Selah’s Summer Dance Fest
It’s been a couple of years since the local Nebula Dance Lab has produced its HHII Dance Festival, so Selah Dance Collective has stepped up to offer something similar in the same Center Stage Theater space this weekend. While the event won’t be as wide-ranging nor as long in duration as HHII, the vibrant and compact Summer Dance Fest will indeed feature performances from a wide and colorful spectrum of dance genres, including contemporary, hip-hop, ballet, jazz fusion, folk and flamenco, in an effort to celebrate the diversity and creativity of the local dance community.
“We’ve been itching to do a festival here for a couple years,” said Selah’s founder Meredith Ventura, who has focused on evening length pieces that have played in town and toured in recent seasons. “It’s great to be able to present some shorter pieces and network with other companies and dancers in town.”
Selah will feature two new works, including State Street Ballet dancer Arianna Hartanov’s untitled piece, which Ventura said has been shaped by the exploratory process emphasizing the dancers being sensitive to one another. Ventura will also present an excerpt of her next full-length work – set to premiere in January – focusing on Italy in the 1930s, and how satire and humor emerge as tools for artists during times where authoritarian regimes arise.
Among other highlights are performances by SYNRGY Dance Co, a new collective that focuses on street dance styles including hip hop, house and breaking. The segments will feature both group work and a duet with founders Bethany Sutherland and Richard Chung. Also making its local festival debut is EvokeMotion Society. Founded by Emily Stokes with an eye toward inclusivity, EvokeMotion explores emotions and self-expression through dance. Ventura has been working with both companies over the last year.
“Maintaining that community platform and supporting other dancers is a really important part of our mission,” she said. “Both these companies are very exciting.”
Additional works created by Ashley Almada, Chloé Roberts, Catherine H. Fisher, Sasha Serdyukov and Erika Soto, Riley Haley, Marika Stellwagen, Katie Brady, Karyn Laver, and the Dance Network SB are also on the program, as a screening of Salted Earth, the latest dance film from Robin Bisio featuring local dancer Kaita Mrazek.
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