HOLLAND - The contemporary dance company Lehrer Dance will perform at Hope College on Friday and Saturday, April 4-5, at 8 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre.
Based in Buffalo, N.Y., the company is under the direction of Jon Lehrer. Lehrer Dance showcases Lehrer's unique choreography which reflects an extensive background in both modern and jazz dance.
Lehrer Dance's performances will come at the end of a week-long residency with the department of dance at Hope. During the residency the company will offer various master classes for Hope College dance students, plus teach students at Zeeland High School and community members through the Holland Area Arts Council.
Lehrer, who was raised in Queens, N.Y., took his first dance class at age 19 on a dare. He has been a member of Passafiume Dancers, Erick Hawkins Dance Company, and Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago (GJDC). After dancing with GJDC for five years, he became the company's associate director. In addition to his works on GJDC, Lehrer has choreographed for several dance companies in Chicago and around the world, including Thodos Dance Chicago; Instruments of Movement; Momenta Dance Theatre; Le Jazz Groupe from Monterrey, Mexico; and Kannon Dance of St. Petersburg, Russia. He founded LehrerDance in 2007.
Lehrer Dance also includes Hope College graduate Matthew Farmer, who is the company's associate director and a dancer. After receiving his BA from Hope in theatre and dance in 2004, Farmer went on to receive his MFA from the dance department at the University of Michigan. While at Hope, he danced for Aerial Dance Theatre (now dANCEpROjECt) for four seasons, under the direction of Steven Iannacone and Linda Graham. Farmer continues to work with Iannacone, most recently performing in the Dance in the Desert Festival as well as with the newly formed project "Men Dance Michigan." Farmer also spent three years with the Peter Sparling Dance Company.
Tickets for the performance are on sale at the ticket office in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse, and cost $7 for regular admission and $5 for students and senior citizens. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at (616) 395-7890.
The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. The Knickerbocker Theatre is located in downtown Holland at 86 E. Eighth St.