The Center for the Performing Arts at PSU presents the creative dance production Straight Outta Philly, featuring Rennie Harris Puremovement and Philadanco, on Friday, October 27, 2017, at Eisenhower Auditorium.

"Two of Philadelphia’s most spectacular movement companies come together to communicate social and political ideas through hip-hop and contemporary dance in Straight Outta Philly.

“The evening had a wonderful flow,” writes a reviewer for The Philadelphia Tribune, “alternating between the hardcore, mind-blowing pace of the street dancers, to the controlled emotion and dynamic precision of the contemporary artists … . For the shared experience of the pure joy of dance, it doesn’t get any better than Philadanco and Rennie Harris Puremovement.”

Nuttin’ But a Word!!!, choreographed by Harris and performed by his company, takes its title from an African-American expression about someone’s words being hollow.

A Movement for Five, choreographed by Dawn Marie Bazemore and performed by Philadanco, was inspired by the case of five New York City boys wrongly accused of a serious crime.

A Day in the Life, created by Harris and performed by two male dancers, is excerpted from a suite of works suggested by the choreographer’s “personal abuse and my current and past state of consciousness politically, socially, and economically.”

Folded Prism, choreographed by Thang Dao, finds Philadanco evoking “a dreamlike state where the dancers seemed to move as flawless, pristine bodies,” observes a critic for The Dance Journal.

The companies unite for the finale, Philadelphia Experiment, choreographed by Harris and danced before a backdrop of images reflecting the history and energy of the City of Brotherly Love."

Please arrive by 7 pm for equipment and pre-show info. Tickets may be purchased online, or by calling 1-800-ARTS-TIX. Reservations are required to use the AD service; contact the SLSG office (814-238-0132 or office@slsg.org) by October 13, 2017.