(CHATHAM, N.Y.) – New York City-based Parsons Dance – noted for its uplifting, athletic, engaging contemporary style that often commissions new scores by contemporary composers, including Dave Matthews, Steely Dan, Juan Garcia Esquival, Michael Gordon of Bang on a Can, John Corigliano, and Phil Woods, as well as such standbys as Bach, Schubert, and Rossini – performs at The Tent at PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century, on Saturday and Sunday, September 3 and 4, 2011, at 7:30 p.m. The weekend’s program, the sixth consecutive summer appearance for the Parsons company at PS21, includes dances set to music by Miles Davis, Robert Fripp, Astor Piazzolla and Brazil’s Milton Nascimento.

The weekend’s program at PS21 features six pieces, three of which are new to PS21. The dances include The Envelope, Tango Oficina, Nascimento, Slow Dance, Kind of Blue, and the group’s signature piece, Caught, featuring more than 100 leaps in six minutes by a solo dancer who is repeatedly trapped in mid-motion by strobe lights to create an illusion of flight.

Former Paul Taylor dancer David Parsons founded his eponymous company in 1987 with lighting designer Howell Binkley. Born in Chicago and raised in Kansas City, he was a leading dancer with the Paul Taylor Dance Company from 1978–87. As artistic director, Parsons has created more than 70 works for the company, given more than 1,500 performances and participated in many educational and community outreach residency activities.

Admission is $40 general admission and $35 for PS21 members. To order tickets, call 518.392.6121 or visit PS21: Performance Spaces for the 21st Century. Tickets will also be available at the door until the show sells out.