Roots and Reflections

This spring PHILADANCO! takes a trip down memory lane, revisiting masterpieces and iconic ballets that are ingrained in the foundation of PHILADANCO!’s extraordinary legacy. Witness one of America’s top dance companies share fresh and fervent stories through movement.

The spring performances feature PHILADANCO’s most requested ballets including George Faison’s “Suite Otis” in Faison’s modern jazz style and inspired by the genius of the late Otis Redding. Ronald K. Brown’s, “Gate Keepers” is a story of homage, celebration, and an acknowledgment of conscious continuity, interconnectedness, history, tradition, and perseverance. “Pretty Is Skin Deep, Ugly to the Bone” by Talley Beatty is a modern jazz ballet in his usual style of inner-city interaction and challenge; and Harold Pierson’s “Roots & Reflections” celebrates 100 years of African American dance history.

Across the nation and around the world, PHILADANCO! is celebrated for its innovation, creativity, and preservation of primarily African-American traditions in dance. One of Philadelphia’s premier dance companies, PHILADANCO! has a legacy of breaking barriers and building bridges across cultural divides and producing high-energy, technically proficient dances with speed, stamina, and grace.