"Organically athletic" dance company to perform Sept. 8

LehrerDance, an innovative contemporary dance company based in Buffalo, will perform in concert at SUNY Fredonia on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 7:30 p.m. in Marvel Theatre at Rockefeller Arts Center.

The concert will feature the eight-member company performing six pieces. This performance is made possible by a grant from the Carnahan-Jackson Fund and the FSA Program Fund, with support from the Dean of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Theatre and Dance.

Under the direction of Jon Lehrer, LehrerDance showcases his unique choreography and embodies his definitive style. Lehrer’s extensive background in both the modern and jazz dance idioms fosters choreography that has been described as “organic, artistic, accessible and often humorous” and as “reflecting life experience and the human condition.”

The LehrerDance style is based on three main elements of movement: circularity, three-dimensionality and momentum. These combine to create a form often described as “Organically Athletic.” It integrates the approach and fluidity of modern dance with the excitement and energy of jazz dance to create an expressive, engrossing style of movement.

In addition, each member of the dance company brings his or her own unique skills to the LehrerDance vernacular to help keep it fresh and evolving.

LehrerDance began in July 2007 and has already received much national notoriety and critical acclaim. Dance Magazine said LehrerDance “took the house not so much by storm as by quantum physics,” adding that the company is “on the cusp of jazz/modern fusion.”

The company tours extensively, bringing their trademark athletic, “edge-of-your-seat” excitement to audiences nationwide. The concert at SUNY Fredonia will follow a master class by the company. Lehrer Dance will be holding a guest artist residency in November, working with members of the Fredonia Dance Ensemble. The Ensemble will perform a piece of the company’s repertory during its annual concert in May.