Massachusetts Dance Festival First Annual Statewide Festival, 2010

[Lisa Leake]

Massachusetts Dance Festival’s first annual statewide events, sponsored by the UMass Amherst Department of Music and Dance, will be held August 21^st and 22^nd at Boston Ballet, 19 Clarendon Street,
Boston, and August 28^th and 29^th, at UMass Amherst (Totman Building) and The Fine Arts Center, Amherst. 2010 events at both sites include
Saturday evening performances by eleven professional dance companies, and
Sunday late afternoon performances by eleven emerging dance companies,
representing genres of ballet, jazz, modern, contemporary, multimedia, East
Indian, and hip hop/jazz. Each presentation reveals the sheer creative power of
dance – the breadth of training and talent across the Commonwealth – of
physicality, technical excellence, emotional exuberance, and compelling
artistry, that is certain to attract and engage audiences of all ages and
backgrounds.

Innovative choreographies of two weekends include: 1) “Marionette,” which questions the notion of “success,” reflecting the “struggle to get ahead in business, financial, and personal lives…driven by
relentless social images,” choreographed
by Katherine Hooper of BoSoma Dance
Company, where athleticism and the “constant energy of phrasing” propels
dancers ahead three steps, and back only two; 2) A dramatic selection by Contrapose Dance entitled “Sanitas,” which approaches society’s “recent obsession with
cleanliness and staying free of sickness,” plummeting deeply into the human
psyche … gripping audiences while challenging dancers through feats of athletic
and artistic elocution; 3) Monkeyhouse
dancers’ newest creation, “"Times New Roman Italic""">Against the Odds11.0pt"">,” which “explores themes of endangerment and stagnancy,” and the
enormous effort required to get “unstuck,” using a series of ‘found sound’
recordings of rain and train station buskers; 4) A multi-media celebration of
the Connecticut River by Sorvino Dance
Project called “Downstream,” where fluid movements are adapted to the power,
stillness, and interruptions of the river, against a backdrop of Sam
Pettengill’s visual artwork, and a magnetic improvisational and polyrhythmic
musical landscape; 5) An energetic and uplifting piece, Mariah Steele’s “Simon &
Garfunkel Suite,” which portrays a
“desire to celebrate life and the human experience in all its grit and humor,
dust and glory… a love of community, awe of our bodies’ vast capabilities … and
a deep faith in humanity.”

Additional to dance performances are a total of 48 dance classes for adults and children in Boston, August 21^st and 22^nd, and in Amherst, August
28^th and 29^th, between the hours of 11:00 am and 5:00 pm
on Saturdays, and between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm on Sundays. Massachusetts
master dancers, college and K-12 educators, and industry specialists cover
genres of ballet, jazz, tap, modern, African, Cuban Salsa, hip hop, “inclusive
dance for physically disabled dancers,” and a diverse range of innovative
children’s dance classes.
Specialty workshops on “dance photography,” “managing a successful
cultural business,” and “healthy dancers” will also run adjacent to movement
classes, offering a full spectrum of activities for all ages and levels of
audience participants.

MDF’s Emcee for both Saturday nights is Massachusetts native and national jazz icon, Rebecca Parris, who will open both performances and sing two of her favorite,
popular jazz standards. She is an ardent supporter of music and dance
performance and education in Massachusetts, and a tireless promoter of the
Massachusetts Dance Festival’s mission:

“…to revitalize dance and arts-related professions by developing partnerships with businesses, corporations, institutions and communities. Massachusetts
Dance Festival believes that dance, as a major component of arts and culture,
is essential to meaningful lives and healthy communities. Dance and arts
education contribute to quality life in the 21^st Century by
providing rich education for youth and promoting cultural understanding and
tolerance within diverse communities.”

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Tickets are $25.00 and can be purchased in advance or at the door. Discounts are available for Boston Dance Alliance Members, students, senior citizens, and
groups of 10 or more. Call: [phone] for ticket
sales information. You may also
pay for tickets in advance, through Pay Pal, at the Massachusetts Dance
Festival web site http://massdancefestival.org.

For a full listing of performing artists and adult and student dance classes, go to: 11.0pt"">http://www.massdancefestival.org/performers.html and 11.0pt"">http://www.massdancefestival.org/schedule.html.

MDF is a registered 501(C) 3 non-profit, with its 2010 summer dance festival supported by: Body Grooves,
Boston Dance Alliance, Dancing Arts Center, the Dance Inn, Hot Stepz Magazine, North Shore Dance Alliance, Red Fez Restaurant, and Teddy Shoes.yes""> Senator Sonia Chang Díaz,
Chair of the Tourism, Arts, and Cultural Development Committee, endorses the Massachusetts Dance Festival.

MDF can help to establish Massachusetts as an important destination for arts, culture and tourism.

Photo of BoSoma Dance Company