| ABOUT |
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 1, 2011
Press Contact:
Helanius J. Wilkins
Helanius@hjwEdgeworks.org
EDT Phone: 202-483-0606
EDGEWORKS DANCE THEATER ANNOUNCES RED HOT & RIOT GALA, A SPRING SIZZLE EVENT CELEBRATING COMPANY'S 10TH ANNIVERSARY
Washington, D. C. - EDGEWORKS Dance Theater (EDT) Founder and Artistic Director Helanius J. Wilkins is thrilled to announce the Company's Red Hot & Riot Gala: Celebrating EDGEWORKS Dance Theater's 10th Anniversary. Taking place in the heart of downtown DC on Thursday, May 5, 2011 at Woolly Mammoth Theatre, this ”sizzling“ gala will celebrate the outstanding artistry and accomplishments of EDT while providing a festive backdrop to raise necessary funds to support the Company's vital programs. Joining EDT will be Pulitzer Prize Journalist Clarence Page, Honorary Chair, and News4 Weekend Anchor Aaron Gilchrist, Master of Ceremonies. Complete with live reggae music, special guests, and a short performance by EDGEWORKS, the event aims to attract an eclectic cross-section of local and national luminaries in business, philanthropy, and entertainment.
View the Special Video Invitation Online!
EVENT DETAILS:
WHAT: RED HOT & RIOT Gala: Celebrating EDGEWORKS Dance Theater's 10th Anniversary
WHEN: Thursday, May 5, 2011 @ 8 PM (Program is followed by Dance Party)
WHERE: Woolly Mammoth Theatre, 641 D Street, NW, Washington, DC 20004
TICKETS: $100 per person
RESERVATIONS: Online at www.hjwEdgeworks.org or by phone at 202-483-0606
EDGEWORKS Dance Theater (EDT), founded in 2001 by choreographer, Helanius J. Wilkins, is an all-male professional, contemporary dance company of predominately African-American men based in Washington, DC. EDT's vision and mission is rooted in challenging perceptions of men, shattering stereotypes as a means to building community, and creating projects that links the arts and social justice.
During the past ten years, Helanius J. Wilkins and EDGEWORKS Dance Theater's local and national reputation has grown substantially. In 2008, Helanius won the Pola Nirenska Award for Outstanding Achievement in Contemporary Dance by the Washington Performing Arts Society the most prestigious choreography award in the Washington region and the company has received commissions from some of the most highly regarded dance presenting organizations in the country, including the Kennedy Center, National Performance Network, Dance Place, and Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival (Inside/Out). Additionally the company has toured internationally to Lithuania, Scotland, and Switzerland.
Most recently EDGEWORKS premiered Helanius' brand new Trigger project, the final installment of a trilogy of works examining and exploring often difficult issues faced by our society that began in 2002. The creation of Trigger involved collaborating with a playwright, composer/musician, set designer, and several performance artists. The project unfolds as a choreographed play where ordinary people have extraordinary lives; and is currently the center of a developing national tour. The support of a diverse cross-section of DC and nationally based individuals and organizations can make a tremendous impact on the journey of EDGEWORKS Dance Theater and provide the chance for them raise critically needed funds to continue its unique approach to dance and community building.
This event is made possible in part by the following lead sponsors and underwriters.
Geppetto Catering
Massey Media
The IDI Group Companies
The Sprenger Lang Foundation
The Washington Informer
Kathy & Jerry Freshley
Jannes J. Gibson
Talmira L. Hill
PRESS PHOTOS
The following photos are strictly for press use only. All images are copyrighted, and the sole property of the individual photographers and EDGEWORKS Dance Theater.
All photography is by Isaac Oboka.
The following photos are strictly for press use only. All images are copyrighted, and the sole property of the individual photographers and EDGEWORKS Dance Theater.
| Previous | · | Next |
Daring Reviews
"Dance that communicates what even the most heartfelt words cannot"
-The Washington Post
"****"
-Ballet Magazine - U.K.
"...hard-hitting..."
-The Washington Post
"...strength & control, executed coolly, unhurriedly, rather than with flash..."
-The Washington Post
"Emotional and moving experience."
-The Washington Afro-American
"...stirring...performing with strength & fluidity..."
-The Washington Post
"Dance that communicates what even the most heartfelt words cannot"
-The Washington Post
"****"
-Ballet Magazine - U.K.
"...hard-hitting..."
-The Washington Post
"...strength & control, executed coolly, unhurriedly, rather than with flash..."
-The Washington Post
"Emotional and moving experience."
-The Washington Afro-American
"...stirring...performing with strength & fluidity..."
-The Washington Post
Helanius J. Wilkins: Dance Chose Me
By Cecile Oreste, danceDC October 25, 2010
Since moving to Washington, DC, Louisiana native Helanius J. Wilkins has had the good fortune
to do what he loves for a living - dance. In addition to founding all-male contemporary dance
company Edgeworks Dance Theater, he has taught dance classes at Joy of Motion, the
American Dance Institute and The Washington Ballet. Read Full Article.
Body Language EDGEWORKS founder Helanius Wilkins makes movement his mission
By Will O'Bryan, Metro Weekly April 23, 2009
If you talk about contemporary dance in Washington, dancer and choreographer Helanius Wilkins is
bound to enter the conversation. Since 2001, his EDGEWORKS Dance Theater has steadily been
gaining momentum, as he and his all-male company of mostly African-American dancers follow
a mission to smash stereotypes. Read Full Article.
Straight from the Hip
By LaVon Rice, ColorLines Magazine March/April 2007
See the lilting Black man. Watch his body articulate itself in space. (”He speaks so well!“) Watch him sidestep assumptions, shrug off popular images of Black manhood that never fit him anyway. His choreographer could be Helanius Wilkins, founder and artistic director of the Washington, D.C.?based Edgeworks Dance Theater. Established in 2001, the theater is believed to be the only primarily Black male dance company in the United States. Read Full Article.
Top Awards Center On EDGEWORKS
Barbara Allen, The Washington Post September 13, 2007
Wilkins & Company Among Winners of D.C. Dance Awards. The star of the evening was choreographer Helanius J. Wilkins and his company, Edgeworks Dance Theater. Wilkins's hard-hitting piece on racial issues, "Cold Case," netted outstanding new work, and his troupe's performance of it was named the outstanding group performance. Read Full Article.
EDGEWORKS, Gambling And Winning Onstage
By Lisa Traiger, The Washington Post March 20, 2006
While "Cold Case," a brand-new work, was the edgiest and most hard-hitting on Saturday evening's Edgeworks Dance Theater program at Dance Place, it was not the riskiest. Instead, the piece that took the greatest gamble, and won, was the softly warmhearted trio that opened the all-male District-based troupe's fifth-anniversary home season. Read Full Article.