Spectrum Dance Theater to kick off Retrospective series in October

Spectrum Dance Theater, helmed by choreographer Donald Byrd, will be looking backward, forward and off to the side in its 2009-10 season.

Things kick off Oct. 9 with a three-week-long Retrospective Studio Series Festival, featuring "Fado" (2004), excerpts from "The Sleeping Beauty Notebook" (2005) and other works by Byrd, plus a revival of Pacific Northwest Ballet dancer Olivier Wevers' 2008 piece, "Fragments," set to Mozart arias. Three different programs will be presented. Shows are at Madrona Dance Studio, a terrific place to see these dancers up close. And the price — $15-$20 — is definitely right. Tickets go on sale on Sept. 8.

At the Moore Theatre on Feb. 18-20, Byrd will continue his ambitious PAMU series (Beyond Dance: Promoting Awareness and Mutual Understanding) with "Farewell: A Fantastical Contemplation on America's Relationship with China." This world premiere is billed as a "feverish and dreamlike theatrical meditation" that explores parallels between the 9/11 attacks and Tiananmen Square protests while also delving into "how financial ties may change the nature of diplomacy between two world powers."

In the "off to the side" category is "On the Town": Spectrum's second collaboration with The 5th Avenue Theatre. The Leonard Bernstein-Betty Comden-Adolph Green classic musical follows three sailors on 24-hour shore leave in New York City, and was inspired by Jerome Robbins' ballet "Fancy Free." It plays April 11-May 2. Tickets for "Farewell" and "On the Town" will be available at a later date through Seattle Theater Group and The 5th Avenue Theatre, respectively.

That's fewer shows but longer runs than Spectrum's 2009-10 season. Executive Director Anne Derieux says the company is playing it safe budgetwise, while also grabbing the chance to celebrate "the best from the past." She adds that the company has many new dancers this season and "revisiting these pieces [with them] might bring a new light on these works."

More information can be found at www.spectrumdance.org.

Michael Upchurch: mupchurch@seattletimes.com