“Dance in Albany” Offer Two Distinctive Performances in February

ALBANY — The performing arts centers at The Egg and the University at Albany, which jointly present Dance in Albany, present the next two offerings in the series in early February.  

Monica Bill Barnes & Company will be in the Capital Region for a week-long residency leading up to a performance of The Running Show on Saturday, Feb.  3, at the UAlbany Performing Arts Center on the uptown University at Albany campus.  

Italy’s NoGravity Theatre will make its Capital Region debut at The Egg at the Empire State Plaza in downtown Albany on Friday, Feb. 9. 

Founded in 1997, MBB&CO is a New York-based dance company that began with a suitcase of costumes and a collection of solos that could be performed anywhere. Since then, Barnes has worked with many artists and performers, including long-time collaborators/designers Jane Cox and Kelly Hanson and performer Anna Bass, in developing relatable work with a subversive sense of humor.  Since 2013, MBB&CO has been co-led by Barnes in partnership with Robbie Saenz de Viteri where the mission evolved to “bringing dance where it doesn’t belong.” The Running Show is a live, physical documentary about the life of a dancer. 

NoGravity is an Italian performing arts company directed by the multidisciplinary artist Emiliano Pellisari and dancer Mariana Porceddu who aim to push the boundaries between art forms. Its style is inspired by the extraordinary artistry of the Italian Renaissance and Baroque art with a focus on the theater of wonder. Beauty, dream, illusion and fun are the keys to NoGravity’s poetics. The company will present From Hell to Paradise. Pellisari depicts Dante’s journey through the three Christian realms: Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Prior to the performance, there will be a Prelude talk sponsored by the Dance Alliance that begins at 7:15 p.m. at The Egg. 

Advance tickets for MBB&Co’s The Running Show are $15 for the general public at www.albany.edu/pac/tickets. Tickets for NoGravity Theatre are $28 and are available at The Egg Box Office on the Concourse Level of the Empire State Plaza in Albany, by phone at 518-473-1845 and online at theegg.org