Moss Arts Center opens its 2018-19 season honoring a legend of modern dance
Paul Taylor Dance Company is regarded as one of the world’s leading dance ensembles, while Grammy-winning Argentine pianist Pablo Ziegler has performed with Tango grand-maestro Astor Piazzolla’s quintet. Together, the two bring a fresh evening of nuevo tango and modern dance, ringing in the Moss Arts Center’s 2018-19 season on Friday, Sept. 14, at 7:30 p.m.
The performance will be held in the Moss Arts Center’s Anne and Ellen Fife Theatre, located within the Street and Davis Performance Hall at 190 Alumni Mall.
The evening will open with several pieces performed by the Pablo Ziegler Ensemble, including Piazzolla’s “Michelangelo” and works composed by Ziegler. This will be followed by a performance of “Cloven Kingdom” by Paul Taylor Dance Company. First performed in 1976, “Cloven Kingdom” is set during a cotillion ball, where members of high society struggle between gentler and more savage natures.
The evening concludes with the ensembles coming together onstage for a performance of “Piazzolla Caldera.” Taylor’s poetic masterwork exploring tango’s sultry essence springs to life with live music provided by Ziegler and his ensemble.
A legendary choreographer and dance icon, Taylor died on Aug. 29, 2018, in Manhattan, New York. During a 64-year career, Taylor created 147 dances including such masterworks as “Aureole,” “Esplanade,” “Company B,” “Promethean Fire,” and “Beloved Renegade.” His final work, “Concertiana,” premiered in March 2018. In 2014, he established Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, an institutional home for the art form.
Taylor curated and presented great modern dances of the past and present alongside his own works at Lincoln Center, and commissioned a new generation of choreographers so that modern dance flourishes long into the future. Taylor dancer Michael Novak, whom Taylor named artistic director designate earlier this year, becomes the second artistic director in the company’s 64-year history. This will be the Paul Taylor Dance Company’s first performance since the dance legend’s passing.
Buenos Aires-born, Grammy-winning pianist, composer, and arranger Ziegler is an important figure in Argentine nuevo tango, the vibrant musical hybrid of traditional tango, American jazz, and European art music. After performing in tango grand-maestro Piazzolla’s legendary quintet for over a decade and appearing on iconic Piazzolla recordings including “Tango: Zero Hour,” “La Camorra,” and “Central Park Concert,” Ziegler has led his own groups for over 25 years, refining and re-imagining the bounds of the modern tango tradition.
Ziegler’s most recent recording with his JazzTango Trio, “JazzTango,” won the 2018 Grammy Award for Best Latin Jazz Album and marked the first time nuevo tango music won a major Grammy.
Tickets
Tickets are $25-55 for general public and $10 for students and youth 18 and under. Tickets can be purchased online; at the Moss Arts Center's box office, 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; or by calling 540-231-5300 during box office hours.
Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street. Virginia Tech faculty and staff possessing a valid Virginia Tech parking permit can enter and exit the garage free of charge. Limited street parking is also available. Parking on Alumni Mall is free on weekdays after 5 p.m. and on weekends.
If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Kacy McAllister at 540-231-5300 or email kmcallis@vt.edu during regular business hours at least 10 business days prior to an event.
