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YouTube dance montage to ballet choreography by the award winning, internationally renown choreographers of New York’s Configuration Dance Theatre, voted 2008 and 2009 people’s choice for Artvoice Best Dance Company Award, set to the song, “Circles,” by the Grammy bound, cello rock group, “Break of Reality,” with pas de deux, trio, solo, duet, variation, pointe and ensemble choreography: “What’s the Pointe,” “Tchaicotic,” “Transfiguration” and “Awakenings” by Michael Shannon; “Fascia La Spina” by Sasha Janes; “Cumbling” by Edgar Zendejas; “Levitation” by Yuri Zhukov; and “En Redondo Sombras” by Harrison McEldowney; commissioned by Founder Artistic Director, Joseph Cipolla, and co-Founder, Catherine Batcheller.

ARTVOICE described Configuration Dance Theatre in “Balanchine and Beyond” (9/20/2009): “As their name implies, their emphasis widens the scope of dance and dramatic, a certain noir-ness, they lay bare emotions, startle senses, and make one think,” qualities Dance Magazine experts recognized early, and gave the company its descriptive moniker, “A LIVING ART GALLERY.”

CONFIGURATION choreographers and dancers were featured in “DANCE SPECTACULAR” (9/22/09) by its producer, New York City Ballet star, Daniel Ulbricht, with Boston Ballet and New York City Ballet stars in “Apollo,” “Who Cares, “Diamond,” “Tarantella” authorized by the Balanchine Foundation, and presenting “What’s the Pointe” by Michael Shannon, “Royenne” by Susan Jaffe, “Breathless” by Joseph Cipolla, “whose acclaimed company,” said Ulbricht, “is known for its cutting-edge contemporary choreography.”

CDT premiered 15 new ballets from 2005 to 2009, and The Buffalo News (1/02/09) named Joseph Cipolla, and Michael Shannon, THE DREAM TEAM, both principal stars with illustrious international careers in legendary dance institutions, i.e., BIRMINGHAM ROYAL BALLET under the patronage of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, Prince of Wales, Lady Sarah Chatto, and Artistic Director, David Bintley.

Artistic Director Joseph Cipolla was a principal star for Dance Theatre of Harlem co-founders, Arthur Mitchell (New York City Ballet) and Karel Shook (Dutch National Ballet), Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet for Artistic Directors Sir Peter Wright and David Bintley (Royal Ballet of Covent Garden). He was a 1993 Laurence Olivier Award Nominee; 2006 St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute Wall of Honor Awardee; co-founded Configuration School of Dance in 2009. He retired in 2002 but returned to BRB in 2007 to dance Nimrod in “Enigma Variations” and De Guiche in “Cyrano.”

Companies have premiered 40 Michael Shannon dance works, ballets, plays, films, and opera productions since 1995, and 12 works for CDT since 2005, i.e., “Yumeji” and “Madame Bovary” for Catherine Batcheller, principal star for Stuttgart Ballet, Birmingham Royal, and San Francisco Ballet, with Momchil Mladenov, principal star for Suzanne Farrell Ballet, National Ballet of Bulgaria, in their portrayals of Shannon’s Emma Bovary and Léon Dupuis, literature’s most famous illicit lovers.

In 2007, Susan Jaffe, principal star for American Ballet Theatre, and guest artist for the Kirov, Vienna State Opera Ballet, Royal Swedish Opera Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, Royal Ballet of Covent Garden, English National Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Munich State Opera Ballet, La Scala Ballet in Milan, Dance Magazine Awardee, published author, television host, actress, educator, Advisor to ABT Board of Governing Trustees Chairman 2002-2007; Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School faculty since 2002; and Duke Corporate Education Lecturer on Excellence, and since 2007, CDT Advisory Board member and Principal Guest Choreographer. (Jaffe and Shannon were SAB Alumni under George Balanchine)

Michael Shannon danced (1979-2002) his last roles for Birmingham Royal Ballet as Lancelot in David Bintley’s “Arthur” and Prince Siegfried in Sir Peter Wright’s “Swan Lake. He was a principal star and competition judge for Bolshoi legend, Artistic Director Yuri Grigorovich; Stars of the Bolshoi for Maya Pliesetskaya, Madame Sophia Golovkina, Natalia Bessmertnova, Ekatrina Maximova, Vladimir Vasiliev; Vienna State Opera Ballet for Artistic Director Elena Tchernichova (ABT, Kirov); Kremlin Palace Ballet for Director Andrei Petrov, Vladimir Vasiliev, Ekatrina Maximova (Bolshoi); and others, i.e., the Royal Ballet of Covent Garden 1979; Los Angeles Ballet 1980, American Ballet Theatre 1981; Boston Ballet 1983; National Ballet of Canada 1984-86; the Royal Swedish Opera Ballet 1986; Hungarian State Opera Ballet 1987 and in the 1990s; Awarded Silver Medals in Paris France 1992 and Budapest Hungary 1993 International Ballet Competitions; honored by Town Hall of California 1986, 1990; President George H. W. Bush 1990, President William J. Clinton 1993; Awarded Best Play of 1995 for “Monday After the Miracle” televised at Moscow Art Theatre; Awarded Professor of Choreography in 1999, Ukrainian State Academy of Ballet.

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