Thursday, October 17, 2002

WILMINGTON, NC – The Koresh Dance Company, known for its powerful stage presence and high-energy style, will perform at 8 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 9, in Kenan Auditorium, at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. The Philadelphia-based troupe’s performance is the second of the university’s eight-part Arts in Action performance series.

The Koresh Dance Company is recognized for delivering an emotional blend of ballet, modern and jazz dance that touches on current social issues ranging from modern dating to crime and justice.

Choreographer and artistic director Ronen Koresh leads the company. Born and raised in Israel, Koresh’s background includes the tradition of Yemenite folk dancing. After studying with Martha Graham’s Bat Sheva Dance Company, Koresh left for New York City in 1982, at age 21, to study with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. He later joined Philadelphia’s jazz dance company Waves and continued to train and perform throughout the 1980s while moving toward more choreographing and teaching.

In 1991, Koresh founded his dance company; and in 1993 he opened a studio in Philadelphia where he teaches his unique style of contemporary dance. He is also on the faculty of Philadelphia’s University of the Arts.

On the evening of Friday, Nov. 8, the Koresh Dance Company will stage an open rehearsal in Kenan Auditorium where Koresh will discuss his choreographic methods. Free for students and the general public, this rehearsal will give attendees the opportunity to experience the process behind the art of dance and see how the director shapes the dancers and the choreography.

Tickets for the Saturday performance are $18; $12 for UNCW faculty, staff and seniors; $6 for UNCW students and children 12 and under; $12 for UNCW faculty/staff and seniors; and are available through the Kenan Auditorium Box Office by calling 910/962.3500 or 800/732-3643. Box office hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. Additional information is available on the Web at www.uncw.edu/stuaff/arts or contact Shannon Hooker, UNCW Campus Activities and Involvement Center, at 910/962-7600.