Press Center

 For Immediate Release                                                                     May 13, 2008
Media Contact:          Sarah Dixon
(970) 949-1999
sdixon@vvf.org

ACCLAIMED FORMER MARTHA GRAHAM DANCER FANG-YI SHEU JOINS VAIL INTERNATIONAL DANCE FESTIVAL’S OPENING NIGHT MUSIC AND DANCE EXTRAVAGANZA
     VAIL, Colorado—An evening that already promised greatness just got better.  Acclaimed former Martha Graham principal dancer Fang-Yi Sheu has joined the all star list of performers for the 2008 Vail International Dance Festival’s Opening Night musical and dance extravaganza, Sunday, July 27 at the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater.

     Ms. Sheu will appear in a new piece choreographed by Taiwanese choreographer Bulareyaung especially for her Vail performance. The celebrated dancer joins a phenomenal mixed bill program which already features the Paul Taylor Dance Company, stars from Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company and Pacific Northwest Ballet, with live musical accompaniment to be performed by iconic composer/pianist Philip Glass and cellist Wendy Sutter, as well as by Eugenia Zukerman and the Rossetti String Quartet, appearing courtesy of the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival.

     “Fang-Yi Sheu is a magnificent artist” said Vail International Dance Festival artistic director Damian Woetzel, “and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to bring her incomparable dancing to Vail for the Festival’s Opening Night.”  Heralded by The New York Times as the “finest present day embodiment of Martha Graham’s technique and tradition”, Ms. Sheu joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 1995.  Shortly thereafter, she was promoted to principal dancer where her major performances included classic Martha Graham repertoire, including Errand into the Maze, Cave of the Heart, and Chronicle.

     A native of Taiwan, Ms. Sheu was the recipient of her country’s President’s Order of Brilliant Star with Cravat in 2005 and featured on the cover of Dance Magazine in “25 To Watch” as one of the rising young talents in dance.

     In addition to her time with the Martha Graham Dance Company, she has also performed principal roles in many works of  the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan, as well as Monte/Brown Dance Company, Buglisi/Foreman Dance and Shen-wei Dance Art. In 2007 Ms. Sheu co-founded LAFA and Artists Dance Company, based in Taiwan.

     Tickets for the Vail International Dance Festival’s Opening Night are priced at $17 for General Admission lawn seating and $65 and $85 for Reserved section seating.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.vaildance.org or by calling (970) 845-TIXS (8497) or 1-888-920-ARTS (2787).

     In addition to Opening Night, individual tickets for the 2008 Vail International Dance Festival are priced from $17 to $85, with an array of ticket packages also available.  The 2008 Vail International Dance Festival runs from July 27 through August 9, with performances at both the Gerald R. Ford Amphitheater in Vail and the Vilar Performing Arts Center in Beaver Creek.

     The 2008 Vail International Dance Festival is a project of the Vail Valley Foundation.  For additional information on the Dance Festival, visit www.vaildance.org.  For more information on the Foundation, visit www.vvf.org or call (970) 949-1999.

Back

Media Contact:
For press inquiries please contact Shelley Woodworth with the Vail Valley Foundation at 970-748-5932.

Media FTP:
To attain login and password contact Shelley Woodworth at 970-748-5932.
CLICK HERE to login

EMAIL TO A FRIEND