At the Touhill Performing Arts Center, Saturday, November 5

Popular “game-changing” New York City-based company performs blockbuster hit STAR DUST, an “utterly transfixing” tribute
to the life and music of David Bowie

Complexions Contemporary Ballet was founded in 1994 by former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater virtuosos
Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson

Dance St. Louis, one of the country’s oldest and remaining nonprofit dance presenters, kicks off its 57th season on Saturday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. at the Touhill Performing Arts Center with the presentation of Complexions Contemporary Ballet, the award-winning, “game-changing” New York City-based company that has been lauded for reinventing dance and contemporary ballet. Complexions is set to perform its blockbuster hit STAR DUST, an “utterly transfixing” (Billboard) tribute to the life and music of David Bowie, full of glitter and glam. Tickets are $45-$69 and available through MetroTix.com. 2022/23 season subscription packages—2-show, 3-show, 4-show—are also still available through the Dance St. Louis Box Office at 314.534.6622 or dancestlouis.org. 

STAR DUST

Critics hail STAR DUST as “spellbinding” (Billboard) and “simply one of the most exciting performances… a rock concert” (Washington Post). Featuring some of David Bowie’s best-loved music, including “Let’s Dance,” “Space Oddity,” “Heroes,” “Young Americans,” “Life on Mars,” and more, STAR DUST takes on an array of Bowie’s greatest hits to create a rock-inspired ballet in his honor. 

STAR DUST is choreographed by Complexions’ co-founder and artistic director Dwight Rhoden who says, “there is a little Bowie in all of us” (Los Angeles Times, 2018) and notes in the same article that Bowie was “so courageous and unafraid to reinvent himself over and over and over again” and “his music is timeless.”  STAR DUST’s glam-rock costumes are designed by Christine Darch, with makeup inspired by Bowie’s alternating personas of Ziggy Stardust and Thin White Duke. Lighting design is by Michael Korsch. With Bowie’s 40+ year career and 25 albums that stretch across musical borders, STAR DUST pays homage to the iconic and chameleonic spirit and genre-bending innovation of David Bowie. 

COMPLEXIONS CONTEMPORARY BALLET

Complexions Contemporary Ballet was founded in 1994 by former Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater virtuosos Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson— “two of the greatest virtuosos to ever emerge from Ailey land” (The New York Times). In its 28-year history, the company has come to represent one of the most recognized and respected performing arts brands in the world.  

Through its evocative style and groundbreaking mix of methods, styles and cultures, Complexions has awakened audiences to a new, exciting genre with its singular approach of reinventing dance and contemporary ballet. Complexions’ high-octane movement astonishes audiences by pairing its fierce evocative style with musical ranges from Lenny Kravitz and David Bowie to Johann Bach. With stunning, gifted dancers and powerful choreography, Complexions has been hailed as a “matchless American dance company” (Philadelphia Inquirer). 

Complexions has received numerous awards including The New York Times Critics’ Choice Award. It has performed on major stages throughout the United States and Europe and toured extensively throughout the Baltic Regions, Korea, Brazil, Japan, Egypt, Israel, Russia, New Zealand, Bermuda, Serbia, Jamaica, and Australia. In total, the company has presented on five continents, more than 20 countries, to more than 20 million television viewers and to well over 300,000 people in live audiences. The company is poised to continue its mission of bringing unity to the world one dance at a time. 

More information about Complexions Contemporary Ballet can be found on Dance St. Louis’ website or Complexion’s website at complexionsdance.org. 

TICKETS

Tickets are $45-$69 and available via MetroTix at 314-534-1111 or https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/dsl-complexions.

2022/23 season subscriptions (2-show, 3-show and 4-show packages) are also still available for ticket buyers interested in attending more of Dance St. Louis’ season presentations. Season ticket packages start at $80 and are available directly through the Dance St. Louis Box Office at 314.534.6622. More details at dancestlouis.org/22-23-season-subscription. 

MORE REVIEWS

“Companies like Complexions are game-changing: they’re forging a path for what ballet can be instead of what it historically has been.” — The Guardian

“…sensationally, jaw-droppingly clear that we live in the age of the super-dancer, at a time when technical virtuosity is being redefined as an expressive state…” — Dance Magazine

“…one expects to see magnificent athletic endeavors, intriguing movement invention, and perfectly contoured bodies—and the company always delivers.”  — Theater Jones

“Rhoden’s work is post-Balanchinean choreography, a new aesthetic in movement, stage picture, and performance concepts reflecting a post-modern, techno-savvy worldview.” — Dance Magazine

SPONSORS

Dance St. Louis is grateful for sponsor support to continue its nearly six decades-long mission to bring world-class dance to St. Louis. Major sponsors of the 2022-23 season include Ameren, Edward Jones, Emerson, Kranzberg Arts Foundation, Drs. Susan and Dan Luedke, Missouri Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, Regional Arts Commission, The Shubert Foundation, Mary Strauss and Whitaker Foundation. Bayer Fund is the education outreach title sponsor. 

DANCE ST. LOUIS’ 57th SEASON

Dance St. Louis continues to be recognized as the leading dance presenter in St. Louis and the Midwest. The remaining 2022-23 season presentations:  Giordano Dance ChicagoSaturday, February 25, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. | Touhill Performing Arts Center
Dorrance DanceSaturday, March 25, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. | Touhill Performing Arts Center
15th Annual Emerson SPRING TO DANCE® Festival 2023 Presented by Whitaker FoundationFriday and Saturday, May 26 & 27, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. | Touhill Performing Arts Center 

For tickets or more information on the Dance St. Louis 2022-23 season, please visit https://www.dancestlouis.org. 

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About Dance St. LouisFounded in 1966, Dance St. Louis has been bringing the greatest dance of the world to St. Louis audiences for more than 56 years. Dance St. Louis is dedicated to the enrichment of the cultural landscape and artistic reputation of St. Louis by presenting world-class dance and educational opportunities that make dance accessible to everyone. Dance St. Louis also conducts a broad range of education programs for the St. Louis community. Each year, the Bayer Fund Education Outreach Program introduces schoolchildren to the magic of dance through in-school residencies and mainstage performances. For more information, please visit https://www.dancestlouis.org.