Doug Varone and Dancers Concludes 2000-01 KeyBank Dance Series at UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The 2000-01 KeyBank Dance Series will conclude with a performance by Doug Varone and Dancers to be held at 8 p.m. on April 7 in the Mainstage Theatre located in the Center for the Arts on the North Campus.

Founded in 1986, Doug Varone and Dancers performs a body of work heralded by critics as among the most compelling of the contemporary repertory. Honored with five New York Dance and Performance Awards (Bessies), the company has been singled out for its extraordinary physical daring, vivid musicality and genius for capturing through movement the nuances of true human interaction. The company has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, the Americas and Asia, performing regularly at major venues, festivals and universities.

As a choreographer of contemporary dance for the concert stage, opera, Broadway, regional theater, film and television, Doug Varone's creativity is as wide ranging as the media in which he works.

He is best known for the 30-plus pieces he has created for his own company, Doug Varone and Dancers. Often commissioned by leading institutions such as the Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, The American Dance Festival and Summerdance Santa Barbara, Varone also has created works for more than two dozen dance companies nationally and internationally. These include the Limón Dance Company, Pennsylvania Ballet, Dancemakers (Canada), Batsheva Dance Company (Israel), Uppercut Danse Theatre (Denmark), and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

Varone has worked extensively in theatre, opera and television. He made his Broadway debut in 1997 with the musical Triumph of Love. In the spring of 2001, he will direct and choreograph Gluck's Orpheus and Eurydice for the Colorado Opera. Currently, Varone is working on the upcoming Patrick Swayze dance film, "Without a Word."

The dance troupe also will be in residence at UB, with dancers scheduled to offer lecture-demonstrations, workshops for UB dance students, master classes for dancers from UB and the community and performances for schoolchildren. The company will perform in several area high schools, as well as present the April 7 public dance concert.

Tickets for Doug Varone and Dancers are $18, $15 and $9 for the general public and $7 for UB students. Discount coupons are available at all area KeyBank locations. Tickets are available noon to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's and Movies Plus. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada 416-870-8000. For more information, call 645-ARTS. For group sales, call 645-6771.