Denver’s nationally acclaimed Zikr Dance Ensemble will present their critically acclaimed 2018 program “Runes” at the Pagosa Springs Center for the Arts on Friday evening, September 28 at 7:30pm.
“Runes” is SOLD OUT.
The Zikr Dance Ensemble offers a spectrum of works that are based on dance rituals from many different ancient world cultures throughout history along with original and contemporary dance/theatre realizations. Artistic Director David Taylor’s company has been met with consistent rave reviews and standing ovations throughout Colorado and the United States over the past ten years, and Taylor’s original work has been lauded as “breathtaking and stunning, with his most recent premiere during the company’s 2018 Season, “Runes” being hailed as “a masterpiece”.
The Zikr Dance Ensemble’s presentation of both rare, historic and multi-cultural dances, which include works from the Gurdjieff sacred movement repertoire, along with original contemporary works, seeks to enhance the appreciation for the unity of the human spirit and provide a unique artistic experience of the many ways that diverse spiritual and cultural traditions express creativity and wonder through dance.
The Zikr Dance Ensemble’s singular artistic focus makes it totally unique among professional dance companies in the United States and the company’s outstanding company members are some of the finest ballet-trained professionals in the nation.
“Runes” is also the title of the company’s critically acclaimed world premiere, which has as its focus the ancient magical northern European alphabet as it was used in its symbolic form for divination and prophecy. This stunning new work features the use of a cyr wheel along with a breathtaking set of monolithic structures.
Also on the program is a major new work created by guest choreographer and internationally acclaimed Persian dance master Shahrzad Khorsandi, entitled “Atash” (“fire” in Farsi). This beautiful piece was created especially for the Zikr Dance Ensemble’s female dancers and features an original score performed on authentic Persian instruments by Denver’s Farabi Ensemble.
The program will also include one of the most intriguing and historic samples of The Gurdjieff Sacred Movements, a 2000-year-old work entitled “The Assyrian Women Mourners”, along with the Zikr Dance Ensemble’s signature work and audience favorite, “In Your Eyes”.
Artistic Director David Taylor has been professionally involved in the Colorado dance community for the past forty-eight years. During the course of a twelve-year dance career, he began choreographing in 1976, and since then has created over 100 original works. In 1979, he founded the David Taylor Dance Theatre, which for thirty-two years was recognized as one of the Rocky Mountain region’s most acclaimed dance organizations, and Denver’s original contemporary ballet company. Mr. Taylor has received three National Endowment for the Arts grant awards along with the City and County of Denver’s first Individual Artist Fellowship award for dance, and in March of 1997, he and his company were proud recipients of the State of Colorado’s Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.