by Steve Sucato
With the retirement of longtime company members Felise Bagley and Damien Highfield plus the departure of dancer Taylor Johnson and the addition of three new dancers, Cleveland-based contemporary dance troupe GroundWorks
by Alice Koeninger
A recent phone conversation with David Shimotakahara, Executive Artistic Director of GroundWorks DanceTheater, was as much about his upcoming collaboration with ChamberFest Cleveland as it was about the process and source of creativity.
GroundWorks is about to kick off its 20th season with its second collaboration
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 Kathleen Folkerth, Akron.com
AKRON — The Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival schedule features an inventive New York City-based company, as well as three regional favorites that will continue Akron’s tradition of free professional dance performances in city parks.
In its weekend of performances, GroundWorks will perform a new work in collaboration with
By Steve Sucato, Arts Air
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. The old dog of sorts being Northeast, Ohio’s GroundWorks Dance Theater, now in its 17th season who, in its upcoming summer series programs at Cain Park, July 14-16, and as part of the
By Roy Berko, Broadway World
As such television programs as “So You Think You Can Dance” and “World of Dance” convince more and more people to appreciate dance as an art form, they also create a higher barrier for local companies to leap. With such superb choreographers as Tony winning
By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio – A new work of dance is a terrible thing to waste. Especially when it’s a good one.
Hence the program GroundWorks DanceTheater has in store July 14-16 at Cain Park. Stocked with both new work and recent pieces brought back
By Zach Lewis
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The muses could not have been kinder to GroundWorks DanceTheater than they were going into the 2017 Spring Dance Series.
Not only did the group’s three-part program this week at the Breen Center for the Performing Arts coalesce around a theme of connections.
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
Reviewed by Steve Sucato
After a successful run in Cleveland at Playhouse Square’s Allen Theatre in October, Cleveland-based GroundWorks DanceTheater’s 2016 Fall Concert Series moved to nearby Akron and the Akron-Summit County Library. The program on November 18 opened with the latest work by GroundWorks’
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
Six months after its collaborative project to stage Carmina burana with the Akron Symphony, GroundWorks DanceTheater’s (GWDT) artistic director said he’s happy to be presenting a program that is the complete opposite.
“We came off an enormously satisfying project, ‘Carmina Burana,’ and this
By Steve Sucato, Arts Air
Writing about the three choreographers on GroundWorks DanceTheater’s 2016 Fall Dance Series is familiar ground for me. I’ve known and published articles and reviews about dancer/choreographer Beth Corning and GroundWorks’ artistic director David Shimotakahara and
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
An excerpt by Roy Berko
“Capsule Judgement: Groundworks DanceTheater at Cain Park’s Alma Theatre was a glorious evening of dance! An appreciative audience was treated to marvelous choreography, superb dancing, and an evening of enlightenment. Bravo!”
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Residents of the City of Akron will enjoy professional dance performances in city parks again this year at no charge. The 43rd annual Heinz Poll Summer Dance Festival marks the 10th season that
Residents of the City of Akron can enjoy professional dance performances and orchestra concerts in city parks free of charge this summer, thanks to support from the city of Akron and local foundations.
This year is the 10th Anniversary Season of
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
An excerpt by Daniel Hathaway
“…But the principal bow goes to David Shimotakahara, who marshalled multiple dancers (both professional and amateur), soloists, and the children’s chorus into a well-integrated whole, giving everyone meaningful things to do. And the expressive unison movements he assigned to the more experienced dancers were executed with precision.
The capacity audience loved this
By Mike Telin
Next to the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, there is no work for chorus and orchestra more recognizable than Carl Orff’s Carmina burana. The first and last movements, both titled Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi (Fortune, Empress of the World), begin with the popular “O Fortuna,” which has been used a countless number of
By Kerry Clawson
For GroundWorks DanceTheater’s latest collaboration with the Akron Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Director David Shimotakahara has dug into choreographing the mighty work Carmina burana.
The large-scale 1935-36 work, which celebrates fate and chance, will receive a rare, fully staged performance Saturday at E.J. Thomas Hall at the University of Akron, featuring nearly 200 musicians and
From Twinsburg Bulletin
EJ Thomas Hall will reverberate with the power of nearly 200 musicians when the Akron Symphony Orchestra (ASO), conducted by Christopher Wilkins, and GroundWorks DanceTheater, directed by David Shimotakahara, present Carmina burana, Carl Orff’s well-known work celebrating fate and chance, on May 7 at 8 p.m.
With funding from the Knight Foundation, the production will
By Mark Horning
In one of the largest area undertakings in the fine arts, a collection of almost 200 musicians of the Akron Symphony Orchestra along with the Akron Symphony Chorus will combine with 24 adult and student dancers directed by GroundWorks Dance Theatre’s founder and artistic director, David Shimotakahara
By Roy Berko
The reconfigured Groundworks Dance Theater, with two new dancers this season, again proved that they are one of the area’s premiere dance companies in their presentation of “Falling Awake,” in its world premiere, and Artistic Director David Shimotakahara’s spellbinding, “Ghost
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 Steve Sucato, Arts Air
All of us at one time or another have had a dream so vivid or bizarre that it stuck with us after we woke from it. Strong feelings, emotions and images that felt so real as to become a
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 Mark Horning, AXS
In partnership with the Cleveland State University, GroundWorks Dance Theater will be presenting its 4th annual fall concert series. The performance will be held at the Allen Theater at Playhouse Square on Oct. 16 and 17, 2015. Time for both performances
By Steve Sucato, Arts Airs
Collaboration has always been a part of GroundWorks DanceTheater’s company identity. In the past several seasons however, the company has ratcheted up their work with area arts organizations on several production including joining with the Akron Symphony Orchestra in 2013 to perform artistic director
When GroundWorks DanceTheater’s 4th annual fall concert series in partnership with Cleveland State University comes to PlayhouseSquare’s Allen Theatre, the company will be bringing two brand new pieces, both world premieres.
