2008 Festival Artists

(List as of August 13)

 

2PlySwing: See the history/ evolution of Swing Dancing as we take you from the 1920’s to the 1950’s.  You will also get to learn a few steps…

2toGroove Dance: 2toGroove Dance will knock your socks off as they proudly present an interactive swing dance performance/ workshop sure to move and amuse, entertain and inform and get you dancing!  Impress your friends with your new knowledge of “Swing” as a uniquely American dance, with rich musical roots as you experience such swing dance styles as lindy hop, jitterbug, Charleston, jive, balboa, west coast swing, and more!

 

Academy of Egyptian Dance: Celebrated for thousands of years, Egyptian dance has brought joy to women and men across the globe.  From the classical, folkloric and contemporary dances, Egyptian dance offers a rich variety of dances that appeal to the masses.  Presenting a variety of dances that will transport you to a distant land—the land of the Pharaohs.

 

Academy of Performing Arts: Priding itself on offering a wide range of classes in various styles, APA caters to students with abilities ranging from beginning to advanced.  This performance shows what we have to offer in addition to proving that dance can be done by everyone! 

 

A Choreographer’s Showcase: Marcelina Contreras, Patricia Law, & Karen Rader-Clarke: Three native San Diegan dancers come together for a Choreographer’s Showcase.  Marcelina Contreras, Patricia Law, and Karen Rader-Clarke present “unlucky”, “Shiva Dance”, and “Mettre en boite”.

Alpha Omega Dance Company: Description coming soon.

 

APSARA, A Fairy Dancer: Enjoy Middle Eastern style dancing with a fusion of classic Egyptian dance and Apsara’s native Slavic motives and modern lyric dance elements.  Here spiritual dance appeals to the Sacred Feminine of the Universe, Nature, Earth, and the Dancer. 

 

Ara Glenn-Johanson: A deeply personal and richly colored work, earth-stepper investigates the meaning of wandering—of leaving where you are for where you might be.  In it, Ara Glenn-Johanson weaves dance, song and story to create a soulful look at displacement, loss and searching.  Gathering inspiration from folk ballads and Anglo-Saxon poetry, earth-stepper feels like looking down the road behind you and seeing your own tracks.   

 

Axxiom Dance Collective: Combining various dance forms such as modern, hip hop, and African dance and bringing this fusion to communities worldwide.

 

The Ayoj Llewop Body Politic: In a time where race relations are quickly being reevaluated- a potential interracial president, an influx of noose sightings around the nation- the Ayoj Llewop Body Politic (ALBP) has intrinsically explored such topics in their new work Breathless and Shades of Grey.  ALBP is dedicated to unearthing historic and present socio-political issues that plague the world we live in through the healing elements of dance. 

 

Balletiquette Dance Theatre Company, Inc.: Celebrating contemporary, lyrical themes through ballet movement.  The company is a unique mix of young children, aggressively trained to perform at an early age and to approach motion without fear.  These dancers express their joy for dance in an amazing performance, full of passion and physical movement that’s bigger than them.

 

Benita Bike’s DanceArt: In its 27th season, Benita Bike’s DanceArt Company is a fixture on the contemporary dance scene in greater Los Angeles.  The company regularly receives praise for its elegant concert work, beautiful dancing, and innovative use of unusual music. 

 

bkSOUL/ Collective Purpose: Presenting a collaboration of movement and spoken word to express the metaphors of love and hip hop culture.

 

Blue Lotus Dance Company: Presents regional and fusion dances from North Africa and the Near and Middle East.  Performed in beautifully colorful, traditional costumes, using exciting live and authentic music ~ a unique and fun show.

BOUND Contemporary Dance: Description coming soon.

 

Charlene Penner: LED by the Red Road…it is scary…and exciting at the same time.  Our destiny, a mystery unfolding.  Open wide, listen deep, surrender and see Charlene Penner, Miranda Rondeau, and Cliff Oliver.

 

Club NDA of Neisha’s Dance Academy: Club NDA is a high energy, crowd pleasing dance team from Neisha’s Dance Academy in Chula Vista!

 

Colette Harding Contemporary Dance Company: CHCDC presents dance works that range from sultry and smooth to quick and energetic.  Dance works exhibited offer observations in human relations and personal insight.

 

Danzaye Dance Studio: Different styles, beats, and dances.  Come see us perform.  Dance is our passion and we want to make it yours.

 

d’shire dance- San Diego Premier All-Male Dance Company: Presenting works from its inaugural season by Artistic Director, Deven P. Brawley, and Associate Choreographer, Erica Buechner.  d’shire dance is proud to feature a sneak peek of a new work premiering in November 2008 by Brawley and company dancer, Justin Viernes.

 

Domino Affect Dance Company: Angelic gestures whirl into quirky chaos as the set unfolds.  Let us spin you into our imagination and take you off balance in a moment of bliss.

