Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company Marks 30th Season

From The Georgetowner:

The dancers, designers and founding choreographer of Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC) were met with a standing ovation by a sold-out crowd at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater, following a special one-night performance on Nov. 30.

The evening opened with an excerpt from “A Tribute to Marian Anderson,” a piece choreographed during DTSBDC’s residency at the National Portrait Gallery. This was followed by “Transformations,” which featured costumes by Project Runway finalist Patricia Michaels, “Fractures” and “Surroundings: A Tribute to Maya Lin” (also created as part of the dance company’s NPG residency). 

The evening culminated in the energetic “Mandala,” inspired by Burgess’s tours to India and Pakistan. A VIP reception was held at the Kennedy Center’s Roof Terrace Restaurant, where Honorary 30th Season Chair, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), mingled with supporters and friends. Aaron Myers, Executive Director of the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, addressed the crowd and presented a mayoral proclamation, and the dance company’s board conferred awards to major supporters and partners.

Read the article here. 

Interview on DC’s Fox 5

Dance Informa article: Dana Tai Soon Burgess' mother to make cameo in revival of "Tracings" this Saturday at the National Portrait Gallery

This weekend's performance by Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery is a special one. The work, "Tracings", will be revived and performed at 6:00 p.m. in the Kogod Courtyard of the museum, free and open to the public - but please arrive early. (We have a arranged a private tour prior to the performance.) 

Dana's mother, who appeared in the 2003 premiere of "Tracings" at the Kennedy Center, will return to Washington, DC for a cameo in this Saturday's show. The piece is inspired by Dana's own family's immigration to America, and the experience of Korean-Americans, and immigrants in general, as they left their mother country and settled in a new land.

From Dance Informa:

"Burgess also details some of the inspirations for movement content in, and aesthetics of, the work. He describes scars on his mother’s hands, which he would ask about when he was a child. In an as age-appropriate way as possible, she told Burgess about working on pineapple plantations when she first came to America (Hawaii, more specifically). The hands thus became a focus in the movement. He recounts how remembering these scars, and the stories she told him about how she got them, was an “ah-ha” moment for him in creating Tracings. His mother, visual artist Anna Burgess, will have an actual physical presence in the work, as well; she will appear as a special guest performer."

Read the article in its full glory at Dance Informa here.

Storytelling through Dance: Perspectives Inspired by American Portraits

Watch this new video from the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery!

A special happy hour ahead of "Silhouettes" - premiering October 27th and 30th at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery!

Dana Tai Soon Burgess and DTSBDC Board President Bonnie Kogod checking out part of the "Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now" exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery.

Join the Diplomats of Dance Society Monday, October 22nd at The Darlington House for a special happy hour ahead of the premiere of "Silhouettes" at the National Portrait Gallery! Toast to dance and art - RSVP now!

DANA TAI SOON BURGESS DANCE COMPANY PREMIERES “SILHOUETTES,”

A NEW WORK INSPIRED BY A LANDMARK NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY EXHIBITION

WHO: The Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company (DTSBDC) is Washington’s premiere modern dance company led by Founding Artistic Director and internationally acclaimed choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess. Burgess is the Smithsonian’s first choreographer-in-residence, based at the National Portrait Gallery, which began in 2016 and was extended through 2022.

WHAT: DTSBDC premieres a new dance entitled “Silhouettes” based on insights of American culture examined in the Portrait Gallery exhibition “Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now”. In the new dance Burgess examines the light and dark aspects of the self through a suite of seven dances, each inspired by a silhouette from the exhibition. The emotionally poignant thirty-minute modern dance features eight dancers and includes a video environment by designer Kelly Colburn.

WHERE: Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Nan Tucker McEvoy Auditorium, Eighth and G Streets NW

WHEN: Saturday, October 27, and Tuesday, October 30, 2018, at 6:30-7:00 PM. A post-performance discussion between Burgess and the exhibition curator Asma Naeem will take place each night.

Join us for a happy (2) hour(s) Monday, October 22nd!

Darlington House in Dupont Circle

Come by and mingle with other dance fans and arts-interested Washingtonians and celebrate the special intersection of visual art and modern dance with Dana Tai Soon Burgess and members of his acclaimed, eponymous dance company at the Darlington House, located at 1610 20th St NW, Washington, DC 20009, on Monday, October 22nd, 6:30-8:30pm.

