Yoav Kaddar, director of the Dance Program at West Virginia University, and his wife Maureen Mansfield Kaddar, an instructor in the program, will perform at Lincoln Center as part of the Paul Taylor Dance Company’s Diamond Anniversary Gala on March 23.

The performance will bring back almost 50 Paul Taylor Dance Company alumni, performing on stage with current company members, in a show titled “From Sea to Shining Sea.”

The special event, a unique addition to the 2014 season at Lincoln Center, will also feature Taylor luminaries performing in the legendary Paul Taylor dance work “Esplanade.”

The performance, which begins at 6 p.m., will be followed by a “Celebrate 60!” party with all of the performers on the theater’s Promenade.

“From Sea to Shining Sea” was the first dance in what has become an acclaimed series of Americana-themed dances by Paul Taylor. Made during the turbulent 1960s, the dance provides an unabashed and controversial perspective on American history and cultural icons. It was initially hailed by some critics as sharp-eyed commentary and panned by others as tastelessly unpatriotic, while many observers outside the United States were amazed that an American artist could exercise such freedom of expression.

Two years ago Paul Taylor gave WVU the rights to perform one of his other signature pieces, “Aureole,” which Maureen Kaddar restaged on WVU dance students.

“Aureole” launched the Masterworks initiative that the WVU Dance Program began in 2012, which brings dances by master choreographers to WVU to be learned and performed by students in the program.

“This adds an important component to the educational dance experience that the School of Theatre and Dance offers to dance students and audience members at WVU,” Yoav Kaddar said.

Yoav Kaddar is a graduate of the Juilliard School, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and received the Martha Hill Award for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Dance. His Master of Fine Arts is from the University of Washington, Seattle, and his doctorate is from the State University of New York, Albany.

He has performed nationally and internationally as a guest artist and has been a member of such modern dance companies as the Jose Limon Dance Company, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Pilobolus Dance Theatre, Peter Pucci Plus Dancers and Jacob’s Pillow’s Men Dancers. He has also danced with numerous independent New York City choreographers and has choreographed more than 60 works for dance and theater.

Maureen Mansfield Kaddar is a dancer and dance educator originally from East Rockaway, N.Y., and earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Adelphi University. She danced with the Paul Taylor Dance Company from 1998-2003 and can be seen in the Oscar-nominated film, “Dancemaker,” about Taylor. Previously, she danced with the companies of Peter Pucci, Rebecca Kelly and Rebecca Stenn.

Maureen has been setting Paul Taylor’s work on companies and universities throughout the United States. She has taught and choreographed, nationally and abroad, as guest artist at many university and college programs, including serving as interim director for Vassar College’s student dance company. Maureen is currently a dance Master of Fine Arts candidate at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She also teaches dance and yoga as well as arts integration in K-5 schools.

For more information about the Diamond Anniversary Gala performance at Lincoln Center, see the website at http://bit.ly/1ngaC6K.

-WVU-

cl/2/12/14

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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