By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
AKRON — The free, high-quality Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival is a one-of-a-kind gift that the Akron community will be enjoying for the 44th straight year, says festival director Jane Startzman.
The four-week festival, offered in Akron parks and Glendale
By Kerry Clawson
Beacon Journal arts writer
GroundWorks DanceTheater brings its spring program to E.J. Thomas Hall this weekend with three dances that all deal with connection and change in some way.
The dances, by Artistic Director David Shimotakahara, New
When GroundWorks DanceTheater’s David Shimotakahara puts together a program, he wants audiences to go away well-fed.
“It’s like having a full-course meal, that they leave really satisfied and rewarded in the experience,” said the Artistic Director, whose company is presenting its 2016
By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
Carmina Burana is such a huge, weighty dance, it feels epic.
As it should. The dance, performed by GroundWorks DanceTheater at Glendale Cemetery last weekend, is artistic director David Shimotakahara’s new adaptation of the massive scenic cantata
By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
Last year, more than 11,000 people attended free dance performances at the Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival in Akron’s parks.
Ten years after the city launched the festival to preserve the free, outdoor dance tradition begun in
By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
This weekend, GroundWorks DanceTheater will reprise its Ghost Opera, set to Tan Dun’s 1994 dramatic musical composition, at two performances at E.J. Thomas Hall at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The program also will feature the world premiere of a yet-to-be-named dance by
By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
GroundWorks DanceTheater will bring a piece of the Violins of Hope Cleveland project to Akron this weekend with its performance of the dance Shadowbox at the Akron-Summit County Public Library.
The Cleveland dance company was commissioned by
By Kerry Clawson, Beacon Journal
“Last week was a busy one for this arts critic, who took in fine performances of modern dance company GroundWorks DanceTheater in Akron…
“Included in GroundWorks’ inaugural series at the University of Akron’s E.J. Thomas Hall last Thursday and Friday was the sexy, menacing
By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
GroundWorks DanceTheatre will offer Akron premieres of two dances with performances at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Akron-Summit County Public Library, 60 S. High St.
One of them is After Chorus, commissioned from Israeli guest
By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
Forty fifth-graders twisted and curved their bodies around in a cluster on their lunchroom floor around dance educator Mark Otloski as he instructed, “Imagine yourself to be a seed in the dirt. I want you
By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
GroundWorks Dance¬Theater will return to the Akron-Summit County Public Library Friday for the Akron premieres of Kate Weare’s Inamorata and artistic director David Shimotakahara’s LUNA.
The library auditorium was so booked, the modern dance company was able to schedule
By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
GroundWorks DanceTheater presented a weekend of firsts Friday and Saturday at Glendale Cemetery with a program building up to the world premieres of Current Frame by Amy Miller and Brubeck by David Shimotakahara at the Heinz Poll
By Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
On a cold January day, five dancers from GroundWorks Dance-Theater met with choreographer Ronen “Roni” Koresh in Akron to create a new section of a world premiere dance Koresh was making for the Cleveland company.
GroundWorks was
