| DanceBreak Showcasing the next generation of great Broadway Choreographers 2/23/2007 - DanceBreak
Showcasing the next generation of
great Broadway Choreographers
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NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Rich Vais
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(mailto:richv1996@aol.com)
Sta? Kmie? Presents His Work in Broadway Showcase
-- Broadway Industry?s Finest View Work of Talented Dancemaker in DanceBreak
--
NEW YORK, NY, February 19, 2007 ? Stas? Kmiec? presented new
choreography at the annual Broadway showcase, Dancebreak on February 12 at the New
World Stages. Chosen by a committee consisting of Broadway?s leading
producers, directors, composers, and choreographers, Kmiec? was given the
opportunity to ?strut his stuff? in a series of performances before an invited
audience of industry leaders, Broadway producers and directors.
"DanceBreak was an empowering, overwhelming, nerve wracking, but most
importantly - personally rewarding experience, ?said Stas' Kmiec'. ?It was a
wonderful feeling being at the center of my game with the talents of amazing
Broadway dancers, and making these crucial professional contacts with the best
in the industry."
Kmiec's piece - "Life Is" from the Kander & Ebb musical Zorba elicited a
huge cheering audience response. As part of the "Broadway" section, the piece
incorporated Greek folk moves with the classic theaterdance style and sharply
stood out among the selections. 1930s MGM dancing star, Marge Champion
remarked ?It requires a rare talent to take the folk style and make it
contemporary and interesting for the theater.?
The second segment featured pieces encompassing each choreographer?s
individual style. Kmiec?s original piece, entitled "Trilogy: Dark & Sweet" - 3
vignettes encompassed the styles of Fosse, Fred Astaire, Tango and Dixieland,
with the presence of a red scarf as a unifying element.
Among those the producers, directors and agents in attendance were
representatives from the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, Disney Theatricals, the
Nederlander Organization, Dodger Theatricals, the Schubert Organization,
Cameron Mackintosh Limited, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, production
companies, agencies and theaters including Lincoln Center Theater, Paper Mill
Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera House, La Jolla Playhouse, Ballet Hispanico, and
The Metropolitan Opera, among others.
At the reception, Kmie? connected with Polish director Walter Bobbie, of
Broadway?s Chicago, Sweet Charity, whose name was changed from W?adys?aw
Babij. The two discussed the theater and their Polish backgrounds.
?Even if you know someone?s reputation, even if you have watched their
work, there is something about the context of DanceBreak, ?said Bobbie.? Seeing
the choreographers delivers something in front of a very, very demanding
community with confidence and with style and with commitment and I think it can
cement someone?s reputation.?
Ted Chapin from the Rogers and Hammerstein Organization was also impressed
by Kmie??s work and commented to the organizers of his interest.
As a direct result of the program?s exposure, DanceBreak choreographers have
signed their first Broadway contract and gone on to garner Drama Desk
nominations, Outer Critics Circle nominations, and Tony Award nominations.
Showcasing the next generation of great Broadway choreographers, DanceBreak is an
invaluable tool for initiating relationships that will lead to high-caliber
professional and Broadway collaborations.
?As a producer, I couldn?t ask for anything better than to come and see
talent and look for people who are trying to express themselves and show what
they have to offer,? said Andrew Asnes, Producer, The Color Purple and Legally
Blonde. ?They don?t get that opportunity too often, so more power to
DanceBreak.?
Born in Massachusetts, Sta? Kmie? is a New York theater and dance
professional, having performed on Broadway with American Dancemachine and Rudolf
Nureyev's Don Quixote; The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, and The Boston Ballet. He
has choreographed in many styles ? musical theater dance, ballet, and folk,
notably Off-Broadway, the national tour of Me and My Girl, the Irish premiere
of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and consultant for star Billy Crudup
in the film, Trust the Man.
He is a member of the professional unions: Actors Equity, Screen Actors
Guild, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, and The American Guild
of Musical Artists.
A graduate of Tufts University and the University of Marie Curie-Sklodowska?
s Studium Folklorystyczne in Lublin Poland, he is a contributing author of
Polish Folk Dances and Songs Step-By-Step Guide (Hippocrene Books, 1997), the
culture editor of The Polish American Journal and a contributing writer to
other Polish-American publications.
True to his Polish heritage, he founded the Lublin Polish Song and Dance
Ensemble in Haverhill-Boston in 1977, has choreographed for other
Polish-American groups, including Chicago?s Lira Ensemble, and mounted the Orange County
Onion Harvest Festival in 1995, 1999, featuring 250 dancers, singers, and the
Jimmy Sturr Orchestra in an authentic outdoor folklore spectacle.
The press has called his work: ??engaging, innovative, unique, and fluidly
choreographed? (NY Newsday); ?colorful and hilarious, with moves that kept
the show energized? (NY Times); ?The biggest success in this production is
the dancing?Choreographer Kmiec makes his dancers move ?they don?t just dance
with their feet, they use every inch of their bodies.? (The Observer); ?
Outstanding work? (Cork Examiner); ?a dancer?s paradise? (Citizen-News).
Kmiec' has been busy lately developing a new musical in Toronto, with the
hopes of a transfer to the Broadway stage.
photos in following e-mail
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