BodyVox 2009-10 Season Press Release

(Portland, OR) - In its eleven years as one of Portland's most innovative performing arts companies, BodyVox has evolved from a pick up company for a production of "Carmina Burana" with Portland Opera in 1997 to a major presence in Portland's creative community.  BodyVox tours its work nationally and internationally performing for over 60,000 people a year.  This fall the company takes up residence in it's new home:  The BodyVox Dance Center.   Located on the corner of NW 17th and Northrup Streets, BodyVox envisions that the new center will be a nexus for dance innovation, performance, and education.  The company takes a major step toward this dream in presenting its 2009-2010 home season exclusively in the BodyVox Dance Center's studio theater. Designed to provide a rehearsal home for the company's professional performance troupe, the studio theater has the capacity to morph into a 160-seat performance space.  Unique in Portland's performance community, this intimate space is intentionally designed to accommodate dance performances.  

The 12th season opens November 12 with Chronos/Kairos a retrospective of BodyVox work curated by artistic directors Ashley Roland and Jamey Hampton.  The title reflects the pair's affinity for language as they define the show in Greek terms for time meaning chronology and timeliness. Since it's founding in 1997, BodyVox has premiered 158 new dances - Roland and Hampton will review the list and select dances from every year of the company's existence, ones that will best inhabit the BodyVox Dance Center's intimate studio performance space.

 In spring 2010 BodyVox premieres a show of all new work playfully titled Smoke Soup. Opening Thursday March 25, Roland and Hampton will enlist the collective choreographic talents of BodyVox performers, with a plan to incorporate live music into the mix.  Building on the success of their recent show The Foot Opera Files BodyVox will collaborate with artists from other disciplines in the creation of the production.

As a winter bonus, BodyVox will present a  show from BV Too the company's apprentice troupe of five young performers. Selected from a competitive audition process, BodyVox apprentices take daily class, understudy the main stage company, perform in the company's outreach programs, and perform a recital showcase.  

BodyVox's 2009/2010 season will feature 24 company performances plus 4 BV Too performances, all at the new dance center. Tickets are currently available as part of BodyVox's 09/10 season subscription package.  A full season runs $60 (economy seating) to $85 (premium seating).  General sale will begin on September 6, 2009.  For tickets or more information, visit   www.bodyvox.com, or call (503) 229-0627

Media contact: Una Loughran, una@bodyvox.com (503) 229-0627  

About the company: Based in Portland, Oregon, BodyVox's movement surges from a source informed by years of cross training imbued with a curiosity and fascination with the endless possibilities of the human body in motion. Artistic Directors Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland are distinguished artists on the world stage, formed by their years working as creators and performers with innovative dance companies Momix, ISO Dance, and Pilobolus. BodyVox builds upon this tradition of excellence with a unique voice that is clearly influenced by its Northwest roots. Created in 1997 to fulfill a commission from Portland Opera, the company has since created eleven original shows (including three operas), and toured across the U.S. to critical acclaim. Adding to its full-evening shows and repertory pieces, BodyVox's films have won numerous awards in national and international festivals.  "Modern Daydreams" - composed of "Treadmill Softly," "Islands in the Sky," Unleashed" and "Deere John" - won the prestigious American Choreography Award for Outstanding Achievement in Short film in 2002.