About
six months ago we brought you the story of a dance company, LehrerDance, who
chose to call
country, carrying the city’s name along with them. Now, as they’ve been doing
just that, the company will return home to
performance at the weekly Gusto at the Gallery.
LehrerDance
is led by Jon Lehrer and is comprised of seven dancers who moved to downtown
University at
dance. Lehrer does all the choreography himself, which proves to create a
unique form of dancing with the fusion of his extensive background in modern
and jazz dance and ballet.
Lehrer
stresses the importance of touring for a dance company saying, “To thrive as a
dance company today you have to tour and show yourself nationally.” In the past
months of touring, LehrerDance has been to around the country in the cities of
Chicago, St. Louis, and Palm Springs, Calif. — just to name a few. He says the
touring has been great, and that the crowds they perform for on the road are
incredibly diverse. “We get all types of people — professional dancers, people
who are in the arts, adults, kids, and people who have never seen dance before,”
he said. “The audience really goes across the gamut.”
One
of the great things about LehrerDance and a reason for its wide appeal and
quick success is its accessibility and artistic nature, all rolled into one. “We
have entertainment value along with artistry,” Lehrer said. Lehrer originally
created the company to do just that. When he gets feedback regarding the show
as “new, fresh and exciting,” he knows that his original vision is becoming a
reality for his audiences.
Besides
performing at the Gusto this weekend, Jon will also be making some exciting
announcements that he OKed to go to print in
some may know, it’s been some time since Artpark has been a venue for dance.
This coming summer, it will return as a dance venue and have booked LehrerDance
for July 10th. Leher hopes that their booking will lead to more dance at Artpark.
“I hope that this will spawn more dance to be there,” he said. “One of the
reasons to come to
level of dance, bring
and we’re succeeding.”
addition to the Artpark announcement, Lehrer will also present the partnership
between the company and the University at
recruit dancers for the UB program. This summer the University will donate
rehearsal space for the company’s use in return.
Finally,
if there wasn’t already enough going on for LehrerDance, Jon Lehrer has just
partnered with Joe Cipolla of Configuration Dance Theatre for the first time to present
the Buffalo Dance Festival this summer on August 1st. Bringing
together Buffalo dance companies in a festival has been a goal of Lehrer’s. He
initially hopes for it to bring together the local dance scene, and hopes that
eventually the festival will draw in dance companies from across the
country.
Lehrer
is excited for the Gusto performance and noted how much he likes the informal
atmosphere and the closeness of the venue. “It’s a whole different aspect than
the normal theater,” he said.
The
event will begin at
27th. As always, Gusto events arefree.The Albright-Knox Art Gallery is located at
for parking is now $3.