Posted on: Monday, February 17, 2003

Dance innovator to be in Islands

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Staff Writer

Liz Lerman, an innovative dance figure whose trademark is uniting diverse elements of a community through dance, will be in Hawai'i for a nine-day residency beginning March 1.

The Liz Lerman Dance Exchange has brought Boston longshoremen to dance at a shipyard. Her neighborhood performances have been on street corners as well as more conventional theatrical spaces. Her residency here is sponsored by the Hawai'i Community Foundation and the University of Hawai'i Outreach College.

The residency winds up in a pair of performances at Windward Community College's Paliku Theatre, 7:30 p.m. March 8 and 2 p.m. March 9. The shows include repertory pieces such as "Still Crossing" and "Hallelujah: In Praise of Animals and Their People," with members of the local community on stage with her professional company, as well as "Body Map," a solo piece featuring Lerman.

Tickets, $20 for the general public; $15 for students, seniors, military, UH faculty and staff, may be ordered from the UH Campus Center, 956-6878.

Local dancers and other community members are sought to rehearse and perform with the company members in the March 8 and 9 shows. An orientation and sign-up session will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Krauss Hall, UH, with rehearsals set from 7 to 9:30 p.m. March 3, 4, and 5; technical run-throughs 6 to 9:30 p.m. March 6; and a dress rehearsal 6 to 9:30 p.m. March 7.

Lerman is keynote speaker at a March 8 State Foundation Culture and the Arts 2003 Conference on Arts Education, staging an interactive presentation, "Hiking the Horizontal." Registration is $35, due by Feb. 24; 956-8204.