About Jazz Dance Theatre
The Company
Over the last twelve years, Jazz Dance Theatre has flourished under the guidance of Artistic Directors, Adam B. Clark and Lisa Darby Clark. The company, long known for its technical prowess, has recently been recognized for its emotional maturity. As the company's main choreographer, Mr. Clark's work not only redefines the physical boundaries of dance, but also explores the emotional depths of the art form. As the company's repertoire continues to expand, it continues to be enhanced by the contributions of choreographers from past and present: Renee Grammatico, Michelle Stauffer, Betsy Glenn Carr, Bill DeYoung, Lisa Darby Clark, Patty Obey and Carina Sietz.
Jazz Dance Theatre consistently performs in the fall and the spring in Ann Arbor at the Lydia Mendelssohn Theater and the Power Center for the Performing Arts, respectively. Each spring, Jazz Dance Theatre's Annual Benefit Concert raises funds for patients and their families at The University of Michigan's Mott Children's Hospital. The funds are distributed by well-known volunteer, Ernestina Parravano, of Amity. The Annual Benefit Concert also serves as a showcase for Jazz Dance Theatre's Youth Dance Project. Each year, approximately 60 area youth audition for the opportunity to rehearse and perform with Jazz Dance Theatre. The Youth Dance Project provides serious young dancers the unique opportunity to work with a professional company in an environment that is different in both discipline and focus from their normal dance surroundings. In conjunction with its Annual Spring Evening Concert, Jazz Dance Theatre also offers a morning concert for area school children. In addition to the company's home concerts and various guest appearances, the company has also performed at such venues as the Jazz Dance World Congress in Weisbaden, Germany and Phoenix, Arizona.
Jazz Dance Theatre is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that has been recognized for non-profit excellence in the community. For additional information or to be added to the company mailing list for upcoming concerts and events, please contact JDT at their home studio, Dance Alliance, at 734.429.9599.
