Rioult Dance Company dancers (from left to right) Anastasia Sorozcynski,
Michael S. Phillips and Jane Sato will be performing at the Columbia Theatre this Sunday. 
Courtesy of Erin Baiano

In the near future, the Columbia Theatre will be bringing East Coast style to Hammond as part of the final stages of this year’s FANFARE.

The RIOULT Dance NY will be making an appearance at the Columbia Theatre on Sunday, Nov. 9 at 7:30 p.m.

RIOULT Dance NY was first formed in 1994 and has since then gone on to become a major name on the modern dance scene. The company founder, Pascal Rioult, has a style which can be described as “sensual, articulate and exquisitely musical,” according to the company’s website. RIOULT Dance NY has toured throughout the United States and around the world in the past two decades since its humble beginning in the apartment of Pascal Rioult and Joyce Herring. The company is also involved in educating the dancers of tomorrow, hosting open classes, youth programs and workshops.

The company’s high level of prestige and glistening international reputation as artistic innovators were the two key reasons Dr. Roy Blackwood, interim director of the Columbia Theatre, chose to sign the RIOULT Dance NY on for an appearance.

“The RIOULT was selected for their high quality and reputation,” said Blackwood. “Their dance is innovative and exciting; they have reinvigorated modern ballet in America.”

The upcoming RIOULT performance at the Columbia Theatre is the final part of a three year plan to bring the art of dance to the Hammond and Southeastern communities, according to Blackwood.

“The RIOULT performance is part of a three year marketing plan to support dance in this area,” said Blackwood. “Paul Taylor came in two years ago, then last year was Koresh Dance Company and this year, it’s the RIOULT. They are one of the three best companies in the United States, so that’s why they were selected.”

Blackwood feels this performance will give Hammond audiences a rare chance to get a sample of dancing from another part of the country right in their home community.

“The audience will [be given the chance to] be exposed to professional dances from the East Coast,” said Blackwood. “Those who have never been to a performance of theirs in New York will get that chance; they’ll never have seen anything like it.”

For more information on RIOULT Dance NY, check out their website at rioult.org or for more information on forthcoming events at the Columbia Theatre, check out columbiatheatre.org. Tickets will cost $25 and loge seats will be sold for the price of $39.