Tours and Select Performances

Touring and Performances (select events)

MWDCCo initiates collaborations internationally and has toured and created works in Russia, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, China, Malaysia, Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Costa Rica, France, Germany, Norway, Croatia, Kenya, and other locations. The Company has enjoyed several projects and tours in Russia and Brazil. Tours and projects have been supported by the U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassies; The Trust for Mutual Understanding; DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; Ford Foundation in Russia; ArtsLink; Virginia Commission on the Arts; others have made these projects possible.

  • Tour Northwest USA:
    • Seattle, Washington, Seattle International Dance Festival – Beyond the Threshold
    • Portland, Oregon, Conduit Dance Site;  (June 2013), Collision Course – a.k.a. Pillow Talk; Maida Withers, Anthony Gongora, Giselle Ruzany, Nate Bond with Steve Hilmy, musician/composer
  • Kirkines, Norway, Barents SPEKTACLE! (February 2013) This Space Occupied (by Maida) with Maida Withers, dancer/text and Steve Hilmy, composer/musician. Sponsored by U.S. Embassy in Norway.
  • Sao Paulo, Brazil, VISÕES URBANAS – Festival Internacional de Dança em Paisagens Urbanas (International Dance Festival in Urban Landscapes) (February 2013). This Space Occupied (by Maida) at Museum of Image and Sound.  Collision Course – site event at Parque Mario Covas, Pateo do Colegio.
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Teatro Cacilda Becker (February 2013), Collision Course – a.k.a. Pillow Talk. Supported by the City of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
  • Tour in India (February 2012)
    • New Delhi, India, India International Center (IIC), FareWell – To the End of the World As We Know It OR Dancing Your Way to Paradise!  Joint presentation by the U.S. Embassy in India, American Center, and the India International Center.
    • New Delhi, India, India Habitat Centre/Gulmohar Hall, DANCE:FILMS by Maida Withers and filmmaker/collaborators.  Sponsored by Kri Foundation for the DanzLenz Series.
    • Bhimtal / Himalayan Indian State of Uttarakhand, 7th Annual Carnival of e-Creativity Sattal Estate, FareWell – To the End of the World As We Know It OR Dancing Your Way to Paradise! Sponsored by the Academy of Experimental Arts in New Delhi, India.
  • Sao Paulo, Brazil, Festival Internacional de Dança em Paisagens Urbanas (International Dance Festival in Urban Landscapes) (April 2011), Thresholds Crossed – Abu Ghraib with Maida Withers, Anthony Gongora, dancers, and Audrey Chen, cello/vocals.
  • Zagreb, Vroatia, Zagrebi! Festival (October 2011) FareWell – To the End of the World As We Know It OR Dancing Your Way to Paradise! Sponsored by the U.S. Embassy, Croatia.
  • Kanab, Utah, Amazing EarthFEST (May 2009) Fare Well – To the End of the World As We Know It OR Dancing Your Way to Paradise!  Solo performance by Maida Withers with electronic composer, Steve Hilmy, and Ayo Okunseinde, new media artist. Maida was given a key to Kanab, Utah by the mayor.  Kanab is the place of Maida’s birth. The Amazing EarthFEST celebrates the entire Colorado Plateau (Utah to Colorado).
  • Cholulu/Puebla, Mexico, Performatica (April 2009) Performance of Fare Well – To the End of the World As We Know It OR Dancing Your Way to Paradise!  Solo performance by Maida Withers with electronic composer, Steve Hilmy, and Ayo Okunseinde, new media artist. Maida also created an architectural site-specific work on the plaza for 18 dancers attending Performatica. Linda Lewett and Ayo Okunseinde participated in the performance videotaping various aspects to create a post performance art video presentation to the dancers.
  • Salt Lake City, Utah, Utah Arts Festival  (June 27-29, 2008) “Fare Well & HELL-O!” with Alex Caldiero, poet, and Steve Hilmy, Composer/musician and Maida Withers, dancer.
  • Nairobi, Kenya. Cultural Envoy, U.S. Department of State and U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, GoDown Center for the Arts (May 17 to June 4, 2008)
    Three-week residency by Maida Withers, Steve Hilmy, Wendell Cooper featured creation of “Parched Earth – Remembrances from Tomorrow,” with six Kenyan male dancers and three Kenyan women dancers. Performance at the GoDown Center for the Arts by Maida Withers, Wendell Cooper, and Kenyans performance. Special program in “street” dance, hip hop, club dance for boys/men dancers from urban neighborhoods.
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Laban International Celebration (April 24-27, 2008) Tour includes performances of “The Tipping Point”
  • Thresholds Crossed, 3-week Tour in Russia (April 10 – May 1, 2007)
    • Arkhangelsk, Russia; Russian-American Celebration Week; Nikolai Schetnev, Ekaterina Zharinova, Maida Withers, dancers and Steve Hilmy, electronic composer/musician- Improvisaton Event in the City Council Room where most political decisions are made.
    • Moscow, Russia; Luna (Moon) Theatre
    • Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia; Isadora International Dance Festival
  • Norilsk, Russia, International Russian Congress, Nov 2-6, 2006. Present excerpts of Thresholds Crossed with Konstantin Grouss and Anastasis Oleynek, Russian dancers, and Maida Withers
  • Washington, DC, Thresholds Crossed, world premiere at Lisner Auditorium, April 21, 2006
  • Moscow, Russia, TSEH International Summer School, July 4-Aug 8, 2005. Create and perform Part I of Thresholds Crossed (work in progress with Russian and American Dancers) in Moscow’s history ZIL building with Russian and American dancers. Teach dance improvisation for the TsEHk International Summer School and perform improvisation event at Klub with summer dance workshop students.
  • Krasnoyarsk, Siberia, Russia, “Isadora” International Festival of Dance, April 10-17, 2005. Create and perform “LENIN” for the Lenin Museum. Perform Shocked and Odd in the Ballet and Opera House. Teach workshops in improvisation, technique, and lecture – dance and technology
  • Solovki, Russia, Arkhangelsk Region, White Sea. Solosphere Project/Festival, July 15-25, 2004. Create 5 site-specific events on the Industrial Zone, teach and perform. Create video with filmmaker, Linda Lewett, in the Art Angar Center for the Arts. Soloviki is known for its ancient monestary, neolithic sites, and as the first Soviet Era GULAG.
  • Washington, DC – DC 10th International Improvisation Plus+ Festival, Shocked and Odd, Dec 4,2004, Betts Theatre; DC 9th International Improvisation Plus+ Festival, December 5 & 6, 2003. Betts Theatre. 8 pm.(http://www.improvfestival.com)
  • Washington, DC – “Solo / TC,” Nov 2003, Betts Marvin Theatre, Washington, DC.
  • Arkhangelsk, Russia, TOUCH3 International Festival, July 12-16, 2004; Create and perform site specific event with international dancers for Cafe Merci area
  • St. Petersburg, Russia – 5th OPEN LOOK Festival, Dance of the Auroras – Fire in the Sky; residency, July 1-10; performance, July 9, 2003; Arkhangelsk, Russia – TOUCH2, Dance of the Auroras; residency, July 11 – 14; performance, July 14, 2003.  Visit http://www.kannondance.narod.ru  and aurora_2001/index.html or click Aurora/2001 index on the left. (see below)

