Ensemble Chaconne & Ken Pierce Dancers to Perform Music & Dance from the Court of Louis XIV in Iowa

SOMERVILLE, Mass. - March 26, 2013 - PRLog -- Ensemble Chaconne and the Ken Pierce Baroque Dancers bring to life a glittering evening of music and dance from the Court of Louis XIV.  The performances will be held on Saturday, April 6, 2013 at 7:30 pm, at Grinnell College:  Sebring-Lewis Hall, Bucksbaum Center for the Arts, Grinnell, IA 50112 (Free Admission.  Information:  515-263-2991) and on Monday, April 8, 2013 at 7:30 pm at Grand View University, Student Center, Viking Theatre, 2811 E. 14th Street, Des Moines, IA 50316 (Free Admission.  Information:   515-263-2958).

The program combines exquisite baroque dance sets (in period dress) with music by the great composers of the French court, including Marin Marais, François Couperin, and Jean-Baptiste Lully, composer and dance master to the King.  The performers will sample popular ballroom dances and theatrical choreographies portraying diverse characters, from the comic harlequin to the noble Apollo.  The Apollo role is choreographed by Louis-Guillaume Pécour (director of dance at the Opéra and the pre-eminent French choreographer of the early 18th century), with music from Lully’s ballet Le Triomphe de l’Amour.  

Hailed by The Portland Press Herald for “virtuosity, balance and charm," Ensemble Chaconne (Peter H. Bloom, baroque flute; Carol Lewis, viola da gamba; and Olav Chris Henriksen, theorbo and baroque guitar) has concertized from London's National Gallery to Atlanta’s Spivey Hall, with recent tours in England, Ontario and the Midwest, Northeast and Southeastern United States.  The ensemble was chosen for featured performances at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, the Yale Center for British Art, the Royal Shakespeare Company's residency at Davidson College, Connecticut Early Music Festival, the Bach Festival Society of Winter Park Florida, and many other venues.  In 2009, Ensemble Chaconne was named to Early Music America’s Touring Roster, one of only 33 ensembles in North America to receive the honor.  Founded in 1985, the group is celebrating its 28th season.

The Ken Pierce Baroque Dancers have been acclaimed in North America and Europe.  Mr. Pierce has been hailed for his “consummate grace” (Early Music) and his “palpable sense of drama” (Globe and Mail, Toronto).  Trained in ballet and modern dance, he has specialized in early dance for over 25 years as choreographer, reconstructor, performer, and teacher.  Mr. Pierce was assistant choreographer for Quelques pas graves de Baptiste, Francine Lancelot’s baroque-style piece for the Paris Opera Ballet, whose cast included Rudolph Nureyev.  He directs the early dance program at the Longy School of Music

Ensemble Chaconne is managed exclusively by Americas Musicworks, Rebecca DeLamotte, managing director, 29 Newbury Street, Somerville, MA 02144 USA. Toll Free:  888-887-7169   ~   In Massachusetts:  617-776-8778.  Email:  delamotte-amw@comcast.net