Complimentary themed 'Diplomat' cocktail and hors d'oeuvres will be provided. Cash bar available.

Dr. Erick Hosaka of Hosaka Dental, Board Member of Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company, and The Diplomats of Dance Society are hosting a Happy two-Hour ahead of the premiere of "Silhouettes" at the National Portrait Gallery (Saturday, October 27th and Monday, October 30th). More info below:

About "Silhouettes":

Dana Tai Soon Burgess, the Smithsonian's first ever Choreographer-in-Residence, and his company will respond to the amazing “Black Out” exhibition in a poignant modern dance work with video by designer Kelly Colburn on Saturday, October 27th and Monday, October 30th at the National Portrait Gallery, McEvoy Auditorium, 6:30pm.

“Black Out: Silhouettes Then and Now,” an exhibition that explores the relatively unstudied art form of silhouettes—cut paper profiles—which were a hugely popular and democratic form of portraiture in the 19th century.

RSVP required. Contact us with questions.

All RSVP/giving levels are a tax-deductible donation to Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company, a 501c3 nonprofit arts organization.

RSVP here: https://silhouettes_happy2hour.eventbrite.com

Don't Miss: Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company Presents "Portraits" at Kennedy Center June 15th and 16th, 7:30pm

The first-ever resident dance company at the Smithsonian presents three new dances created at the National Portrait Gallery during Burgess's residency as the Smithsonian Institution's first official choreographer. The dances, I am Vertical, After 1001 Nights, and Confluence exemplify Burgess's sublime choreography which poetically delves into the emotional terrain of our shared humanity. Burgess has been called "not only a Washington prize but a national treasure" by the Washington Post Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Sarah Kaufman.

Click here to purchase tickets now through the Kennedy Center website.

Photo by Jeff Watts

Ellen Kwatnsoski: Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company — 25 Years of Delighting Audiences in Washington and Around the World

The company rehearsing. Photo courtesy of EllenKwatnoski.com.

Take the time to read author Ellen Kwatnoski's recent blog about her impressions of Dana’s artistic process and direction, plus recent work as the Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer-in-residence, creating works inspired by National Portrait Gallery exhibitions on subjects like poet Sylvia Plath, as DTSBDC company members rehearse for their upcoming June 15-16 performance at the Kennedy Center:

Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company — 25 Years of Delighting Audiences in Washington and Around the World

In studio w/ DTSBDC, May 2018

Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company at NPG: a unique modern dance salon inspired by modern art

DTSBDC performing at the National Portrait Gallery

Join Diplomats of Dance this Saturday, March 17th at 4 pm at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in downtown Washington, DC for a special program with Dana Tai Soon Burgess, his amazing dancers, and modern works of dance and visual art...

Where: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, 2nd Floor
When: 4:00 pm

The Diplomats of Dance Society will host a talkback with Burgess and dancers following the program in the NPG's Courtyard Cafe.

Please RSVP to dancediplomats@gmail.com. The dance salon is a free program and open to the public.

Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company dancers. Photo by Jeff Watts.

From The Georgetowner:

Celebrating its 25th year, the Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company presents a series of free salons in the new international gallery at the National Portrait Gallery, where Burgess is the Smithsonian’s first choreographer-in-residence. Each salon features a dance performance and discussion.

Swiss Ambassador Martin Dahinden was the honored guest March 3 at the gallery’s inaugural exhibition, “Portraits of the World: Switzerland” (on view through Nov. 12) as the company performed dance excerpts that included “For Giulia,” inspired by Swiss painter Ferdinand Hodler’s portrait of Italian dancer Giulia Leonardi, “Femme en Extase” (Woman in Ecstasy), on loan in partnership with the Embassy of Switzerland.

Dance company members performed excerpts from “Confluence,” one of the company’s new dances inspired by the National Portrait Gallery collection, as well as rarely seen solo dances by choreographer Michio Ito. The series grows out of a long tradition of salons in which dance is performed and discussed in intimate settings.

Portraits of modern dance pioneers, including Martha Graham, Michio Ito, Isadora Duncan, Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn, are also on view in the gallery.

Take a watch: Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer in residence

Watch these two short videos about Dana Tai Soon Burgess and his role as the Smithsonian's first-ever choreographer in residence, creating new works with his dancers and team inspired by intriguing exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery!

Check out this month's issue of Air France Magazine

One of "10 Highlights" of Washington, DC is our own Dana Tai Soon Burgess!

Link to digital issue