Dance of the Auroras – Fire in the Sky, an evening-length multimedia performance, was the centerpiece for the 5th OPEN LOOK Festival, during the 300th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg, and for the TOUCH2 Project in Arkhangelsk, Russia in summer 2003.  Dance of the Auroras is a moving performance of inventive and captivating choreography by Maida Withers, music ranging from didgeridoo to haunting vocals andviolin composed for Dance of the Auroras by Øystein Sevåg and performed “live” by his Global House Band, (Norway), and brilliantly colored virtual animations by Tania Fraga, interactive cyber worldartist (Brazil). Dance of the Auroras features astellar international cast of artists including dancers Sasha Kukin, artistic director for the first modern dance company in post-Soviet Russia, Iwona Olszowska, choreographer and soloist, Krakow, Poland, Joseph Mills, Adrienne Clancy, and Lyndsey Karr, USA and musicians, Ole Marius Melhuus, bass guitar, Zotora Nygård, didgeridoo, Elin Ødegard, vocals/keyboards, Maria Sevåg, violin/viola, and Øystein Sevåg, composer, piano, keyboard.  In addition to the performances, dancers, musicians, and the cyber artist will offer specialty workshops in dance technique, partnering, dance for the camera, improvisation, dance and technology, and other public forums to examine the relationship of art and science.  Dance of the Auroras – Fire in the Sky performances in Russia will include ten Russian dancers performing Part II: Solar Wind.  Withers will conduct a residency and auditions in Russia, March 9 – 23, to cast and rehearse dancers for their participation in the performance in July in St. Petersburg and Arkhangelsk.

  • São Paulo, Brazil – A River Runs Deep, residency and work-in-progress performance for Hekuras; Anhembi Morumbi University, July 2002

