Announcing the 24/25 season
BEYOND BOUNDARIES
In the 24/25 season, we amplify diverse artistry that transcends geographical and cultural boundaries. We push past barriers, embrace innovation and forge connections, using the universal language of music, dance and theatre to enrich our understanding of the world. Across cultures and continents, we celebrate the transformative power of a live performance to bring us together, finding joy in our shared humanity.
THE WORLD ON OUR STAGE
From Korea, England and Belgium to France, Italy, Canada and beyond, nine artists appear in our city for the very first time. To this, we add performers from Spain, India, South Africa and, of course, our own country to showcase the vibrant diversity and interconnectivity of our world. Traversing across borders, we proudly bring these renowned artists and companies to Philadelphia, many brand new to Penn Live Arts and offering exciting world, U.S. and local premieres. We set performances on ice and use virtual reality to experience dance like never before, defying conventions on how to enjoy the arts. And, we invite you to go beyond the stage for meaningful programs that encourage us to ask timely questions, dive deeper and find common ground.
A world of performing arts comes alive on our stage this season. We hope you'l Read more...
Rennie Harris Residency in Area High Schools
In a basement dance studio at George Washington Carver High School of Engineering and Science in North Philly, Rennie Harris Puremovement (RHPM) executive director and company manager Rodney Hill surveyed Geoffrey Winikur’s 11th grade class. They’d just completed a dance warmup led by Puremovement dancers Justine Diggs-Cunningham and Rachel Snider, building upon two weeks of improv games, conversation and monologue writing led by Penn Live Arts teaching artist Donnell Powell. The dancers’ visit was the third in a series of four visits to Carver and to West Philadelphia High School, comprising a school partnership in connection with our three-year Rennie Harris residency, sponsored by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage.
Read more...5 Questions with Alarm Will Sound's Alan Pierson
The “reliably exhilarating new-music ensemble” (The New York Times) Alarm Will Sound returns with an evening of music by “our greatest living composer,” Steve Reich on Apr 14. Alarm Will Sound’s artistic director and conductor, Alan Pierson, connected with us for today’s 5 Questions feature, sharing insight on his journey into a career in music and his connection to Steve Reich. Read more...
UKRAINE: THE EDGE OF FREEDOM
Ukraine, a country steeped in rich artistic traditions, has a centuries-old heritage of music, dance, folk traditions and visual art. But today, Ukraine is quite literally on the front line of defending freedom, a fight representative of the hope for thriving democracies around the world. How are Ukrainian artists responding? Our weeklong focus,
Ukraine: The Edge of Freedom, takes a deep dive into the culture of the country, bringing to our stages Ukrainian artists from across the globe, and from within our own city of Philadelphia.
Read more...Mapping our Philadelphia experience
We all use maps to help orient ourselves in space, navigate an area, or learn more about what’s around us. But maps can also be a source of stories about a place – and, as participants at two special events learned last week, the information available on a map can suggest a story that either contradicts or complements individuals’ lived experience. In that tension lives the possibility for a creative, human-driven use of maps – the often complex, messy rejoinders to dominant narratives about a city. Read more...
The high-spirited and charismatic Ballets Jazz Montréal returns Feb 9-10 with two premieres
Expect to fall in love when Quebec’s ambassador of contemporary dance, Ballets Jazz Montréal (BJM), one of the world’s most loved touring companies, returns to
our stage with two premieres and a reimagined work on Feb 9-10. The company’s explosive, powerful, hauntingly beautiful and, at times, strange dances created by international choreographers have dazzled and excited audiences in 3,250 performances in 60 countries for half a century. However, its greatest asset is the dancers’ effervescent, joyful and feel-good style as they effortlessly display their virtuosity and versatility.
Le Soleil Quebec City shared that "the dancers are the real strength of this company. Each of them stands out for his or her strength, flexibility, and charisma. What we were shown put the human at the center of the work ... which sets BJM apart from other companies."
Read more...5 Questions with Chris Lashua
On Jan 28, the daredevil acrobats of Cirque Mechanics return to our stage with more “high-flying, free-wheeling fun” (
Omaha World-Herald) in the Philadelphia premiere of
Zephyr. For today’s 5 Questions feature, we connected with Cirque Mechanics’ Founder and Creative Director Chris Lashua, who shares some insight into his career, the company’s work and what audiences can expect from
Zephyr.
Read more...Happy holidays
Wishing you peace and joy this holiday season and throughout the New Year.
Recent Highlights: Sep – Dec 2023
Each new season begins with an air of excitement over what’s to come on Penn Live Arts stages—the best in dance, jazz, classical and popular music, theatre, and more. This year, the season began with heightened anticipation as we received news that we had been awarded a grant from the Pew Center for Arts & Heritage to support the three-year residency of noted hip hop choreographer Rennie Harris.
Penn Today spoke with our Executive & Artistic Director, Christopher Gruits, about what this means for PLA, Harris, and audiences. “This new, extended relationship allows us to support the vision of a globally significant Philadelphia artist and partner in the creation of new work, while elevating important and relevant issues for our community.” Make plans now to see
Rennie Harris Puremovement in March! September also saw many shows “picked” in season previews of dance, jazz, popular music, new music, and theatre in
The New York Times (
music,
dance),
The Philadelphia Inquirer (
dance,
jazz,
popular music,
classical music), and
WRTI radio.
Read more...poor hymnal
come and rest with us
One-syllable words.
A command.
No, an invitation.
A compellingly stark appeal.
I need your kindness
I do.
We do.
This is the world of David Lang’s poor hymnal, premiering December 15 in Philadelphia. Read more...
