Same Planet Different World goes the Distance Forward.

Chicago, IL, USA (SANEPR.com) October 31, 2008 -- Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre presents "Distance Forward," November 14-16, 2008 at the Ruth Page Center for the Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn Parkway, Chicago, IL 60610. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8pm, and 2 pm on Sunday. Tickets are $20 and $15 for students and seniors. Mid-week school matinee performances are available for booking as well. Purchase tickets on-line at www.spdwdance.org or call 773-506-8730 for more information and group sales.

SPDW Dance Theatre's "Distance Forward" will feature world premiere works by Ashleigh Leite and Molly Shanahan, the SPDW Dance premiere of "To Have and To Hold" by Shapiro and Smith and a new duet by Artistic Director Joanna Rosenthal. Themes of isolation, longing, love and loss – fragmented individuals bound to one another, unrelenting motion that inevitably brings us together and tears us apart. It’s gorgeous, moody, and evocative of the tenor of the country and the world right now.

Last year, Sid Smith from the Chicago Tribune called SPDW Dance “…a beguiling celebration of wit and stark wisdom.” The Company was then celebrating its 10th anniversary. This year Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre launches its second decade, with the same freshness and intelligence, and with a newfound maturity and expanded company. Collaborators include dancers Charlie Cutler, Connie Fagan, Adam Gauzza, David Gerber, Ayani Hererra-Cruz, Liz Jenkins, Jessie Marasa, Carrie Nicastro, Angela Palladini, Joanna Rosenthal, Jon Sloven, Christopher Tucker, and Zachary Whittenburg, with music by CC Brown (editing), Sammi Davis Jr.., Magnetic Fields, Phillip Jeck, Scott Killian, Ashleigh Leite (sound design), costumes by Collin Bunting, Laura Dana, Jeff Hancock and Margaret Wenk, sets by Jonathan Belche, lighting by Roma Flowers and Julie Ballard and staging for 'To have and To Hold' by Kelly Drummond Cawthon.

Tickets for 'Distance Forward" may be purchased on-line at www.spdwdance.org, or by calling 773-506-8730 for more information and group sales.

Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre is dedicated to presenting the most perfect embodiment of dance -- dance that is evocative and enjoyable.

SPDW Dance acknowledges that the audience is as important to the dance as the movements and steps themselves. The company presents work that is inspiring, vibrant and relevant. SPDW’s intriguing repertoire consists of work from formidable Chicago artists as well as choreographers from across the nation, with styles that incorporate classical and contemporary modern dance, jazz and improvisational experimentation.

Since 1997, SPDW Dance has showcased repertoire that is rich and varied. In this way, audiences as well as SPDW Dance Theatre’s performing artists are fulfilled by the work. The Company has grown to include an active Board of Directors, Executive Director Katie Saifuku, Artistic Director Joanna Rosenthal and more than more fourteen dancers. The repertoire includes works by national and internally recognized choreographers like Faye Driscoll, Ron DeJesus, Jan Erkert, Ginger Farley, Ashleigh Leite, Jodi Lomask, Shihrley Mordine, Molly Shanahan, Eduardo Vilaro, Sam Watson, and Sherry Zunker among others.

SPDW Dance self-produces two shows a year, participates in regional and national festivals and is responsible for the acclaimed Guest Artist Program – which brings to Chicago new and established dance artists to Chicago for community workshops, master classes and to create new work on the Company each year. The Company also provides ongoing advanced technique and master classes, workshops and residencies. Festival credits include Dance Chicago, the Next Dance Festival, Choreography Now, Focus on the Arts, the Dance-Along Nutcracker at the Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago Association of Dance Masters and the Other Dance Festival. SPDW Dance was one of the companies featured In HMS's Chicago Dance Project, which aired on Channel 11 in 2005. Most recently SPDW Dance was featured in the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs’ ‘About Dance’ program.

The Ruth Page Center for the Arts is located at 1016 N. Dearborn in Chicago. CTA: Red Line and the Clark, Broadway and Division bus lines. A public parking lot is available directly behind the Center on Clark Street.

“Same Planet rocked my world!”
~Asimina Chremos, Time Out Chicago 11/07

“. . . a beguiling celebration of wit and stark wisdom.”
~Sid Smith, Chicago Tribune 11/07

“Outta This World”
~ Dance Magazine, Vital Signs 11/07

Same Planet Different World Dance Theatre is grateful for the support of the Arts Work Fund for Organization Development, Chicago Artist Assistance Program, Level I City Arts Grant, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs, Elizabeth F. Cheney Foundation, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, Illinois Arts Council, a state agency and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation.