(Left to right) The Martha Graham Dance Company will perform at the
Kennedy Center in December. This photo shows a member of the company in
a previous production of ‘Appalachian Spring.’ Daniel Phoenix Singh in
a promotional photo for his fall festival. (Martha Graham Center for
Contemporary Dance photo by John Deane; Dakshina/ Daniel Phoenix Singh
photo Stephen Baranovics)
|
JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
Friday, August 22, 2008
 Local
dance
troupes
that
make
the
gay
experience
central
to
their
presentation
are
extremely
limited
—
only
D.C.
Cowboys:
the
Dance
Company
and
the
X
Faction
Dance
Company
qualify.
The
Cowboys,
founded
in
1994,
are
riding
an
all-time
high
this
fall
with
a
string
of
still-unfolding
performances
on
NBC’s
“America’s
Got
Talent,”
where
they’ve
already
survived
a
few
initial
rounds
of
competition
and
are
slated
next
to
compete
Tuesday
and
Wednesday
at
8
p.m.
where
they’re
among
the
top
40
contestants
of
the
season.
Though
last
year’s
winner
was
announced
in
late
August,
this
year
NBC
is
dragging
things
out
—
the
third
season
champion
will
be
announced
Oct.
1
at
the
end
of
a
9
p.m.
telecast.
The
Cowboys,
who
specialize
in
suggestive
country-flavored
performances
under
the
direction
of
founder
Kevin
Platte,
have
three
local
performances
scheduled
for
fall
—
they’ll
be
at
Remingtons
at
10
p.m.
on
Sept.
19,
Oct.
17
and
Nov.
21
(all
Fridays)
for
their
monthly
parties.
Copies
of
the
Cowboys’
2009
calendar
and
making-of
DVD,
a
portion
of
the
proceeds
of
which
benefit
HIV
and
AIDS
charities,
are
on
sale
for
$20
at
their
performances.
Visit
www.dccowboys.org
for
more
information
and
details
on
out-of-town
fall
performances.
The
X-Faction
Dance
Company
has
also
enjoyed
many
high-profile
national
appearances
with
artists
like
Pink,
Mya,
Prince,
Ashanti
and
more.
The
group
doesn’t
bill
itself
as
unabashedly
gay
as
the
Cowboys,
but
twice-weekly
appearances
at
Town,
Washington’s
largest
gay
dance
club,
have
cemented
the
group’s
queer
connection.
X-Faction
previously
performed
at
the
now-defunct
Velvet
Nation.
The
city’s
other
dance
outfits
don’t
bill
themselves
as
gay
but
do
have
several
openly
gay
dancers
and
directors
such
as
Dana
Tai
Soon
Burgess
of
the
Asian
troupe
Dana
Tai
Soon
Burgess
&
Company,
Daniel
Phoenix
Singh
of
Dakshina/Daniel
Phoenix
Singh
Dance
Company
and
Septime
Webre
of
Washington
Ballet.
As
usual,
the
Kennedy
Center
is
the
main
go-to
spot
for
performance
dance
in
the
District.
Several
outfits,
both
local
and
not,
have
high-profile
performances
slated
at
the
Center
this
fall.
On
the
ballet
front,
the
Suzanne
Farrell
Ballet,
the
Kennedy
Center’s
own
ballet
company,
will
perform
two
works
by
George
Balanchine
in
October
—
one
featuring
the
music
of
Johannes
Brahms,
Igor
Stravinsky
and
Anton
von
Webern;
the
other
a
work
called
“The
Balanchine
Couple.”
The
performances
run
Oct.
8-12;
tickets
range
from
$29
to
$84.
The
San
Francisco
Ballet
plays
the
Kennedy
Center
Nov.
25-30
as
it
celebrates
its
75th
anniversary
with
Artistic
Director
Helgi
Tomasson’s
full-length
“Giselle”
and
a
mixed-repertory
program.
Tickets
range
from
$29-$99.
The
San
Francisco
Ballet
is
the
country’s
oldest
professional
ballet
company.
The
Joffrey
Ballet,
a
Chicago
outfit,
will
perform
“The
Nut-cracker”
at
the
Center
Dec.
11-14.
Tickets
range
from
$47-$150.
Bangarra
Dance
Theatre,
an
indigenous
Australian
contemporary
dance
company
founded
in
1989,
performs
at
the
Kennedy
Center’s
Eisenhower
Theater
Oct.
16-17.
Tickets
range
from
$22-$65.
Shen
Wei
Dance
Arts,
the
Kennedy
Center’s
resident
company,
performs
two
works
entitled
“Map”
and
“Re-”
in
the
Eisenhower
Theater
Oct.
29-30.
Tickets
range
from
$22-$65.
Same
locale
and
price
range
for
the
Martha
Graham
Dance
Company,
which
will
perform
Graham’s
“Clytemnestra”
Dec.
9-10.
And
in
the
avant-garde
vein,
Kennedy
Center
honoree
Merce
Cunningham
will
bring
his
eponymous
company
to
the
Eisenhower
Theater
for
a
series
of
Washington
premiers
from
his
own
repertory
Dec.
12-13.
Same
locale
and
price
range
as
Graham.
DC
Cowboys
are
having
a
fall
of
unprecedented
prominence
via
their
appearances
on
'America's
Got
Talent.'
(DC
Cowboys
photo
by
Ward
Morrison;
courtesy
of
DC
Cowboy) |
|
Dakshina/Daniel
Phoenix
Singh
&
Company
has
several
performances
slated
for
fall.
On
Sept.
8,
Dakshina
performs
at
the
Kennedy
Center
for
the
Dance
Metro
DC
Awards
ceremony.
On
Sept.
18,
Dakshina
is
returning
to
Woodrow
Wilson
Plaza
for
the
third
year
for
its
Lunch
Time
series.
The
event
is
free.
Another
free
lunch
time
event
will
be
held
at
the
Harmon
Center
on
Oct.
1
with
Dakshina.
On
Oct.
5,
Dakshina
will
host
the
Peace
Concert
to
open
its
annual
Fall
Festival
of
Indian
Arts.
Closing
performances
are
slated
for
Oct.
25-26
at
Lincoln
Theatre.
Visit
www.dakshina.org
for
performance
times,
locations,
prices
and
more.
Dana
Tai
Soon
Burgess
&
Co.
also
has
a
busy
fall
planned.
The
highlight
of
its
season
is
the
world
premiere
of
“Hyphen”
at
George
Washington
University’s
Lisner
Auditorium
Oct.
24-25.
“The
piece
looks
at
the
experience
of
being
a
hyphenated
American
—
Asian-Americans,
but
also
other
ethnic
Americans
and
multi-racial
Americans,
and
whether
the
hyphen
connects
or
separates,”
Burgess
says
in
promotional
materials
for
the
work.
“The
dance
shows
that
there’s
definitely
a
struggle
going
on;
trying
to
connect
and
find
commonality
is
really
hard.”
The
work
found
its
origins
in
last
year’s
Virginia
Tech
shootings.
The
company
will
also
give
a
lecture
and
demonstration
at
the
Smithsonian
on
Nov.
15.
Visit
www.movingforwarddance.com
for
performance
times,
ticket
prices
and
more.
The
Dance
D.C.
Festival
is
slated
for
the
weekend
of
Sept.
27.
No
other
details
were
available
by
press
time
but
visit
|
 |
