evening’s performance was dancing at its most profound. I can’t remember the last time a dance company drew tears from me; this one did, several times." -- Reading (Pa.) Eagle
Ronen Koresh's dance history includes training and dancing with his mother, a folk dancer in the Yemenite tradition, and with a Tel Aviv folk dance group; comprehensive study as a teenager with Martha Graham’s Bat Sheva Dance Company; and training with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in New York City.
In 1984, Koresh began performing with Shimon Braun’s acclaimed Waves Jazz Dance Company in Philadelphia. He also was one of the original Evening Magazine Dancers and won a People’s Choice Award in 1987 as Philadelphia’s Most Outstanding Jazz Dancer.
Koresh, an in-demand guest artist and speaker, is a professor of jazz dance at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, which he joined in 1986. He also teaches master classes and creates choreography at Drexel University, Wake Forest and the Elie Studio in Mito, Japan, just to name a few.
In 1993, Koresh opened the Koresh School of Dance in Center City Philadelphia. Besides serving as the home base for his company, the studio is a mecca for dancers in the community. It has also been a magnet for some of the nation’s most outstanding teachers, including hip hop’s Rennie Harris; ballet’s Elena Tchernishova, Andrew Pap, Sasha and Irina Boitsov, and Alexei and Natalia Charov; and modern’s Terry Beck, Brian Sanders and Myra Bazell.
For tickets and information, or to arrange accommodations for persons with special needs, contact Doudna Fine Arts Patron Services (217-581-3110 or doudnatix@eiu.edu) or visit the Doudna Fine Arts Center Box Office.
The Doudna Fine Arts Center is a division of the EIU College of Arts and Humanities. For more information, please see http://www.eiu.edu/doudna.
