Elisa Monte Dance to perform March 24

BUFFALO, NY -- The Center for the Arts at the University at Buffalo will present Elisa Monte Dance at 8 p.m. on March 24 in the Mainstage theater in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

Elisa Monte Dance was founded in 1981 on the conviction of bridging cultural barriers through the universal language of dance. From its earliest recognition on the world stage as "best company" at the International Dance Festival of Paris in 1982 to its tremendously successful touring tin more than 35 nations worldwide, Elisa Monte Dance has lived that conviction for over two decades.

The work, created by Elisa Monte (formerly principal with Martha Graham Dance Company) and co-founder David Brown, is recognized widely for its highly athletic and sensual style, as well as its technical and physical acuity, and explores a multitude of topics and themes. Rooted in sensuality and controlled, sustained energy, Monte's work is notable for its expansive range of movement.

Elisa Monte Dance also is committed to increasing understanding and awareness of dance through outreach/educational activities in communities worldwide. The company will spend three weeks in residence in Buffalo prior to the performance, giving lecture/demonstrations, master classes and workshops to area schools and UB dance students.

Elisa Monte Dance celebrates diversity through the work, its artists and its staff. Its dancers hail from all corners of the globe, including the Bahamas, the United States, Cuba, Guadalupe and South Africa. The company has created, educated and performed to great success across Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the United States.

Elisa Monte made her professional debut dancing with Agnes DeMille in City Center's revival of "Carousel" at age 11.  Monte founded the company following 15 years as a professional dancer -- eight as principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company -- in addition to work with Lar Lubovitch, Pilobolus and others.  Monte's first choreographic work, "Treading" (1979), defined her as an important innovator and contributor to contemporary dance.  Now into her third decade of choreography, Monte's "Volkmann Suite," "Tears Rolling," "Shattered" and other recent works have received wide-spread acclaim and represent her continuing contribution to dance. 

The company has appeared in several major dance festivals, including the Next Wave, Jacob's Pillow, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Steps '98 Switzerland and Weimar 1999 cultural capital activities. Elisa Monte Dance has been featured on television networks throughout Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.

Tickets for Elisa Monte Dance are $18, students $10. 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.