Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. Premieres CAVERNS, Now thru 9/23

Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Co. will conclude its 20th anniversary season with a new work at its September performance. Caverns will have its world premiere tonight, Sept. 21-23, capping the company's 20th anniversary year. It will be performed at 8 p.m. at The George Washington University Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, 800 21st St. NW, Washington, D.C., where Burgess launched his company two decades ago.

Unlike Burgess's earlier works – which captured stories of characters or spirits on a journey – Caverns explores the topic of memory. "I'm intrigued by how we interact with and revisit memories at certain moments in our lives," he said. "For me, these pockets, or caverns, of memory are a window into the subconscious. Caverns is a voyeuristic exploration of a woman remembering certain moments in a relationship." The dark, pensive piece will be danced by Katia Chupashko Norri, Felipe Oyarzun and Connie Fink. It is set to Für Alina, a work for piano composed by the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.

Called the "poet laureate of Washington dance" by Washington Post dance critic Sarah Kaufman, Burgess has built his group of dancers into the Washington area's premier contemporary dance company.

The September performance will feature works from the company's repertoire and will be followed by a panel discussion with founder/artistic director Burgess and the dancers. In addition to Caverns, the company will perform:

· Charlie Chan and the Mystery of Love, an autobiographic coming of age dance based on Burgess's life. Featured dancers are Kelly Southall, Ricardo Alvarez, Tati Valle Riestra, Katia Chupashko Norri, Connie Lin Fink, Takako Hatthaway, Lucia Cisneros, Sarah Halzack and Yeon Jin Cho.
· Becoming American, which explores the experience of a Korean child uprooted from her birthplace when she is adopted by Caucasian American parents. The lead dancer is Katia Chupashko Norri, whose personal story is represented in the work.
· Khaybet, a solo dance performed by associate artistic director Connie Fink. The dance, which depicts a woman at the end of her life, was choreographed after Burgess participated in a cultural exchange to northern Pakistan.
· Dariush is a short, energetic solo featuring Katia Chupashko Norri which was created after the company visited the Middle East in 1999.