One of those should be especially powerful.
By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio – “Violins of Hope” isn’t strictly a musical project.
Beyond the concerts, beyond the exhibition, beyond the films, Cleveland’s GroundWorks DanceTheater this week is contributing a related work of dance.
Titled “Shadowbox,” the new piece by GroundWorks director
By Steve Sucato, Explore Dance
For its 13th annual summer season production at Cleveland Heights’ Cain Park, GroundWorks DanceTheater presented three works including a world premiere and introduced audiences to its two newest company dancers, Pittsburgh-native and former Parsons Dance member
On Saturday evening 7/18, we hooked up with a friend and walked over to Cain Park to catch GroundWorks DanceTheater at the Alma Theater. As it does most years, GroundWorks at the Alma kicks off the summer dance season for 2015.
The first dance on the
By Roy Berko
As the capacity audience was settling in on opening night of Groundworks Dance Theatre’s summer concert in Cain Park’s Alma Theatre, there was a loud electronic sound stage right. As the eyes shifted in its direction, a lawn mower was pushed on stage. This
By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Plots. Messages. Morals. All extraneous to choreographer Eric Michael Handman.
To him, the current guest of GroundWorks DanceTheater, dance alone is dramatic enough. No need for external influences. In creating a new work on the company for
The Akron dance community just got a mega-boost. At a press conference held at The University of Akron on May 14, Alberto Ibargüen, president of the John S. and James L. Knight
By Mike Telin, Cleveland Classical
On Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21at 7:30 pm, GroundWorks DanceTheaterwill bring its Spring concert series to the Breen Center for the Performing Arts at St. Ignatius High School. The performances will include
GroundWorks DanceTheater is performing at the Breen Center and premiering two new Creative Residency works, one choreographed by Robert Moses and the other a collaboration with Aeolus Quartet. Feast your eyes on performances of passion, intellect and humor. To be performed: House of
By Mark Satola, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Cleveland premiere of a new ballet by Groundworks DanceTheater director David Shimotakahara was the centerpiece of a dynamic program Friday night at the Breen Center on Cleveland’s near west side.
“House of Sparrows” brought
By Mike Telin, Cleveland Scene
On Friday, March 20 and Saturday, March 21at 7:30 pm, GroundWorks DanceTheater will bring its Spring concert series to the Breen Center for the Performing Arts at St. Ignatius High School. The performances
By Elizabeth Zumbach, The Buchtelite
The northeast Ohio dance company GroundWorks performed their annual spring show on Thursday, March 5 and Friday, March 6. Now, in it’s 16th season, the inaugural show was performed in E.J. Thomas Hall’s Stage Door theater.
GroundWorks featured dancers Felise Bagley, Noelle Cotler, Annika Sheaff,
By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The dance itself wasn’t the issue. Neither were the music, costume concept or stage design.
No, what gave director David Shimotakahara pause in crafting “House of Sparrows” for GroundWorks DanceTheater was the subject matter.
Grounded
Listen to the Interview The Cleveland premiere of House of Sparows, choreographed by Executive Artistic Director David Shimotakahara
This is an exciting collaboration between the Aeolus Quartet, GroundWorks DanceTheater and composer Steven Snowden. New music by Snowden and choreography by GroundWorks’ artistic director David Shimotakahara will explore themes of the Civil
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 Mark Satola, The Plain Dealer
The persistence of the standard concert program model, which in its rudimentary form could be described as “overture, concerto and symphony,” suggests that its viability has not diminished over the
Reviews of GroundWorks DanceTheater (a Knight Arts grantee) over the years (my own included) have talked about how the company has created important contemporary dance pieces. Important doesn’t always mean serious, either, for artistic director David Shimotakahara and associate
By Mike Telin, Cleveland Classical
Ghosts from the past, the present and the future were brought to life on Saturday, June 28 in Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music. But these were not the ghosts made famous by Charles Dickens but rather, through a 4,000
By Mark Satola, The Plain Dealer
Groundworks DanceTheater launched its new season Friday night at the Allen Theatre at Playhouse Square with an ambitious program that featured the world premiere of German choreographer Johannes Wieland’s “wait. now. go now,”
By Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer
Playful gestures abound in Amy Miller’s “For the Life of Me,” one of three works being presented by GroundWorks Dance Theater on its “Winter Series” concerts this weekend.
Surprise and shock are
By Mike Telin, Cleveland Classical
Ghosts from the past, the present and the future were brought to life on Saturday, June 28 in Kulas Hall at the Cleveland Institute of Music. But these were not the ghosts made famous by Charles Dickens
