September 30, 2003 -

OTTAWA -- FALL FOR DANCE, an innovative campaign by the National Arts Centre, gives dance-lovers a chance to enjoy a a jam-packed autumn of Dance from around the world - at a discount. FALL FOR DANCE allows patrons who buy tickets to two different shows (within a group of five) to receive a 15% discount on their tickets. Buying tickets to three or more different shows rewards dance fans with a hefty 20% discount on each ticket.

Dance at the NAC this autumn features highly-charged and innovative choreography from the most refreshing, stimulating and provocative companies in Canada and on the international scene. The five Dance performances that are eligible for the FALL FOR DANCE discount range from the explosive sex and violence of Deja Donne in the intimate 300-seat Studio to the innovation of Compagnie Marie Chouinard in the 900-seat Theatre to the fluid neo-classical grace of Ballet British Columbia in 2200-seat Southam Hall. The performances which are eligible are:

• Montreal's Compagnie Marie Chouinard performing Étude #1 and Chorale - North American premiere of an NAC co-production
• Vancouver's Ballet British Columbia performing Orpheus
• London (UK)'s Akram Khan Company performing Kaash (If) - Canadian premiere
• The Czech Republic's Deja Donne performing In Bella Copia - only Canadian appearance
• Venezuela's DANZAHOY performing Exodo

FALL FOR DANCE discounts are available in person at the NAC Box Office only, subject to availability.

Photos for all dance events can be viewed and downloaded at: www.nac-cna.ca/media/.

Information:
Gerald Morris, Marketing and Media Relations,
NAC Dance Department
(613) 947-7000, ext. 249
gmorris@nac-cna.ca

5 NAC DANCE SHOWS ELIGIBLE FOR FALL FOR DANCE DISCOUNTS

Compagnie Marie Chouinard: Étude #1, Chorale
Friday October 3, 2003 ~ 20:30 Theatre
North American premiere of a National Arts Centre co-production
Montreal-based Marie Chouinard invents new universes for each work. Étude #1, a gorgeous hypnotic solo for female dancer, is overwhelming, "half an hour inside a dancer's skin". Disturbing and invigorating, this raw performance blurs the line between performing and existing. Chorale is a provocative new multi-media work exploring the body, eroticism, gestures, and human relations.

Ballet British Columbia: Orpheus
Tuesday October 14, 2003 ~ 20:00 Southam Hall
Ottawa Premiere
Myth comes magically to life as Orpheus struggles to rescue Eurydice from the underworld. Bold and beautiful, this full-length work by John Alleyne (featuring a new score based on the music of Christoph Willibald Gluck) weaves a tragic tale of love and loss among the gods -- performed in Ballet BC's signature neo-classical style.

Akram Khan: Kaash (If)
Tuesday October 21 and Wednesday October 22, 2003 ~ 20:30 Theatre
Canadian Premiere
Akram Khan masterfully demolishes barriers between Kathak and contemporary dance. Kaash, featuring a set by Anish Kapoor and a pounding rhythmic score, incorporates Hindu gods, black holes, Indian time cycles, tablas, creation, and destruction. The knife-edge focus creates a compelling and hypnotic dance experience that is resonant, dramatic, and richly theatrical.

Deja Donne: In Bella Copia
Thursday November 6 to Saturday November 8, 2003 ~ 20:00 Studio
Canadian Premiere
This Prague dance theatre troupe dazzles critics and audiences worldwide. A battle, complete with vice, egoism, and aggression, In Bella Copia is energetic, farcical, and theatrical, peopled with 6 characters fuelled by narcissism, lust, and a bottomless desire for attention. Dark, driving - and performed to raucous risky music - In Bella Copia is extraordinary.

DANZAHOY: Exodo
Tuesday November 25, 2003 ~ 20:30 Theatre
Ottawa Premiere
DANZAHOY personifies contemporary Venezuela -- open, multicultural, highly physical, and free of convention. An original aesthetic sensibility is expressed in Exodo, a tango-influenced examination of the exile of the soul that throbs with passion, melancholy, and sensuality. DANZAHOY is hailed worldwide for their fluidity, dramatic power, visual ingenuity, and technical virtuosity.