Contemporary dance brings the beauty of Handel’s masterwork Messiah alive:
Several Dancers Core presents “Arias from Messiah”

Houston, Texas — Feb. 4, 2008 —Several Dancers Core presents an artistic collaboration between its dance company, CORE Performance Company, and Mercury Baroque in “Arias from Messiah” on Sunday, March 9, 2008 at 7:00 p.m. at the Historic Magnolia Ballroom, 715 Franklin at Milam. The contemporary dancers and Baroque musicians have embraced the score of George Frideric Handel’s master work to create an intimate and passionate performance. A reception will follow the performance where the audience will have a chance to have champagne, coffee and dessert with the artists. General admission tickets are $25, with a discounted rate for students, seniors and working artists of $20. Tickets are available online at www.severaldancerscore.org or by calling 800-838-3006. Group rates and reservations are available by calling 713-862-5530.

Artistic Directors Sue Schroeder of CORE Performance Company and Antoine Plante of Mercury Baroque, who will be conducting, worked with the dancers to interpret the brilliance of Handel’s masterwork Messiah and created an intimate and passionate performance. The unique combination of contemporary dance performed by members of CORE Performance Company and Baroque music performed by two vocalists and five musicians of Mercury Baroque results in a reflective work, particularly appropriate for the Easter season.

Sue Schroeder, Artistic Director of CORE Performance Company, describes her choreographic work on Messiah as “an illuminated manuscript, where the dance adds color, movement and meaning to an already rich text and score.” The collaboration with Mercury Baroque has allowed Schroeder to embrace the score more fully while integrating the musicians and singers into the performance. This intimate version is designed to bring the audience inside the work and let them experience the intertwining of dance and music in a beautiful, historic atmosphere.

The setting at the Magnolia Ballroom will provide historical ambience and intimacy to the audience’s experience. The Magnolia Ballroom is on the second floor of the Magnolia Brewery Building, which was built in 1910 and renovated in 1968 by Bart Truxillo, and is in the National Register of Historic Places. The intricately detailed architectural space will offer an incredible backdrop, combining with the artistry of the dancers and musicians to create a memorable performance. For more information on the Historic Magnolia Ballroom, visit www. magnoliaballroom.com.

Mercury Baroque performs 17th and 18th century music on period instruments using historically accurate performance methods and imaginative programming to bring the passion of Baroque music to life. For “Arias from Messiah” CORE Performance Company will share the stage in the intimacy of the beautiful Magnolia Ballroom with soprano, Ana Treviño-Godfrey, and tenor, Randolph Lacy. For more information on Mercury Baroque, visit www.mercurybaroque.org.

CORE Performance Company, the professional contemporary dance company of Several Dancers Core, focuses on the ongoing development of the artistic process through the creation of new work. Made up of individual artists, the company performs new choreography that evolves through experimentation, improvisation, and collaborations with artists from different mediums.

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Committed for 27 years to innovation, risk-taking and collaboration, Several Dancers Core (SDC) creates, performs, and presents contemporary dance. SDC promotes dance awareness and education through performances, presentations, workshops, and classes in contemporary approaches to movement and is dedicated to opening new channels of communication between artists and the community. For more information about Several Dancers Core, please call 713-862-5530 or visit www.severaldancerscore.org.

This production is sponsored in part by Houston Public Radio KUHF 88.5 FM. Several Dancers Core is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, the Pattillo Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, Houston Endowment Inc., and AirTran Airways.