One thing that anyone who knows anything about professional dance can agree on is that Columbia does not have enough contemporary ballet. Between the Tutu Wars and our dance scene being frozen in a time when full length fairytale ballets ruled the day, (read: the 1980s), we typically only get to see what the rest of the world of dance audiences sees when City Ballet does Body and Movement Explored (coming up soon!) or when the new Columbia Rep Dance Company performs.
Thankfully Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College, under the direction of Kristin Wood Cobb, has a place in its heart for progressive and cutting edge performing arts, including dance!
Coming up on Friday February 19th and for one night only, Complexions Contemporary Dance Company will perform “Stardust: From Bach to Bowie” at Harbison’s state-of-the-art theatre, just off the highway in Irmo.
Rescheduled from the 2019-2020 season, Complexions presents Stardust From Bach to Bowie as a tribute to two fantastic artists who each founded his own musical hemisphere. The show includes "Star Dust," dedicated to the one and only David Bowie, plus an additional repertory set to music by Johann Sebastian Bach. This world-renowned company has been featured on So You Think You Can Dance in the U.S. and Australia.
Complexions was founded in 1994 by Master Choreographer Dwight Rhoden and the legendary Desmond Richardson with a singular approach to reinventing dance through a groundbreaking mix of methods, styles and cultures. Today, Complexions represents one of the most recognized, diverse, inclusive and respected performing arts brands in the World. Having presented an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement on 5-continents, over 20-countries, to over 20-million television viewers and to well over 300,000 people in live audiences, Complexions is poised to continue its mission to bring unity to the world one dance at a time.
Complexions has received numerous awards including The New York Times Critics’ Choice Award. It has appeared throughout the US, including the Joyce Theater/NY, Lincoln Center/NY, Brooklyn Academy of Music/NY, Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts/New Orleans, Paramount Theatre/Seattle, The Music Center/Los Angeles, Winspear Opera House/Dallas, Cutler Majestic Theater/Boston, New Victory Theater/NY, and Music Hall/Detroit, The Bolshoi Theater, The Kremlin, The Mikhailovsky Theater, Melbourne Arts Center, and will make it's debut at the Kennedy Center in 2017, as a part of Ballet Across America.
The Company has appeared at major European dance festivals including Italy’s Festival of Dance ,the Isle De Dance Festival in Paris, the Maison De La Dance Festival in Lyon, the Holland Dance Festival, Steps International Dance Festival in Switzerland, Łódź Biennale, Warsaw Ballet Festival, Kraków Spring Ballet Festival, the Dance Festival of Canary Islands/Spain, and the Festival des Arts de Saint-Sauveur/Canada.
In addition, Complexions has toured extensively throughout the Baltic Regions, Korea, Brazil, Japan, Egypt, Israel, Russia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Serbia, Jamaica, and Australia.
The company’s foremost innovation is that dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them. Whether it be the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue, or culture, Complexions transcends them all, creating an open, continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world—and all its constituent cultures—as an interrelated whole.
In 2006, Complexions held their first Summer Intensive program, serving 80 students in its first year. The program has grown to multiple cities and serves over up to 600 students annually. Since 2009, a Winter Intensive was added to the roster, serving an additional 400 students, and CCB added its Pre- Professional Program in 2016. Complexions’ artistic directors and company members teach master classes throughout the world, sharing the Complexions technique with dancers of all levels.
Together, Rhoden and Richardson have created in Complexions an institution that embodies its historical moment, a sanctuary where those passionate about dance can celebrate its past while simultaneously building its future. In the 27 years since its inception, the company has born witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally interconnected than ever before—in other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself.
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Before they take the stage at Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College on February 18, the phenomenal dancers of Complexions Contemporary Ballet (CCB) will be in residence!
Dancers from the internationally renowned company will teach two 90-minute advanced master classes for advanced dancers from 1:30pm - 3pm. HT@MTC has partnered with the University of South Carolina to host the classes at the UofSC dance studios. The two classes will run concurrently and will be taught by Jillian Davis and Simon Plant of CCB. In addition, a workshop relating to Complexions' repertory and performance style, as well as topics such as improvisation and composition will be offered. Classes are open to University of South Carolina dance students. For more information, please contact the dance program at dance@sc.edu.
Dancers from CCB will also teach two 90-minute community/intermediate classes for dance school and some high school students from 3:30pm - 5pm. These classes will also take place at the UofSC dance studios. The two classes will run concurrently and will be taught by Timothy Stickney and Larissa Gerszke of Complexions. In addition, a workshop relating to CCB repertory and performance style, as well as topics such as improvisation and composition will be offered. Please sign up using the form below for more information about this class. There is no charge for the classes; however, dancers will need to sign waivers and wear a mask while in class.
Master Class: 1:30pm to 3pm | Friday, February 18
Community/Intermediate Class: 3:30pm to 5pm | Friday, February 18 (register here)