Hip-hop and ballet converge at the Lycian

Sugar Loaf, NY - Kings Theatre Company is proud to present the intense, high energy performance Decadance vs. The Firebird at the Lycian Centre for the Performing Arts in Sugar Loaf, NY on Saturday, March 10, 2007 at 8 p.m. Decadancetheatre was founded in August 2000 in Brooklyn, NY and is made up of all female dancers from the US and Japan. Ready to move out of dancing in the background, these women joined together to create a new outlet for hip-hop performance. Decadancetheatre is out to take hip-hop — the style, the attitude, the energy, and the female dancers — out of the background of music videos and into the forefront of theatrical performance. The Company was nominated for the 2004 Time Out New York Audience Choice Bessie Award and won the 2004 Fringe NYC Excellence in Choreography award for their performance of Decadance vs. The Firebird. In Decadance vs. The Firebird, we meet Iva, a young girl in the inner city whose youthful exuberance keeps her blissfully ignorant of the potential dangers around her. One day, in the midst of exploring her surroundings, she meets an unlikely companion who will prove to be an even more unlikely savior - a dazzling creature known only as the Firebird through which Iva can see all things that are possible. As Iva encounters a series of challenges - evil antagonists, a shifting chain link fence, confounding forests - she will need the Firebird’s light to find her way out. Originally performed in 1910 by the Ballet Russes, (music by Igor Stravinsky, choreography by Fokine), The Firebird was based on a Russian folktale. Decadance vs. The Firebird is an urban ballet for the 21st century. Mashing up Stravinsky’s score with original, hip-hop beats, fusing breakdancing with ballet, and remixing the classic story into a contemporary text, the all-female cast challenges the ballet convention of a ‘handsome prince’ and instead creates a world where women battle for the right to rule the dance floor. A high energy dance performance ready to entertain diverse audiences of all ages, Decadance vs. The Firebird presents a new vision for hip-hop dance theatre. Tickets are $30 for adults and $20 for youth (18 years and younger) and can be purchased by calling the Lycian Centre box office at 845-469-2287, Tuesday through Saturday, between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. For more information about this and other upcoming events, you can also visit www.lyciancentre.com.