Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, World's Oldest Professional Jazz Dance Company, to Perform at UB on March 5

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago at 8 p.m. on March 5 in the Mainstage theater, located at the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus. The performance is sponsored by KeyBank. Media sponsors are WGRZ-TV and WJYE-FM.

Currently in its 41st season, Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago (GGJDC) continues to bring the excitement of American jazz dance to cheering audiences in Chicago, across the United States and around the world. Continually expanding the boundaries of jazz dance while diversifying the repertoire, GGJDC's new works have received critical and audience acclaim.

Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago began in 1962 as Dance Incorporated Chicago. In 1966 the company became the Gus Giordano Dance Company and went on to gain international attention. In 1974 they became the first jazz dance company to ever tour the Soviet Union.

This focus on jazz dance led to a new name -- Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago -- and its current mission to develop and preserve the indigenous American art form of jazz dance, thereby creating an awareness of jazz dance as a true artistic expression of American life.

Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago has brought the excitement of American jazz dancing to audiences in countries around the world -- including Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Russia, the Bahamas, Brazil, Canada, Japan and throughout the United States. GGJDC serves as host performing company at each summer's Jazz Dance World Congress -- 1996 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, 1997 in Wiesbaden, Germany, 1998 in Phoenix, Arizona, 1999, 2000, and 2003 Buffalo, 2001 Monterrey, Mexico, and 2002 Chicago. JDWC 2004 will be held July 28-Aug. 1 in San Jose, Costa Rica.

Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago has a very active outreach and education program, including school performances in the Chicago area and teaching residences on many college campuses.

Today, Nan Giordano serves as Artistic Director, and Gus Giordano continues a close involvement with all activities of the company that bears his name. In a statement about the philosophy of contemporary art projects, critic Ann Barzel has written, "The jazz dance of Gus Giordano expresses feelings, portrays emotions, confronts problems and analyzes ideas in the tempo of today. It is accessible. In the exhilaration of its presentations, it mirrors the freedom that we like to think is the American way."

Tickets are $22, $18, and $16. Tickets are available from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center for the Arts Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 1-416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS. The Center for the Arts is a TicketFast location.