  • Washington, DC – Marvin Betts Theatre, Investigation of Late – Premiere: May 3 and 4, 2002
  • Brasilia Brazil – 2nd International Conference on Art and Technology – Aurora/2001 – Part I: Virtual Sun, May 8 and May 15, 2001
  • Tromso, Norway – Aurora/2001: Dance of the Auroras – Fire in the Sky,The Northern Lights Festival Performance, January 27, 2001
  • Washington, DC – Lisner Auditorium, USA Premiere – Aurora/2001:  Dance of the Auroras – Fire in the Sky, Performance, February  15/16/2001
  • Washington, DC – Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, Einstein Planetarium, Aurora/2001 Installation and Performance, a collaboration with NASA and European Space Agency, adaptation of Aurora/2001, February 3, 2001
  • St. Petersburg, Russia – Tansia Theatre, Aurora/2001, Part III, May 20, 2001
  • Seoul and Taejon City, Korea (Hoam Theatre and Taejon Cultural Center) – Korean Arts Council International Modern Dance Festival, November 15 & 16, 1999
  • Beijing China – City Contemporary Dance Company, November 10/11, 1999, Workshops
  • Ouro Preto, Brazil – 31st Festival de Inverno UFMG – Teatre Nacional, July 17, 1999 Dance Workshops: July 12-16, 1999. Sponsored, in part, by United States Information Service
  • Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Casa de Cultura Universidad Estacio de Sa, July 20, 1999 Workshops: Renato Vieira Danca e Cena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 21-24, 1999
  • Brasilia, Brazil – Dance Brazil ’99, National Theatre, July 29, 1999. Sponsored, in part, by United States Information Service
  • Washington, DC -DC 5th International Improvisation Plus+ Festival (music and dance) Marvin Theatre – Performances and workshops by artists from Russia, the Netherlands, Germany, Korea, DC, and NYC, December 3-5, 1999
  • Finland and Norway – American-Scandinavian Research – Aurora/2001 May 20-June 14, 1999
  • Helsinki, Finland – Side Step Festival / International Dance Improvisation Festival Zodiak Center for Dance, January 23-25, 1998
  • Washington, DC – Washington / Venezuela, Dance Works by International Women – Dance Construction Company, DC and Taller Experimental de Danza Pisorrojo, Caracas, Venezuela, Marvin Theatre, May 1 and 2, 1998
  • Washington, DC – DC 4th International Improvisation Plus+ Festival (music and dance) THIS SPACE OCCUPIED! Corcoran Gallery of Art and Marvin Theatre, December 3-5, 1998 with artists from DC, NYC, England, Germany, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Tibet, and South Africa
  • Washington, DC – DC International Environment Film Festival Gala – Utah * Tukuhnikivatz, visual Installation, April 30, 1997
  • Moscow and Volgograd, Russia – Workshops: Kinetics Theatre, May 29, 1997; Chamber Ballet Ensemble, Moscow, Russia, May 30, 1997; Presentation: Volgograd International Dance Festival, June 4-8, 1997
  • Helsinki, Finland – Theatre Academy – Workshop, Department of Dance, June 18, 1997
  • Bytom, Poland – Silesian Dance Theatre – IV International Dance Festival and Conference Commission, Halda, an environmental site work created with Polish dancers, musician, and installation sculptors. Halda performed in Katowice, Krakow, and Bytom, Poland; Workshops: dance improvisation, June 27-July 7, 1997
  • Paris, France – Theatre Dunois – Performances, July 9 / 10, 1997
  • Caracas, Venezuela – Aula Magna Theatre, Performances: Universidad Central de Venezuela, November 1 and 2, 1997; Workshops: Taller Experimental de Danza Pisorrojo Company, October 25-31, 1997
  • Washington, DC – DC 3rd International Improvisation Plus+ Festival (music and dance) -Seeing JAZZ MOVE, Smithsonian International Gallery of Art and Marvin Theatre with artists from The Netherlands, Germany, El Salvador, DC, NYC, December 3-5, 1997
  • Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Bodies of Influence – School for New Dance Development anniversary celebration, performance and creating site-specific work, 1996
  • Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Theatreschool Festival, Workshops: summer 1996
  • New York City –  Lincoln Center Out of Doors, GREAT DANCE in the BANDSHELL Commission: Utah * Spirit Place * Spirit Planet * Tukuhnikivatz, August 1996
  • Tokyo, Japan – Beam Theater – Stone Ring, Performance/Collaboration with Marilia, 1995
  • Yokohama, Japan – S.T. Spot, Performance/Collaboration, Gozo Yoshimasu, poet, 1995
  • Kyoto, Japan – Mariko Dance Theater – Workshops, 1995
  • Ansong, Korea – Jooksan Festival, Performance, 1995
  • Taejon, Korea – Taejon Dance Festival, Performance, 1995
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – National Institute for the Arts, Workshops, 1995
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur Ballet Company, Performance, Create dance for dance company 1994 and workshops, 1995
  • Hong Kong – Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, Performance/Workshops, 1994
  • Seoul, Korea – 13th International Korean Dance Festival, Performance, 1994
  • Guangzhou, China – Guangdong Dance Company, Performance/Workshops, 1994
  • Seoul, Korea – Munye Theatre – Performance, 1993
  • Osaka, Japan – Kansai University, international faculty exchange project, June 1993
  • Mexico City, Mexico – International Festival of Dance, 1998

Mexico City, Mexico (3 cities), Guatemala City, Guatemala and Costa Rica – Performing and teaching company tour sponsored, in part, by United States Information Service, 1987