Pilobolus Returning To Quick Center

FAIRFIELD — Experience movement in its most glorious form when the acclaimed Pilobolus Dance Theatre returns to Fairfield University for two shows, on Friday, March 23, at 8 pm, and Saturday, March 24, at 8 pm, in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts.

A major American dance company, Pilobolus is recognized for its innovative works and varied repertories combining a startling mix of humor and invention. The Quick Center will serve as co-commissioner for a new piece, “Tsu-Ku-Tsu,” with music by Leonard Eto, to be performed during the performance.

Since its remarkable emergence from a Dartmouth College dance class in 1971, Pilobolus has been forging a new vision of modern dance. It takes its name from a phototropic zygomycete, a sun-loving fungus just ¼-inch tall, that grows in barnyards and pastures and is so feisty it can throw its spores nearly eight feet. Like its name, Pilobolus is a highly unusual dance company, now in its 31st year of evolution.

Pilobolus is a deeply collaborative effort boasting four artistic directors and six dancers. The company is a completely self-sufficient organization with its members choreographing, dancing, managing and publicizing its own programs. Its works are not drawn from the long traditions of codified dance movement but are invented, emerging from intense periods of improvisation and creative play.

The company has grown, expanding and refining its unusual methods to produce a body of more than 70 choreographic works and while it has become a stable and influential force in the world of dance, Pilobolus remains as variable and surprising as ever. Its three decades of creating dances now stand as testament to the company’s position as an artistic collective of remarkable fruitfulness and longevity.

Pilobolus is based in Washington Depot, but performs all over the world. Its works are represented in the repertoires of several major dance and the group is the recipient of many prestigious honors, among them the Berlin’s Critic’s Prize, the Brandeis Award and a 1997 Primetime Emmy Award.

Tickets to Pilobolus are $28 to $38, with discounts available for seniors, students and groups. For more information call 203-254-4010 or toll free at 877-ARTS-396 (877-278-7396).