LEWISTON — The Bates Dance Festival has announced its 2013 season of public events taking place July 12 through Aug. 10 on the Bates College campus.

Featuring masterworks and Maine premieres, the renowned contemporary dance companies appearing at the six-week festival are Nejla Yatkin / NY2Dance; Doug Varone and Dancers; Bebe Miller Company; and Bridgman | Packer Dance.

Entering its fourth decade as a leading American dance center, the BDF is an important laboratory for artists noted for important contributions to the contemporary dance lexicon. In addition to presenting these dancemakers who have experienced significant artistic growth through the festival, the BDF continues to welcome emerging choreographers.

Information about tickets and event locations, as well as additional performance details, appears on the festival website: batesdancefestival.org

Opening the season, Nejla Yatkin / NY2Dance performs the world premiere of “Oasis”: an evening-length multimedia work based on the story of Layla and Majnoon, an allegorical tale regarded as the Middle Eastern forerunner of “Romeo and Juliet.”

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 12 and 13, at Bates College’s newly air-conditioned Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

“Oasis” employs mystical realism to weave a layered story through movement, poetic imagery, shadow play, humor and text. Featuring a score by Maine-based Persian composer Shamou, “Oasis” grapples with issues of veiling, torture and inequality.

Yatkin, artistic director of NY2Dance, was born in Turkey and grew up in Berlin, Germany. Her work integrates diverse traditions to explore the beauty and complexity of memory, migration, transformation, identity and multiculturalism.

Yatkin was one of Dance Magazine’s “Top 25 to Watch in 2005” and received the Princess Grace Choreography Award in 2008. She has created staged and site-specific works for film, theater and opera. Recent commissions include Dallas Black Dance Theatre, The Washington Ballet, Darpana Performing Group in India, Baltimore Ballet, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble and River North Dance Chicago.

Described by The New York Times as “a magician, telling tales and creating worlds with understated images and movement,” Yatkin has received five Metro D.C. Dance Awards.

One of America’s most gifted dancemakers, Doug Varone returns to the 2013 Bates festival for his seventh creative residency since 1992. Celebrating its 25th season, Varone’s company performs the stunning new duet “Able to Leap Tall Buildings,” as well as his signature work “Rise.”

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Saturday, July 18 and 20, in Bates College’s Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

Since its founding in 1986, Doug Varone and Dancers have commanded attention for their expansive vision, versatility and technical prowess. On the concert stage, in opera, theater and on the screen, Varone’s kinetically thrilling work makes essential connections and mines the complexity of the human spirit.

From the smallest gesture to full-throttle bursts of movement, Varone’s dance can be breathtaking. The Village Voice wrote that the company comprises “superb dancers. Varone’s choreography — with its hesitations, awkward tenderness, bravery and belligerence — emphasizes their humanity.”

Varone and Dancers are the resident company at the Harkness Dance Center, at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. In opera and theater, the company regularly collaborates on productions around the country that Varone has directed or choreographed. The company has performed in more than 100 cities in 45 states across the U.S., and in Europe, Asia, Canada and South America.

Venues have included the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, San Francisco Performances, London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, Toronto’s Harbourfront Centre and the Venice Biennale, as well as the Tokyo, Bates, Jacob’s Pillow and American dance festivals. Varone, his dancers and designers have been honored with 11 New York Dance and Performance Awards (“Bessies”).

A longtime Bates Dance Festival favorite, the Bebe Miller Company returns to Lewiston with the retrospective performance installation “A History.” Miller’s newest work, the evening-length “A History” centers on the nuanced, decade-long dancing relationship between veteran company members Angie Hauser and Darrell Jones.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 26 and 27, in Bates College’s air-conditioned Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

Incorporating video by Lily Skove and an accompanying installation by Maya Ciarrocchi, “A History” shifts the focus from performance to process, sharing with audiences what dancemaking feels like, sounds like and thinks like.

Award-winning dancer and choreographer Miller has been making dances for more than 25 years. A New York Times reviewer wrote, “Her movement is infused with a spirit that clings to the audience even after she and her dancers have left the stage.”

