Fado, Hip-hop & The Blues

Dance Umbrella welcomes the return of choreographer Donald Byrd and his new company Spectrum Dance Theater.

"Since 1976, Donald Byrd has created over eighty works for his former company and for Spectrum Dance Theater, as well as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dayton Contemporary Dance, Pacific Northwest Ballet, San Francisco Opera, New York Shakespeare Festival and most recently The Washington Ballet.

For Fado, Hip-hop & The Blues, Spectrum's new Artistic Director, Donald Byrd takes as his inspiration the impact of the African Diaspora on western popular music. Three contrasting styles of music, each developed in response to a different type of oppression, form the basis of an evening of exploration in dance. Da Blues has music by Driftin' Slim & His Blues Band and Little Walter. The hip-hop artist Mystikal, provides the pulse for Short Dances/Little Stories , and the evening will be completed with and their souls will understand... featuring songs by Mariza, Waldemar Bastos and other noted Fado artists from Portugal and its former African colonies.

"Byrd is an American dance treasure" --Alice Kaderlan, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

"Ultimately, of course, every dazzling detail -- the glorious dancing, brilliant choreography and striking visual effects --is the result of Donald Byrd's arrival as artistic director." Alice Kaderlan, Seattle Post-Intelligencer

For more information on the company,
visit www.spectrumdance.orgmation on the company

These presentations of SPECTRUM DANCE THEATER and JANE COMFORT and COMPANY are part of a series of programs designed by the National Performance Network (NPN). NPN is an independent organization begun by Dance Theater Workshop and is comprised of arts organizations in 37 cities and 26 states. NPN is made possible through major funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts (a federal agency). For further information, visit the NPN website at www.npnweb.org or write: National Performance Network, PO Box 70435, New Orleans, LA 70172.   Additional funding has also been provided by the City of Austin under the auspices of the Austin Arts Commission, Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and private contributions.

For information call Dance Umbrella @ 450-0456.Post-performa