Chinese dance company cancels tour, including Dallas stop, due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus - The Dallas Morning News

A Chinese dance company scheduled to perform in Dallas this month has postponed its entire North American tour due to travel restrictions caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus. Performing arts presenter TITAS/Dance Unbound will replace the slated Feb. 28-29 shows by BeijingDance/LDTX with a preview of a new local festival that had not yet been announced.

TITAS director Charles Santos says he’s disappointed with the postponement but plans to book the troupe for the 2021-22 season. “We are encouraged to learn that everyone in BeijingDance/LDTX is healthy [but] this global health issue is changing every day, and it was necessary and responsible for them to postpone.”

Instead on those dates at Moody Performance Hall, local groups B. Moore Dance, Bruce Wood Dance and Texas Ballet Theater will provide a teaser for a new festival that TITAS plans to debut in late summer. All three groups will appear both nights.

B. Moore Dance is one of three local troupes that will perform Feb. 28-29 at Moody Performance Hall to preview a new festival to be presented in late summer by TITAS/Dance Unbound. The preview replaces a planned show by BeijingDance/LDTX, which had to cancel due to travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus outbreak.(Brandon Wade / Special Contributor)

“This is not what we do. Our mandate is to present touring companies,” Santos says. “But this is going to be something special, and all of a sudden we have an opportunity to do a preview."

The idea behind the two-day festival is to create more paid opportunities for North Texas professional dancers, he says. This first year, all of the companies will be from the area, but Santos envisions expanding to groups around the state in the future.

NorthPark Center drew criticism when it postponed a Lunar New Year festival scheduled for last Saturday at the mall, citing sensitivity to the coronavirus outbreak.

Patrons holding tickets to the BeijingDance/LDTX performances have options, including attending the new-festival preview, exchanging them for another show, receiving a refund or donating the tickets. TITAS’ partner, the AT&T Performing Arts Center, will be reaching out to ticket holders, or they can call the box office at 214-880-0202 or TITAS at 214-978-2855.

“We are certainly saddened that, this year, our Dallas audiences will not experience this amazing company from across the globe,” Debbie Storey, president and CEO of the Performing Arts Center, said in a statement. “TITAS and the Center are committed to bringing them back in a future season. This is a reminder of how connected we are to the global community, and we send our best wishes to LDTX, the people of China, and to everyone affected by this health crisis.”

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