Post in May: Ground Zero Dance May 20, 2010

Ground Zero Dance celebrates the grand opening of Dogtown Dance Theatre in historic Manchester, with a series of performances May 20-22 and 27-29, 2010. Choreographer Rob Petres’s acclaimed dance-theatre works Rope and Moment of Flight will be presented in rotation, in conjunction with works by local, national, and international guest artists: Christian Von Howard (Richmond/NY), Starr Foster (Richmond), Amaranth Contemporary Dance (Richmond), Karl Anderson (NY), Maria Bauman (NY), Victoria Fink (Richmond), and Zap McConnell (Charlottesville/Puebla, MX).
The two-weekend celebration will also include community master classes, guest speakers, and a street fair with performances by Ezibu Muntu African Dance Company, among other local music and dance artists. All performances will take place at the newly-renovated Dogtown Dance Theatre at 109 W. 15th Street, on the corner of 15th & Bainbridge Streets in the historic Manchester neighborhood of Richmond. All performances 8pm, with 2pm matinees on May 22 and 29. The street fair at 15th and Bainbridge Streets will take place on Saturday, May 22 from 3-6pm, with free admission. Performance ticket information will be available by phone beginning May 1 at 804-353-9774. Free parking available in a lot on Bainbridge Street, across from the Manchester Medical Center.
The Take Flight performance series will highlight the talent of a variety of contemporary dance artists, many of whom will also be using Dogtown Dance Theatre to stage their own performances in the coming seasons. Master classes will be offered to the local community—dancers and non-dancers alike—by local and visiting dance artists. Matinee performances on both Saturdays will be targeted to youth and student populations in the surrounding community.
Ground Zero Dance is the resident company of Dogtown Dance Theatre, a new home for Richmond’s independent performing artists. If the Center Stage complex in downtown Richmond serves as a Broadway away from New York City, then Dogtown Dance Theatre promises an equally critical factor of a city’s creative health: a thriving Off-Broadway scene where independent artists and small companies can afford the time and space to create and present their work in a facility designed with them in mind.
Nestled within the Manchester Residential and Commercial Historic District on the south side of the James River in Richmond, Virginia, the newly-renovated Dogtown Dance Theatre – formerly the Bainbridge Junior High School Gymnasium - was built in 1939. Just as sports and recreation once were the principal activity on this site; dance, performance and community outreach now comprise the essential purpose of this beautifully refurbished facility.

Founded in 2000, Ground Zero Dance seeks to bring live performance to diverse audiences by creating and producing the work of company members; collaborating with and presenting local, regional, national, and international artists; and offering experiential education through community participation.