Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts 2013 Adds Local, National and International Artists to Line-Up; Tickets On Sale

Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts today announces additional local, national and international performers, adding to the 35 partners listed below already announced in September 2013, as part of the program line-up for Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) 2013, March 28 to April 27, sponsored by TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank. With more than 50 festival performances and events taking place throughout Philadelphia, 50 regional arts and cultural partners, and 32 new works, PIFA 2013's If You Had a Time Machine....now includes the star talents of tap dance sensation and choreographer Savion Glover, jazz pianist and record producer Robert Glasper and Special Guests, Panamanian global jazz artist Danilo Pérez and Panama 500 Band, Instrumentalist and composer DJ Dan Deacon, Choir of King's College Cambridge, and more. Tickets go on sale to the public for all PIFA 2013 performances and events beginning Wednesday, January 23 at 10 a.m.

PIFA's 2013 theme, If You Had a Time Machine...., asks a diverse group of artists to make daring explorations of a specific moment in time and create exciting, thought provoking new works that will time travel the audience to that moment. Some are reflective of future cultures, while others reinterpret the past. A seamless thematic strand connects the known and the unknown. Audiences are asked to take a journey through time, choosing their own adventure in the multi-disciplinary fields of theater, dance, music, exhibitions and lectures, and culinary art. Program highlights also include an installation of a time machine in the Kimmel Center's Commonwealth Plaza, which will serve as cultural hub with free programs and activities throughout the festival, and a Street Fair closing the festival on April 27, 2013 along the Avenue of the Arts.

PIFA 2013 opening weekend now showcases Newark native tap dance phenomenon Savion Glover performing the World Premiere of Dance Space (March 30), an improvisational solo performance visiting 3.8 Billion Years Ago; Robert Glasper gathers a powerhouse of talent including Derrick Hodge (bass); Mark Colenburg, (drums); Casey Benjamin (saxophone/keys/vocoder), plus vocalists Lalah Hathaway, Eric Roberson and Stokley (from Mint Condition) reinterpreting Stevie Wonder's 1976 release of Songs in the Key of Life (April 14); Internationally renowned Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Pérez combines north, south, east and western cultural influences in a global jazz performance with Panama 500 band, exploring Vasco Nunez de Balboa's discovery of the Pacific and Panama for Europe in 1513 (April 26); Instrumentalist and composer DJ Dan Deacon creates an interactive musical experience commemorating when the first email was sent in 1971, using instead smartphone technology with a unique DJ set; And Choir of King's College, Cambridge performs a rousing program incorporating The Fred J. Cooper Memorial Organ, and taking us back to composer Benjamin Britten's birth in 1913 (April 6).

Additional new program highlights include Chef WalterStaib, proprietor of Philadelphia's City Tavern and host of Emmy-award winning show A Taste of History, celebrates the 270th Anniversary of Thomas Jefferson's birth in 1743 with an onstage culinary adventure uncovering the secrets behind the founding fathers and mothers' favorite foods and parties (April 13). Renowned contemporary dance company Philadanco performs world premiere of new choreographed work by Christopher Huggins going all the way back to the Big Bang (April 19-21).

"We are absolutely thrilled with the stellar local, national and international performances we've added to our PIFA2013 program offerings. The Festival offers patrons a unique opportunity to select a journey and experience artistic interpretations of past and future events reflected through dance, theater, music and visual art. There is truly something for everyone! I am delighted that through PIFA we can provide a thematic canvas for artists to take risks and dare to do the work they've always dreamed of doing," said Anne Ewers, president and CEO of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

"Philadelphia is an international destination for arts and culture," said Mayor Michael Nutter. "The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts is a prime example of how this city is a hub for innovation and creativity. PIFA provides an incredible artistic outlet for hundreds of thousands of citizens and guests who converge on our city during the 31-day festival and for the array of artists who bring their magic to so many events."

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