What is Dancin’ on Broadway and Beyond?
What will I see?
Dancin’ on Broadway and Beyond
is a celebration of Broadway musical theatre and
contemporary jazz dance. Dancin’ Unlimited Jazz
Dance Company will pack the show with signature
songs and dance pieces from popular Broadway
shows, such as
42nd
Street, Guys & Dolls, Cabaret, Chorus Line,
Chicago,
and many
others!
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What is
musical theatre?
Musical
theatre is a form of theatre combining dance
with music, song, and spoken dialogue. Musical
theater tells a story, communicated through
words, music, and movement, as well as, other
technical aspects of the show. There is usually
dramatic content-comedy, love, anger-associated
with each musical theater piece. Musical
theater stage productions are usually referred
to as “musicals”.
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What
is contemporary jazz dance?
Originating from West African musical tradition,
jazz dance has grown from the streets of New
Orleans to Vaudeville to Broadway musical
theatre to the jazz concert stage. Jazz has
evolved over the 20th
century to include the lively Lindy Hop, the
sleek styling of musical theater legend Bob
Fosse, and the hip-hop of today’s hot, young
artists.
For Marilyn York, the main focus of her career
has been the “classic” approach to jazz dance.
Classic jazz technique borrows heavily from the
fluid lines of ballet, featuring broad, grounded
movements and captivating music. Though it
demands years of training, jazz allows dancers
more freedom to showcase their personalities.
Quality jazz dance is timeless. As a living
artistic history, jazz dance stems from the
heart of a nation never at rest. Kinetic yet
fluid, technically acute yet hugely
entertaining, jazz dance generates communal
energy. Jazz dance is always fresh, reflecting
a mixture of popular musical culture with its
traditions of liberation and empowerment.
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When/Where can I attend Dancin’ on Broadway and
Beyond?
You can attend Dancin’ on Broadway and Beyond
at the Port Tobacco Players
(Live
Theater in Charles County for over 60 years)
in La Plata, Maryland. There will be two performance times to choose from
on Saturday, April 21,
2012 at 3:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
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How much and where do I buy tickets for Dancin’
on Broadway and Beyond?
For adults,
tickets are $17 and for seniors, students, and
military the
tickets are only $14. Tickets are available
here.
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Why should I attend Dancin’ on Broadway and
Beyond?
Dancin’ on Broadway and Beyond
is an energetic and entertaining jazz dance
extravaganza that honors classic musical theater
and concert jazz dance! Audiences tell us that
the variety of dance numbers, enthusiasm and
professionalism of our programs keeps them
coming back. Jazz dance is uplifting and
exciting. It tends to get people moving in
their seats! For a fun theatre engagement, join
Marilyn York and Dancin’ Unlimited, “Northern
Virginia’s Jazz Dance Treasure.”
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Why live
dance performance?
Dance as an
art is unique each time the choreography is
performed. When the piece is over, the art has
passed, it is history. Dancers present
themselves to the audience and then react to the
audience’s involvement. Ultimately, the
audience becomes a part of the show.
They are “engaged” in the dance and
follow the movement closely, alert and ready for
each next dance phrase. As an audience member
at a live performance you can see the intensity
of the performers as they execute each movement
with a particular intention. Live jazz dance is
intense, suspenseful, and can only be fully
experience inside the theatre.
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Who is
Dancin’ Unlimited?
Dancin’ Unlimited, founded in 1973, is the only
professional jazz dance company in Northern
Virginia with a focus on both concert and
musical theatre jazz dance. Marilyn York, the
artistic director, produces new and exciting
programs each year with an emphasis on artistic
excellence, broad variety and professionalism.
Their repertoire ranges from classical jazz
dance to hip-hop, from the Big Band era dance to
Broadway. Company dancers are all classically
trained in ballet and modern as well as jazz
dance. Several are dance instructors in the
Northern Virginia area; several have college
degrees in dance and have performed in a wide
range of venues. Dancin’ Unlimited is a non-
profit 501c(3) arts organization, a member of
the Arts Council of Fairfax County, and a
founding member of the Fairfax County Dance
Coalition.
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Who is Marilyn York? How did she
get started?
**
As the artistic director of Dancin’ Unlimited,
Marilyn York has been bringing first class jazz
dance to the Washington Metropolitan Area for
over thirty years. Her experiences as an
artistic director, performer, instructor and
choreographer attest to her unwavering resolve.
With her keen attention to detail and
no-nonsense management style, York devotes
herself to improving the quality and visibility
of jazz dance.
Like many aspiring performers, York’s interest
in dance was first sparked by the charm of
classic Gene Kelly films. She began taking dance
classes at age eleven in a satellite studio of
the Washington Ballet. York studied ballet for
nearly six years, until pure chance introduced
her to the dance style that would become her
passion. When York was seventeen, the
Washington Ballet's main studio offered a jazz
master class taught by choreographer Wally
Saunders, a Baltimore native. York took the
class on a whim, and found that the movement
came naturally.
After that first fateful class, York jumped at
every opportunity to further her jazz dance
education. In addition to Saunders, York trained
with Nilo Toledo in Georgetown, as well as jazz
icons Gus Giordano, Luigi, Frank Hatchett, and
Phil Cole. She even attended the first Jazz
Dance World Congress in 1990, where she was able
to fully immerse herself in the unique form that
she had quickly grown to love.
In the mid-1970s, York started doing guest
performances for a local nonprofit group called
the Dance Theatre Company of Northern Virginia.
When director Robert Thoma left the company in
1976, he offered York the chance to take over
his position. York accepted the directorship and
changed the name to Virginia Jazz Theatre and
later Dancin’ Unlimited. In the process, she
took on a challenging trifecta of
responsibilities: directing, choreographing and
performing in her own company.
** These are sections of a recent
article published by Fairfax Woman magazine,
“Northern Virginia’s Jazz Dance Treasure,”
January/February 2011, by Sarah Anne Sillers.
For the entire article, go to the link:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/fairfaxwoman/docs/9/original.pdf
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Saturday, April
21, 2012 @ 3 PM & 8 PM
Tickets: $17
Adults | $14 Students/Seniors/Military
