(GLASSBORO, NJ) – Celebrated for its innovation, creativity, and preservation of predominantly African American traditions in dance, PHILADANCO! The Philadelphia Dance Company will perform How We Sustain as part of the Marie Rader Series, Saturday, October 19, 2024 in Pfleeger Concert Hall. Showtime is 7:30pm.
The program tells a story of natural cycles, continuity, shared purpose, and spiritual power, featuring works by renowned guest choreographers, including Francisco Gella, Ronald K. Brown, Ray Mercer, and Tommie Waheed-Evans. In its 55th year, the company remains women-led and continues a long-standing legacy of breaking barriers and building bridges across cultural divides while providing performance opportunities for Black dancers.
As part of its engagement with the series, PHILADANCO! will participate in the 3rd annual Rowan Dance Festival, which invites local high school dancers to campus to participate in a series of workshops, masterclasses and performances. Led by Co-Artistic Director Kim Bears-Bailey and Associate Artistic Director Janine Beckles, the company will introduce high school dancers to the company’s past, present, and future through a lecture demonstration and offer an excerpted performance to open the October 5th shared bill evening, in advance of their full program on the 19th.
PHILADANCO! has grown into a professional dance company that is recognized across the nation and around the world for its artistic integrity, superbly trained dancers, and captivating performances. Established on principles of providing opportunity, inclusion, and hope, PHILADANCO! bridges cultural divides and consistently performs before sold-out audiences of people from diverse backgrounds and communities.
PHILADANCO! is a company representing a history of “first” accomplishments. In 1988, Joan Myers Brown, along with the PHILADANCO! staff launched the 1st International Conference on Black Dance Companies with the support of The Pew Charitable Trusts, University of the Arts, the Pennsylvania Arts Council, the City of Philadelphia and the Coalition of African American Cultural Organizations. Eighty professionals attended in Philadelphia, PA, and Ms. Brown felt that a gathering of the Black dance community would serve not only her needs but also the needs of other Black dance professionals. In 1991, in Dayton, Ohio, at the then annual Conference, The International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD) formalized and instituted an Emergency Fund for IABD artists and companies. IABD, as a service organization, addresses the needs of the African American dance community in a supportive environment and produces an annual conference and festival. In January 2020, PHILADANCO! and the IABD staff hosted the 32nd Annual Conference and Festival in Philadelphia where over one thousand dance professionals attended.
Drawing from a diverse lineup of modern dance, musical theatre, world music, jazz, and contemporary choir, Rowan University’s Marie Rader Presenting Series is thrilled to announce the 2024-2025 performance series. Focused on community engagement, artistic integrity, and inclusion, the Marie Rader Series is a mission-driven program providing access to exceptional performing artists and engagements to the university community and Greater Southern New Jersey region.
This year’s season brings artists to Rowan who are not only recognized around the globe, but are no strangers to some of the most prominent stages in the United States, including the Kimmel Center, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Broadway, and beyond. Programming will highlight universally relevant messages of resilience through community, turning limitations into opportunities, cultural understanding across differences, and giving nature a voice to speak for itself.
The 2024-2025 Marie Rader Series also includes: An Afternoon with Ali Stroker, Timbalooloo: Jazz for Kids, and Chanticleer: Music of a Silent World.
Subscription packages and single tickets for the 24|25 Marie Rader Series are on sale now, available only through October 19. For tickets and more information on the Marie Rader Series, click here.
The Marie Rader Presenting Series is made possible in part through generous support from the Henry M. Rowan Family Foundation via the Marie Rader Memorial Fund and through funding from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.
