International dance company to perform in Ridgefield

Dance royalty will visit The Ridgefield Playhouse on April 25 when The Parsons Dance Company gives two performances. Comprised of nine full-time dancers, The Parsons Dance Company has danced on stages throughout Europe, Russia, South America, Asia and the United States.

Its founder, choreographer-dancer David Parsons, danced with the famous Paul Taylor Dance Company. He set off on his own because he was “getting too comfy” dancing in Taylor’s troupe, and his star has continued to rise ever since.

“I was born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City,” Parsons recalled in a recent interview. “I specialized in trampoline and danced with a small dance company when I decided I had to get out of the Midwest. I went to New York with $70 in my pocket and was seen dancing by Allen Haley. That was my first break. From there I began dancing with Paul Taylor. He was my mentor.”

Parsons maintains a repertory of more than 70 works. In 1991, his company was filmed by Danmarks Radio for a televison program that has been broadcast throughout the world. Its televison features in the U.S. have included the PBS television series “Behind the Scenes,” which has been broadcast on the Bravo cable network and the A&E television network. Parsons’ company has been featured on CBS Sunday Morning” and the Discovery Channel.

“We’ve flown around the world, performing at the Sidney Opera House, in Alaska, Brazil, 15 tours of Italy – our performances have been extensive,” Parsons said. “We recently made a commercial in Madrid. That was fun. And performed for Silvio Berlusconi the prime minister of Italy. We’re getting a little political. It’s great.”

Parsons, himself, is now involved in two upcoming Broadway productions. He uses his company in one production, “Daddy Long Legs,” directed by John Caird, who co-directed and co-wrote “Les Miserable.” The second production is “Masada,” which Parsons is choreographing but not using the company in. You may have seen The Parsons Dance Company’s televised performance in New York City on New Year’s Eve for “Times Square 2000,” the 24-hour performance marathon that celebrated the arrival of the millennium in every time zone around the world. For the Ridgefield performances on April 25, Parsons’ company will offer a variety of numbers from “Envelope,” a “simple but beautiful piece” last performed in Florence, Italy, to a “down and dirty” number set in a dance club at night with a “smoky, jazzy atmosphere.” Innovation is the keynote of Parsons’ choreography. His dancers move across the stage, holding lights in a dark theater, seemingly floating, or move through incredible situations, pulling and tugging at an envelope, nearly loosing it into the audience.

“It’s a real tour de force to have Parsons’ company coming to Ridgefield,” said Playhouse public relations director Allison Stockel. “This isn’t a touring company. This is Parsons’ first run dance company.”

Opening for The Parsons Dance Company is Ridgefield’s own James Robey’s Jazz Coalition. Robey is the owner of The Ridgefield Dance Conservatory and has had an impressive career himself. As a dancer, he has performed with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet in New York City and the New York Dance Theater. As a choreographer, he was a finalist in the 2000 Jazz Dance World Congress Choreographic Event and headed the Bare Bones dance company in New York.

The Parsons Dance Company performs April 25 at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. at The Ridgefield Playhouse. Tickets are $45 and $35. For further information and to order tickets, call the box office at (203) 438-5795.