Event Calendar
Upcoming Events
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Yamato, The Drummers of Japan
Soul-stirring Japanese war drums beat to thunderous applause, thrilling audiences around the world.
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Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Rediscover the grandeur of one of history’s greatest love stories in Lerner and Loewe’s timeless masterpiece, Camelot. A sumptuous tale set in a land where honor and chivalry reign, Camelot follows the love triangle of King Arthur, Queen Guenevere and Lancelot.
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Béla Fleck & The Flecktones - The Holiday Tour Featuring Victor Lemonte Wooten, Future Man and Jeff Coffin
Ring in the holidays with Béla Fleck and the Flecktones’ performance of their GRAMMY® Award-winning CD, Jingle All The Way.
Parsons Dance
September 14, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Location: Phillips Center
Genre: Dance
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Buy tickets online!
Prices: Front orchestra/mezzanine: $35; Mid-orchestra: $35; Rear orchestra: $30; Balcony: $25.
There will be a pre-performance discussion with David Parsons and David Harrison, Executive Director of Parsons Dance, at 6:45 p.m.
Check out the Parsons Dance iTunes Playlist
The company that bears David Parsons’ name is known for appealing to people who don’t necessarily like modern or contemporary dance. One reason may be that Parsons is not afraid to break the rules. Using elements other choreographers shun, such as strobe lights and pantomime, Parsons creates works that almost seem to be improvised by the dancers themselves. The only thing that gives them away is the choreography’s complexity and the dancers’ impeccable technique.
Parsons has been called a “choreographic chameleon” for his eclectic style. He has worked with musicians such as the Dave Matthews band and the Ahn Trio; created Too Many Cooks, a dance piece that examines our fascination with the culinary arts as entertainment; and choreographed and directed the dance elements for Times Square 2000, the festivities held in Times Square celebrating the turn of the millennium.
Parsons has garnered international recognition and awards including a Dance Magazine award and the American Choreography Award for his work on AEROS, a production that was created at the Phillips Center.
At 20 years old, Parsons Dance may be one of the youngest American dance companies in existence. It is also one of the best.
Program
Nascimento Novo
Lighting Design by Howell Binkley
Music by Milton Nascimento
After collaborating many years ago with the legendary Brazilian composer Milton Nascimento, Parsons Dance returns to the mesmerizing and exotic music once again in this new work called Nascimento Novo. Using the world-renowned percussionists of Nascimento’s band, we hear an astonishing array of Brazilian instruments and styles rarely heard outside of Brazil. This piece explores the themes of sensuality, community and above all the stunning cohesion of ensemble work.
Hand Dance
Musical arrangement by Kenji Bunch
Closure
Lighting Design by Howell Binkley
Music by Tony Powell
Costume Design by William Ivey Long
“The fast-shifting bodies glimpsed through rays of dazzling light look almost one-dimensional, becoming rounded and whole as the dancers move through calmer open space created by more ordinary stage lighting. Mr. Parsons adds to the richness of the stage picture with charged and flowing patterns that are only ingeniously plotted but also contribute to the dance’s building emotions. There is gentle affection here, as well as love and anger, but everything is suggested just through the movement and groupings of dancers…It would not be surprising if Closure became as popular a signature piece for Mr. Parsons as The Envelope or Caught…”
-Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times
Kind of Blue
Lighting Design by Burke J. Wilmore
Music by Miles Davis - So What
Costume Design by Mia McSwain
Kind of Blue is a quartet commissioned and presented by the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia, Italy. A tribute to the 75th anniversary of the birth of jazz great Miles Davis, this sultry and sophisticated work features the music So What from Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, the best-selling jazz album of all time.
Caught
Lighting Concept and Design by David Parsons
Music by Robert Fripp
“Caught is one of the great pieces of recent times. The concept is so simple: jump, strobe light on; land, strobe light off. The result is a flabbergasting illusion of flight.”
-Tom Strini, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
In the End
Lighting Design by Howell Binkley
Music by Dave Matthews Band
Comments?
Are you this performer? Have you seen this performance? Do you have information to share about this event? Submit your comments below. Our staff will post your comments on a regular basis.
Questions about tickets or seat availability should be directed to the Box Office.
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:40 pm
I am totally jazzed about the September 14th performance in Florida!
I think the audience will enjoy the Parsons Dance classics mixed in with some fresh new pieces. There’s a great variety of music and almost a brand new company since our last performance there.
Enjoy your day,
Abby Silva-PARSONS DANCER
August 22nd, 2007 at 1:43 pm
I’m actually very excited to go back to Florida. I think the audience will be very impressed with the high energy of the company, and the fact that most of us are graduates from Florida schools.
Miguel Quinones-PARSONS DANCER
August 22nd, 2007 at 4:14 pm
I am excited to go down to Gainesville and visit my old friends Michael Blachly and Elizabeth Auer, with whom I’ve worked with extensively and who supplied the theater for the making of AEROS and on numerous occasions with Parsons Dance.
Nic Parsons is starting school as a freshmen this September with an interest in theater lighting and engineering. The rest of the Parsons clan: Stan, Sue and Willow (Parsons) are coming from Tallahassee to join in the festivities.
