Jessica Lang Dance Makes Final Bay Area Appearance in February

Hammer Theatre Center presents Jessica Lang Dance, the lauded New York City-based dance company dedicated to enriching and inspiring global audiences with its artfully crafted and emotionally engaging works. Disbanding at the end of its current season to focus exclusively on creative development, this is a final opportunity to view the innovative company created by Bessie Award-winning Artistic Director Jessica Lang. As one of the most celebrated choreographers of her generation, Lang has been hailed as "a master of visual composition" by Dance Magazine, and her work has been praised as "sophisticated and intelligent" by the Los Angeles Times. This extraordinary performance will incorporate striking design elements and highlight the company's genre-bending movement style that defies categorical definition. Jessica Lang Dance will perform 7:30pm, Saturday, February 23 at the Hammer Theatre Center, 101 Paseo De San Antonio, San José. For more information and tickets, the public may visit www.hammertheatre.com or call (408) 924-8501.

Since the company's inception in 2011, Jessica Lang Dance (JLD) has been devoted to creating works immersing audiences in the beauty of movement and music. JLD has performed its diverse repertoire of 25 original works for audiences nationally and internationally in over 75 cities, 35 states, and seven different countries. The company is strongly influenced by a commitment to artistic collaboration with renowned artists such as architect Steven Holl, costume designer Bradon McDonald, lighting designer Nicole Pearce, composer Jakub Ciupinski, and visual artist Shinichi Maruyama. JLD has been presented at premier venues and festivals worldwide including Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, BAM's Next Wave Festival, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, The Joyce Theater, the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center, Tel Aviv Performing Arts Center, Bolshoi's Inversion Festival of Contemporary Dance, and Palacio de Bellas Artes, among many others.

JLD's 2018-19 season opened with two exceptional residencies to develop new work at the White Oak Dance Project founded by Mikhail Baryshnikov and Mark Morris, and the renowned Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. Earlier this year, the company premiered "This Thing Called Love," a commission by the Performing Arts Center at Purchase College featuring classical movement set to the legendary music of singer Tony Bennett. The Los Angeles Times noted, "Lang has a knack for conceiving a complete universe in each dance-distinctive in its look and mood, sound, and atmosphere."

In November 2018, JLD announced the shuttering of the company at the end of its 2018-19 season after an incredible seven years of success. Lang will continue her creative work as a choreographer, working with companies around the world.

Jessica Lang leads the creative vision of JLD, which has garnered remarkable acclaim under her artistic leadership. One of the most celebrated choreographers of her generation, Lang is a graduate of the Juilliard School under the direction of Benjamin Harkarvy, and a former member of Twyla Tharp's company THARP! Lang choreographs and teaches throughout the world, and she has created original works for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, American Ballet Theatre, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet, the National Ballet of Japan, and Joffrey Ballet, among many others. Lang has also worked in opera on the production Aida, directed by Francesca Zambello, for San Francisco Opera and Washington National Opera. She is the recipient of a 2014 Bessie Award and the 2017 Arison Award.

The Hammer Theatre Center is a distinctive, state-of-the-art performance venue in the heart of downtown San José. Owned by the City of San José and newly operated by San José State University (SJSU), the Hammer Theatre's mission is to serve the community through artistically and educationally excellent programming that is expressive of the unique characteristics and diverse cultures that comprise Silicon Valley. The broader vision of the Hammer includes arts, innovation, and technology programming on the Paseo de San Antonio, creating a vibrant pathway between SJSU and the Tech Museum and bridging the urban spaces from Saint James Park down to the South of First Avenue cultural district. The Hammer also aims to connect SJSU's more than 37,000 faculty, students, and staff with the downtown cultural and economic corridors.

For tickets ($37-$61) the public may visit www.hammertheatre.com or call (408) 924-8501.