LehrerDance Homecoming Weekend - Buffalo News
23/09/09 21:35 Filed in: LehrerDance Reviews
It's homecoming weekend for Buffalo-based dance company, LehrerDance.
Jon Lehrer started dancing on a dare as a University at Buffalo student. Now he’s set to bring his nationally touring company back to UB for its local premiere.
By Steve Sucato
Not since the 1980s with the now-defunct Empire State Ballet has Buffalo’s dance community had such a presence on the national dance scene. To be sure, there have been some individual success stories — Rince Na Tiarna dancer Kevinah Dargan’s win at the Irish dance world championships in 2005 and Neil Haskell’s 2007 third-place finish on television’s “So You Think You Can Dance” to name a few. But as a professional dance community, Buffalo has been sliding off the national radar.
While the city boasts a number of very fine dance organizations, the resurgence of Buffalo dance to national prominence has been boosted with the addition of national touring company Configuration Dance and, to a lesser extent, Neglia Ballet Artists. The city’s case for inclusion on the national scene takes another giant leap this weekend with the local premiere of Buffalo- based national touring company LehrerDance at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts.
Accepting a challenge
Founded by former Eric Hawkins Dance Company and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago dancer Jon Lehrer, LehrerDance made its debut in July 2007 in Chicago to rave reviews. Since then, the group has toured the Midwest and Louisiana in advance of its hometown debut.
Lehrer recalled that his dance career literally began on a dare at age 19 while attending the University at Buffalo. At the time, Lehrer’s then-girlfriend, now wife, Tammy was studying dance at UB. Lehrer boasted to Tammy that dance looked so easy that he could certainly get an A in the class. Tammy challenged him to back up his words by taking a dance class — and he accepted the dare.
While Lehrer admits his first dance experiences were not as easy as he thought, out of them he developed an instant passion for the art form that has been his driving force ever since. Now 36, the Queens native has turned his attention from dancing professionally to choreographing and the development of his own dance company.
Like modern dance choreographers before him, such as Martha Graham and Paul Taylor, Lehrer’s dance company exists solely to produce his works and to advance his style of dance. Lehrer described that style as “organic athleticism,” based on three approaches to movement: circularity, three-dimensionality and momentum.
Lehrer said he chose Buffalo as the company’s home primarily for the city’s demographics and to be closer to his wife’s family.“Buffalo has a great arts community and some great dance companies, but there aren’t many of them,” Lehrer said. “I felt I could come here and not be competitive with the other dance companies but rather seek out collaborations with them.”
While none of the company’s seven highly trained dancers are from Buffalo (two apprentice dancers are), Lehrer boasted that they all now live in Buffalo.“One of my goals in basing the company in Buffalo is to help make the city a destination place for dancers,” he said.
Buffalo News
September 8, 2008
Jon Lehrer started dancing on a dare as a University at Buffalo student. Now he’s set to bring his nationally touring company back to UB for its local premiere.
By Steve Sucato
Not since the 1980s with the now-defunct Empire State Ballet has Buffalo’s dance community had such a presence on the national dance scene. To be sure, there have been some individual success stories — Rince Na Tiarna dancer Kevinah Dargan’s win at the Irish dance world championships in 2005 and Neil Haskell’s 2007 third-place finish on television’s “So You Think You Can Dance” to name a few. But as a professional dance community, Buffalo has been sliding off the national radar.
While the city boasts a number of very fine dance organizations, the resurgence of Buffalo dance to national prominence has been boosted with the addition of national touring company Configuration Dance and, to a lesser extent, Neglia Ballet Artists. The city’s case for inclusion on the national scene takes another giant leap this weekend with the local premiere of Buffalo- based national touring company LehrerDance at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts.
Accepting a challenge
Founded by former Eric Hawkins Dance Company and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago dancer Jon Lehrer, LehrerDance made its debut in July 2007 in Chicago to rave reviews. Since then, the group has toured the Midwest and Louisiana in advance of its hometown debut.
Lehrer recalled that his dance career literally began on a dare at age 19 while attending the University at Buffalo. At the time, Lehrer’s then-girlfriend, now wife, Tammy was studying dance at UB. Lehrer boasted to Tammy that dance looked so easy that he could certainly get an A in the class. Tammy challenged him to back up his words by taking a dance class — and he accepted the dare.
While Lehrer admits his first dance experiences were not as easy as he thought, out of them he developed an instant passion for the art form that has been his driving force ever since. Now 36, the Queens native has turned his attention from dancing professionally to choreographing and the development of his own dance company.
Like modern dance choreographers before him, such as Martha Graham and Paul Taylor, Lehrer’s dance company exists solely to produce his works and to advance his style of dance. Lehrer described that style as “organic athleticism,” based on three approaches to movement: circularity, three-dimensionality and momentum.
Lehrer said he chose Buffalo as the company’s home primarily for the city’s demographics and to be closer to his wife’s family.“Buffalo has a great arts community and some great dance companies, but there aren’t many of them,” Lehrer said. “I felt I could come here and not be competitive with the other dance companies but rather seek out collaborations with them.”
While none of the company’s seven highly trained dancers are from Buffalo (two apprentice dancers are), Lehrer boasted that they all now live in Buffalo.“One of my goals in basing the company in Buffalo is to help make the city a destination place for dancers,” he said.
Buffalo News
September 8, 2008