I love oysters and Gainesville has great seafood restaurants! (slurp, slurp).
David Parsons
August 25th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
Miguel: Which dancers went to Florida schools (and which schools?)
David: I’m going to be in Gainesville in October. It’s unfortunate that I won’t be able to see the performance in Gainesville, but will be looking at the schedule on your website to see if I might be able to get to one of your performances later in the year. I’d also be very interested in hearing what recommendations you might have for seafood restaurants.
August 26th, 2007 at 10:10 pm
I had the priviledge of working a Parsons show at the Weis Center for the Performing Arts at Bucknell University back in the Spring of 1988. I remember how breathtaking “Caught” was back then. I saw it a few years ago at the Curtis Center and it hadn’t lost any of its magic. I only hope I can get a babysitter that night so I can once again, experience this mezmorizing dance. That only is worth the ticket price.
August 27th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
As the relatively new executive director of Parsons Dance (since Oct. ‘06), I am thrilled to bring the Company back to Gainsville, where it has performed several times previously.
The University of Florida has one the best performing arts programs in the United States, under the direction of one of my most esteemed colleagues, Dr. Michael Blachly.
I’ve know Michael for nearly 15 years. We first met when we was executive director of performing arts at UCLA and I was at Arizona State University.
We met in Paris, where we, along with representatives from two other American universities, were preparing to present the first-ever US national tour (with commissioning) of Tanztheater Wuppertal-Pina Bausch. That extraordinary process took more than two years to accomplish and is one of the highlights of my career to date. Along the way, I came to know Michael Blachly well and and appreciate him even more.
He is an extrarodinary visionary who is highly respected by arts presenters throughout the United States and beyond.
He is also one heck of a lot of fun to travel with. While I am in Florida as part of the Parsons Dance tour, I hope I will be able to personally share a story or two of how Michael and I, and our colleagues, narrowly made our return flight from Paris, when a student protest stopped all traffic (including our taxis) as we tried to leave town. It was a wild adventure that required all of our ingenuity. Luckily for all of us, ingenuity is second nature to Michael Blachly!
August 29th, 2007 at 5:52 pm
I am really excited to be performing in Gainesville. This will be like a homecoming performance for me. It is so close to my hometown and so many friends and family live so close to the area. My brother actually even went to the Universtiy of Florida!
Tommy Scrivens
August 29th, 2007 at 5:54 pm
I can’t wait for the University of Florida to see our program on Sept 14… We’ve got something for everyone whether you’re familiar with dance or not. As much fun as we have on stage dancing together, I just know the audience will have a blast!
Patty Foster
September 10th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
Having the opportunity to work with David and his company once again is a “presenter’s dream!” It’s hard to believe that I’ve worked with this talented man and his dancers for over 20 years at this point in time - but such is my reality. I have had the privilege of presenting many outstanding companies in various theaters that I was programming. David would inevitably would have the most unique new choreography, the most exciting programs and the most dynamic dancers on stage. What more can be said? The man is a genius, not to mention a gem to work with.
September 11th, 2007 at 11:46 am
I spent close to three weeks in Gainesville this past July for the University of Florida’s CAHRE summer intensive program learning all about the field of arts in healthcare. It was such an impressive program and it was amazing to be apart of the Arts in Medicine team at Shands Hospital for the weeks I was there. I met some incredible people during my stay, and I can’t wait to perform at the Phillips Center with some of these new friends in the audience. I never did make it to Gainesville’s famous pizza joint, or see a live alligator, so I have a few goals in addition to putting on a great show.
Julie Blume-PARSONS DANCER
September 20th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Unfortunately, we were both ill Friday evening and could not attend the Parsons Dance Co. performance, much to our regret. We heard that the show was fabulous! Also sorry to have missed the Affiliates Party, of course.
September 20th, 2007 at 2:52 pm
The Parsons Company was absolutely spectacular. I’m sorry I hadn’t seen them before, and Liz agrees.
September 20th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
I had the pleasure of attending the performance on Friday, September 14th. WOW, what a show. It is refreshing to see the product of dancers stepping out of the box. I loved the hands piece.
I met David Parsons and it is refreshing to speak to someone who is a pioneer in the world of dance and not affraid to take risks. After all, that is truly living! I would highly recommend this company to anyone.
September 20th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
David Parsons’ choreography is pure brillance. I enjoyed every nanosecond of this performance. Thanks to all who performed and made this a night to remember.
September 21st, 2007 at 7:57 am
I am a Ph.D. composition student in the music school at UF. We are in a continuing dialogue with the UF dance department to produce collaborations between our departments. Having participated in one such project already, it is great to have this string of outstanding groups performing at the Phillips Center. The exposure to cutting edge dance gives us perspective and inspiration to help us in our attempts to move the genre forward. David Parsons group was outstanding; I personally am looking forward to sexperiencing the many other groups scheduled for this season. Bravo to the Phillips Center for securing these performances!
September 21st, 2007 at 10:25 am
We have seen this Company several times and it is our favorite modern dance company. Both Phyllis and I absolutely loved the entire program and look forward to seeing them again.