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Great Friends Dance Festival – Newport Now, 6 Luglio 2018

Articolo apparso su Newport Now, 6 Luglio 2018

International Dance Festival Lineup Announced

Island Moving Company will present its ninth annual Great Friends Dance Festival July 18-22, 2018 on an outdoor stage at St. Michaels Country Day School in Newport, RI.  The festival will feature five nights of performances by visiting dance companies, and Newport’s resident dance company the Island Moving Company. Festival goers are encouraged to arrive early. Outside food and beverage are welcomed, and guests are invited to bring blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy world class dance in a social setting. New this year, each performance will be preceded by an informational talk and Q&A.

Each evening performance will feature a unique lineup of dances drawn on the talent, artistry, and unique styles of the festival’s five visiting dance companies, and Newport’s resident Island Moving Company. Headlining the festival is the STAYCEE PEARL dance project. Based out of Pittsburgh, PA the STAYCEE PEARL dance project (SPdp) exists to interpret and mirror culture and community through dance and dance centered multi-media experiences. With diverse casting and programming, SPdp explores innovative conceptual possibilities while participating in meaningful collaboration. SPdp produces programming around compelling concepts and themes often inspired by social/political world issues. SPdp occasionally examines the works of celebrated legendary and contemporary artists of the African Diaspora.

Additional dance companies in the 2018 festival include the Breathing Art Company based in Bari, Italy. Directed by Simona De Tullio the Breathing Art Company has presented its work in Germany, Spain, Hungary, Albania, and Puerto Rico with a mission to give young talent an opportunity to explore the art of dance. De Tullio has directed the international San Nicola Dance Prize since 2010, and is influenced in part by her work with American contemporary ballet legend Alonzo King Lines Ballet.

Donna Salgado’s CONTINUUM Contemporary Ballet is a New York City based dance company comprised of classically-trained dancers with contemporary artistic voices. The company aims to create work that plays in the concert dance spectrum while celebrating a spirit of dancemaking that is inspiring, collaborative, and progressive. Her choreography has been presented by the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (in 2011, 2012, and 2015), 92nd Street Y, Latin Choreographers Festival, and the Columbia Ballet Collaborative among others.

Lotería Performing Arts, founded by Ivanova Aguilar, has a mission to promote collaborations between Mexican and American Artists. She has performed as a principal with the Joffrey Ballet and is the only Mexican to appear in the DVD Teacher of the Stars, David Howard. Lotería performances creatively mesh dance, music, video, and sculpture, allowing artists to express themselves in surprising new ways. Lotería has provided new opportunities for Mexican and American artists to successfully work together, learn from each other, and communicate their unique creations to diverse audiences.

Thomas/Ortiz Dance based out of New Canaan, CT will present work by founder Ted Thomas. Melding his urban athleticism with her Latin sensuality, and their combined choreographic and musical sensibilities, Ted Thomas and Frances Ortiz founded Thomas/Ortiz Dance in 2001. The company of twelve dancers from culturally diverse backgrounds performs a repertoire, which explores a multitude of thought-provoking and socially-relevant themes. The company’s residency in Newport is made possible by funding from the New England Foundation for the Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Over the course of the five day festival visiting choreographer Staycee Pearl will bring the dancers of Newport’s Island Moving Company and Pittsburgh’s STAYCEE PEARL dance project together to create a new piece that will be presented to the public on Saturday and Sunday evening. The festival’s success in building collegiality between dance companies culminated in 2017 when IMC Artistic Director and festival founder Miki Ohlsen accepted an invitation to present on the festival’s impacts on the field of dance at Dance USA’s national conference in Kansas City, MO.

The Great Friends Dance Festival was founded in 2010 by Island Moving Company, Newport’s resident contemporary ballet company, to showcase new work and artists from around the country.  The festival brings visiting dance companies to Newport each summer during the festival, with an exchange performance by Island Moving Company with one of the visiting companies the following spring. Grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts will support a 2019 tour by Island Moving Company to perform in Pittsburgh with STAYCEE PEARL dance project.

Each evening will feature new dances for audiences to enjoy. Sponsorship opportunities are still available.

WEDNESDAY 6:30pm BANK NEWPORT NIGHT

Breathing Arts

Carolyn Dorfman’s ETUDE

Island Moving Company

Loteria Performing Arts

STAYCEE PEARL dance project

 

THURSDAY 6:30pm

Breathing Arts

Island Moving Company

Loteria Performing Arts

STAYCEE PEARL dance project

Thomas/Ortiz

 

FRIDAY 6:30pm

Breathing Arts

CONTINUUM

Island Moving Company

STAYCEE PEARL dance project

Thomas/Ortiz

 

SATURDAY 6:30pm

BIG PIECE with IMC and SPdp

CONTINUUM

Island Moving Company

STAYCEE PEARL dance project

Thomas/Ortiz

 

SUNDAY 6:00pm

BIG PIECE with IMC and SPdp

Breathing Arts

CONTINUUM

Island Moving Company

STAYCEE PEARL dance project

Tickets to performances start at $20 in advance, and are $30 at the door. Tickets can be purchased online at www.IslandMovingCo.org, or over the phone at (401)847-4470.

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