BRATTLEBORO — Southern Vermont Dance Festival celebrates its fifth season from July 13 to 16 with an exciting round of classes, performances, and community events.
As in past years, there is a wide selection of offerings. With four days of ticketed and free performances, 113 classes, and a strong focus on community, this year's Festival has something for everyone.
The festival boasts faculty and choreographers at the top of their field with a unique ability to serve all levels of dance from the dance enthusiast to the dance professional and everyone in between.
The theme this season is diversity with a social justice community event, a performance about Harriet Tubman at the Latchis, and a strong focus on dance from around the world and different cultures.
New to this season's festival is a Mid Summer's Night Picnic and Promenade performance at Scott Farm. In addition, a “Yoga Track” has been added for those for whom yoga is the preferred movement form.
Also new this season is a community dinner, a social justice/resistance performing arts tour downtown, and a mini dance film festival. This is in addition to the usual three galas, informal concert, closing concert, dozens of community events, and visual art exhibits and classes that are offered this season.
This year's festival welcomes back Billbob Brown, a five-year veteran of the fest and former chair of the Hong Kong Performing Arts Academy and the UMass-Amherst Dance Department. Brown returns with a diverse selection of classes and a work that explores “the wall.”
Also returning this season are the Wondertwins. Some of their credits include choreography for Bobby Brown, New Kids in the Block, and Apollonia Kotero, and dancing on the stage with legends such as Run DMC, LL Cool J, Public Enemy, MC Lyte, and Queen Latifah, to name a few. They have also performed at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, Brooklyn Dance Festival, and The Yard. This season, they will be teaching and performing.
Some other featured faculty, choreographers, and companies include:
• Ted Thomas, former company member at Paul Taylor Dance, and with Ballet Hispanico, Elisa Monte, and the Murray Louis and Nikolais Company.
• Mucuy Bolles, former dancer with Alvin Ailey, Feld Ballet, Zvi Dance, Complexions, Elisa Monte Dance, Buglisi/Foreman Dance, and Lar Lubovitch Dance Company. Broadway credits include The Red Shoes, The King and I, and The Lion King.
• Lisa Chow and Desert Dance Theatre, with a completed trilogy of civil rights productions, Free At Last, Sister Moses: The Story of Harriet Tubman, and Judgments, and collaboration with live musicians.
• Alison Cook Beatty, whose work has been commissioned by Columbia Ballet Collaborative, Carolina Ballet Theater, Joffrey Ballet School NYC, Opera Dolce, NYU, The Boston Conservatory at Berkeley, Fort Hamilton High School, and Ballet Next. She has also performed with Paul Taylor Dance Company.