Exploring the unruly edges of heart and mind, Miller has created a unique physical language that fully expresses the complexities of the human condition. Collaboration being fundamental to her process, she has worked with such notables as choreographer Ralph Lemon; composers Fred Frith and Don Byron; filmmaker Isaac Julien; writer / director Ain Gordon; and visual artist Caroline Beasley-Baker.

Bebe Miller Company has toured throughout the United States and eight other countries. The company has been commissioned by the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Next Wave Festival, City Center Theater, The Joyce Theater, Wexner Center for the Arts, Walker Art Center, On The Boards, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Dance Place, Painted Bride Art Center, Creative Time, Dance Theater Workshop, Dancing in the Streets and The Danspace Project, among others.

Together for more than 30 years, Bridgman | Packer Dance has developed a unique approach to integrating video into dance — making it, in effect, a third dance partner for artistic directors Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer. “Voyeur,” their Bates Dance Festival offering and latest work, invites audiences into this evocative world.

Performances take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Aug. 2 and 3, in Bates College’s air-conditioned Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

In “Voyeur,” Bridgman and Packer push into new territory choreographically, thematically and technologically. Inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper, “Voyeur” presents fragments of private lives playing out on a set whose windows and doorways permit the audience to be, like Hopper, “one who looks.”

Bridgman and Packer have collaborated as performers and choreographers since 1978. Their innovative work has been acclaimed for its highly visual and visceral alchemy of the live and the virtual. In 2008 Packer and Bridgman received the first Guggenheim Fellowship awarded to two individuals for collaborative work.

Recipients of numerous other honors, they have been presented by the New York City Center Fall for Dance Festival; Lincoln Center; Baryshnikov Arts Center; the Harkness Dance Center, at the 92nd Street Y in New York City; Dance Theater Workshop; Danspace Project; Dance New Amsterdam; and Central Park SummerStage. They have toured throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and Central America.

More festival events

All told, the Bates Dance Festival comprises mainstage and informal performances, lectures and other presentations by more than 50 internationally recognized dancers from across the United States and abroad. The festival offers events in addition to the mainstage performances:

The annual “Musicians’ Concert,” a global mix of music by 10 remarkable composers and players, takes place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, July 31, in the Franco-American Heritage Center, 46 Cedar St., Lewiston.

“Different Voices” concerts, showcasing diverse styles and perspectives by visiting choreographers from across the U.S. and around the globe, take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, August 8 and 9, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

The “Festival Finale” presents dancers of all ages and abilities performing modern, hip hop and contemporary works by Jennifer Archibald, Bebe Miller, Bridgman | Packer and Doug Varone. Also representing the festival’s Youth Arts Program, the finale takes place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10, in Alumni Gymnasium, 130 Central Ave.

Each Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. the festival presents a free “Show & Tell” by a company in residence. Offering a glimpse into the artists’ creative processes, Show & Tell takes place in Schaeffer Theatre for Nejla Yatkin on July 9; Doug Varone, July 16; Bebe Miller, July 23; and Bridgman | Packer, July 30.

The festival offers a special Show & Tell about site-specific choreography by Stephan Koplowitz, an award-winning artist known for creating multimedia works for architecturally significant sites, at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, July 28, in Room 301, Pettigrew Hall, 305 College St.

Dance writer Hannah Kosstrin presents “Inside Dance: Understanding Contemporary Dance,” a series of pre-performance lectures and post-performance talks in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St. Offering insight into the artists and their work, Saturday lectures precede the Varone performance at 7 p.m. July 20; Miller at 7 p.m. July 27; and Bridgman | Packer at 7 p.m. Aug. 3. Talkbacks follow most Friday evening performances.

About the Bates Dance Festival

Founded in 1982 at Bates College, the Bates Dance Festival brings together an international community of contemporary choreographers, performers, educators and students in a cooperative community to study, perform and create new work.

The festival serves as an annual destination for artists, students and audiences to engage in a full range of dance activities and performances that foster a creative exchange of ideas, encourage exploration of new ground and afford access to a wide spectrum of dance and movement disciplines.

