CONTACT: Brad White
Marketing and Publicity Manager
Center for the Arts, Pepperdine University
24255 Pacific Coast Hwy, Malibu, CA 90263
(310) 506-4055
brad.white@pepperdine.edu
BOX OFFICE: (310) 506-4522
http://arts.pepperdine.edu/

Photos available upon request

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY
CENTER FOR THE ARTS

presents a performance by 10-member contemporary dance company

LULA WASHINGTON
DANCE THEATRE

"In a setting that naturally overpowers the human form, Washington’s work resonates where she partners effectively with the surrounding forces to reach us through the distance. When a wave of twirls sweeps dancers across the stage in a blur of swirling white just as a gust of wind rolls off the hillside and through the Bowl, the effect is sublime."--Culture Spot LA

Tuesday, February 8, 2011, 7:30 p.m.
Smothers Theatre, Pepperdine University
24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA

The 10-member Lula Washington Dance Theatre, a Los Angeles-based repertoire dance ensemble that performs innovative and provocative choreography by Lula Washington, performs at Smothers Theatre on Pepperdine University's Malibu campus at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 8.

Tickets, priced at $40 for the public and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, are available now by calling (310) 506-4522. Tickets are also available through Ticketmaster at (800) 982-2787. More information: http://arts.pepperdine.edu/ or http://www.lulawashington.org

Lula Washington Dance Theatre (LWDT) performs internationally to acclaim and admiration by critics and audiences alike. Lula Washington (who choreographed movements for the Na'vi aliens in Avatar) has steadfastly focused on using dance to explore social and humanitarian issues, including aspects of African-American history and culture. The company's eclectic repertoire includes the Little Rock Nine suite, which is a tribute to the students who integrated Little Rock Central High and is presented at Pepperdine in celebration of Black History Month. The performance is cosponsored by Pepperdine's Office of Intercultural Affairs.

LWDT was founded in 1980 by Lula and Erwin Washington in the inner-city area of South Los Angeles. Since then it has risen to become one of the most admired African-American contemporary dance companies in the West -- known for powerful, high-energy dancing, unique choreography, and exceptional educational residencies.

The company is composed of young, athletic dancers, many of whom were groomed in Lula Washington's inner-city dance studio. While Lula Washington encourages her dancers to be excellent performers, she also emphasizes the importance of being leaders in their communities.

LWDT's repertoire unveils honesty, integrity, and creativity of unparalleled power -- with Lula Washington as the main choreographer and "voice" of LWDT. Washington augments her choreography with dances by master artists Donald McKayle, Katherine Dunham, Donald Byrd (The Color Purple), Louis Johnson (The Wiz), Christopher Huggins, and local icon Rudy Perez. The company also performs works by talented, emerging choreographers such as Tamica Washington-Miller, Associate Director of LWDT.

LWDT has performed at such venues as Lincoln Center Out of Doors; the Joyce Theatre; the New Jersey Performing Arts Center; Jacob's Pillow; the Ordway Theatre in St. Paul; the Pioneer Center in Reno, Nevada; the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; and at theatres in Germany, Spain, Mexico, and St. Croix, Virgin Islands.

In addition to touring, LWDT dances in scores of schools each year. On February 9 the company will perform as part of Pepperdine's ARTSReach program, which provides free, world-class performances and art exhibitions for thousands of schoolchildren from Los Angeles and Ventura Counties each year.

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