KPD's 23rd Season of
Dance with "New Work"
Celebrate an evening of contemporary and
mixed-ability dance work!

Karen Peterson and Dancers celebrate a 23rd Season of Dance with
"Square 1" a solo performed by Katrina Weaver, "By Chance a Meeting",
performed by Joanne Barrett and Dale Andree with violinist Vicki Richards
and "myGuy" and "dance (4) 7" with KPD and guest dancers from
Sarajevo, Bosnia.

Thursday, April 11 at 8pm
& Friday, 12 at 8pm:
Miami Dade County Auditorium
MDCA's On Stage Black Box
2901 West Flagler Street • FL, 33135

Tickets:
$18 - General,
$13 - Students/Seniors at door

For tickets call Ticketmaster 800-745-3000 or purchase at door.
For more information call 305-547-5414

The Nation's Premiere
Mixed-Abilities Dance Company
in the Southeast Joins Forces with Miami's Top Classical Musicians

(MIAMI) - Karen Peterson and Dancers performed to standing ovations with the Crosstown String Quartet and The Miami String Project at the Banyan Bowl amphitheater at Pinecrest Gardens, opening their 23rd season in Miami.
(Photos by Mariolga Ramirez)

"The combination of classical musicians playing onstage alongside contemporary dancers is powerful," said Founder and Artistic Director Karen Peterson. "Feedback from the audiences was electric. Two standing ovations made me feel like I am on the right track as a choreographer. We had new audience members who had never seen the company perform and they were moved."

Karen Peterson and Dancers (KPD) was founded in 1990 in Miami as a not-for-profit dance organization, and commissions and produces the work of dance artists with and without disabilities (performing together in an integrated scope), through its quality-based programs and educational workshops. Dancers with and without disabilities create and perform mixed-abilities dance as an inclusive art form on a year-round basis. The company will tour this year throughout Florida, Europe and Latin America.

KPD is the only full-time, mixed-abilities dance company in the Southeast that educates and entertains year-round, boasting a stellar history of commitment to integrated dance and renowned artistic integrity.

The performances began with the premiere of a work titled Moment which featured the debut of KPD's new youth dancers (ages 15-21) who are diagnosed with physical, developmental and/or intellectual disabilities, alongside the Miami String Project (comprised of young musicians). Audiences experienced never-before-seen works of choreography set to The Lover's Waltz by Jay Ungar and Molly Mason, and The Chinese Folk Tunes by Bright Sheng.

Peterson has been working with her new group of mixed-abilities youth dancers since June of 2012: "I especially loved working with the youth dancers who had little reference to contemporary dance."..."Through improvisation I helped them find a sense of freedom in their own personal movement styles, teaching them to not hold back. Their honesty and sincerity, plus their powerful love of performance, added freshness to our production."

The second half, Potpourria, was a bold blend of synchronicity and spontaneity between the company's senior dancers and the professional musicians from the The Crosstown String Quartet.8 musical selections with original choreography by Karen Peterson were set to music
by Vivaldi, Bach, Britten, Grieg, Petersburski, Summers and Piazzola, performed by the quartet.