At press time support for the 2013 season has been provided by: Bates, the National Endowment for the Arts, the New England Foundation for the Arts, National Performance Network, IDres, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Lewiston-Auburn Children’s Home, Norman, Hansen & DeTroy, Platz Associates, the Sequoia Foundation, the Shapiro Family Foundation and generous individual donors.

2013 Bates Dance Festival Calendar of Events

July 1-Aug. 10

General information

*Admission price for seniors. **Admission price for students.

All events take place at Bates College except as noted. Schaeffer Theatre and Pettigrew Hall are located at 305 College St., Alumni Gymnasium is at 130 Central Ave. and Commons is at 136 Central Ave.

Online tickets go on sale June 1 at batestickets.com

Advance reservations may be made by phone beginning July 1: 207-786-6161, 1-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday

Events

Monday, July 1, Fireplace Lounge, Commons, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily until Aug. 10. Free

Dance Photo Exhibit by Arthur Fink

Tuesday, July 9, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Free

Show & Tell: Nejla Yatkin / NY2Dance

Friday, July 12, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Performance: Nejla Yatkin / NY2Dance. With “Oasis,” the company weaves a tale of the Middle East — a classic Persian love story with dance, music, video and text.

A talkback with the artists follows the concert.

Saturday, July 13, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Performance: Nejla Yatkin / NY2Dance (see July 12)

A talkback with the artists follows the concert.

Tuesday, July 16, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Free

Show & Tell: Doug Varone and Dancers

Thursday, July 18, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Performance: Doug Varone and Dancers. One of America’s leading choreographers celebrates his 25th anniversary with a stunning concert of new and revived masterworks.

A talkback with the artists follows the concert.

Saturday, July 20, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Pre-performance lecture: Inside Dance with dance writer Hannah Kosstrin, 7 p.m.

Performance: Doug Varone and Dancers (see July 18)

Tuesday, July 23, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Free

Show & Tell: Bebe Miller Company

Friday, July 26, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Performance: Bebe Miller Company. Miller mines her 25 years as a dancemaker in the duet performance and installation “A History.”

A talkback with the artists follows the concert.

Saturday, July 27, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Pre-performance lecture: Inside Dance with dance writer Hannah Kosstrin, 7 p.m.

Performance: Bebe Miller Company (see July 26)

Sunday, July 28, Pettigrew Hall, Room 301, 7:30 p.m. Free

Show & Tell: Highlights of Site-Specific Choreography by Stephan Koplowitz

Tuesday, July 30, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. Free

Show & Tell: Bridgman | Packer Dance

Wednesday, July 31, Franco-American Heritage Center, 7:30 p.m. $15 / $7*

Performance: The Musicians’ Concert. A festival favorite, this eclectic concert features gifted composers and multi-instrumentalists playing original and improvised music from around the world.

Friday, Aug. 2, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Performance: Bridgman | Packer Dance. Inspired by the paintings of Edward Hopper, their newest work, “Voyeur,” masterfully integrates live performance with video.

Saturday, Aug. 3, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Pre-performance lecture: Inside Dance with dance writer Hannah Kosstrin, 7 p.m.

Performance: Bridgman | Packer Dance (see Aug. 2)

Wednesday, Aug. 7, Alumni Gymnasium, 7:30 p.m. Free

Performance: Moving in the Moment. An evening of improvisational dance and music by contact improviser Nancy Stark Smith and festival faculty and musicians.

Thursday, Aug. 8, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Performance: Different Voices. A diverse evening of new works by international and emerging choreographers.

Friday, Aug. 9, Schaeffer Theatre, 7:30 p.m. $25 / $18* / $12**

Performance: Different Voices (see Aug. 8)

Saturday, Aug. 10, Schaeffer Theatre, 1-5 p.m. Free

Informal performance: Young Choreographers / New Works. This informal adjudicated showing presents more than 20 new works by talented festival students.

Saturday, Aug. 10, Alumni Gymnasium, 7:30 p.m. $6

Performance: Festival Finale. Festival participants perform new works by Jennifer Archibald, Autumn Eckman, Bridgman | Packer, Bebe Miller and Doug Varone, plus a production by our Youth Arts Program participants.

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