 

Erica Buechner and Dancers: Unaccompanied, a work by Erica Buechner, will bring you through the highs and lows of being alone.  An emotional exploration of the feelings of loneliness that just might make you laugh and cry.

 

Erin Jelacic: Inspired by the “burlesque of children’s literature”, Lew Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, Slow Reader Parade is a dance that delves into the endless adventure’s one can take when dreams of the mind connect with the physical realm through movement…proving that these possibilities are only limited by one’s imagination.

Eveoke Dance Theatre: The mission of Eveoke is to cultivate compassionate social action through evocative performance, arts education and community building.  Specializing in modern and hip-hop, Eveoke is home to a professional Concert Company, a pre-professional Performing Group (ages 14-35), and Youth Performing Group (ages 8-14).      

 

   

Flamenco Olivar: A contemporary flamenco dance company that combines choreographic sophistication with authentic flamenco puro.  This company creates a cuadro style atmosphere by bringing together talented musicians, a singer with a masterful flamenco voice, and outstanding flamenco dancers.

 

Forward to Breath: This locally based group of dancers, under the direction of Terri Shipman, presents recent works highlighting the relational and free-flowing aspects that define Forward to Breath.

The Garage: Description coming soon.

 

“Hearts in Flight” modern dance company: “Crash” captures the terrifying moments of an airplane crash.  In slow motion, the audience will witness the dancers’ physical and emotional pain as the plane goes down.

 

Iza Moon Dance Collective: Performing a unique blend of Tribal Fusion Belly Dance to modern and classic songs.  Melanie, Lesleigh, and Deana’s entertaining choreography and dance styles will leave the audience wanting more!

 

LaDiego Dance Theater: A contemporary ballet company which seeks to bring passion, power, and beauty to dance.  Our goal is to bring dance back to dance!

Lisette’s Dance Studio: Young dancers, ages 6-11, from Lisette’s Dance Studio located at the California Center for the Arts, Escondido, will perform a jazz piece learned during this year’s summer intensive held at the studio.  Joy Ren will perform a lyrical dance piece choreographed by Lisette Morris, to Jewel’s This Little Bird.

 

Minerva Tapia Dance Group: Presenting Cuerpitos Fronterizos—Little Bodies, four contemporary experiences of the human body: the body as transport, the human form, the continuous preoccupation of young women who transform their bodies through cosmetic surgery, and the abused body.

 

Mojalet Dance Collective: Transparency will be presented with original music by Rhythm Talk, and set design by Joe Ismay.  Definition of transparency: 1. transmitting light rays so that objects on the other side may be seen; 2. to be easily understood.

 

Mountain Tribal Gypsies: American tribal style belly dance is an ethnic fusion style, influenced by Middle Eastern dance but inspired by American artistic sensibilities.

Nickerson-Rossi Dance: My work, Exchange to Exist, stands on the belief that the Southern California dance community needs to pause from individuality to support and embrace the desire to coexist as artists.  Through this work, you will experience the insatiable hunger for dance that I have created for the public to witness. 

 

Opus Mixtus Post Jazz Ensemble: OMJP will be premiering two new full company works as well as repertory pieces.  Witness the lyrical jazz Bartender—a deeply introspective look at the heartbreak of unfixable mistakes, and the modern Socks and Keys—a humorous, tongue-in-cheek examination of the most irritating of human conditions, forgetfulness.

 

Passion Dance Company: Passion Dance Company was recently formed in January of 2007 in the Greater Seattle area with the goal of performing and exposing others to a wide variety of dance forms.  PDC consists of dancers 18 and over, who perform choreography that fuses multicultural dance forms from around the world. 

 

The PGK Project (A Contemporary Dance Company): “Beautifully sculpted, athletic, inventively fresh, smart with a spontaneous style…” are just a few ways the The PGK Project’s critically acclaimed programs as choreographed by Artistic Director, Peter G. Kalivas have been described locally, nationally and internationally.

Raks el Anwar: Voyage Orientale includes a variety of styles of dance and music from the Middle East presented by San Diego’s most prestigious Middle Eastern dance company.  Raks el Anwar members are each professionals with a variety of experience in a variety of venues including styles of Eastern Arabic countries like Egypt and Lebanon.

Rose Academy of Irish Dance: Performing traditional Irish dancing from Ireland. Through the use of two different types of shoes (soft shoe and hard shoe), dance reels, jigs and hornpipes, Irish dance is lively and definitely fun to watch and perform!    

 

Sadie Weinberg and Mira Costa College: Our intention is to present student and professional level work on the concert stage.  We are interested in giving the audience the opportunity to see the health of artistry and dance occurring in the community colleges, a place where anyone can get the opportunity to dance and perform. 

 

Samantha Giron Dance Project: Interrogations depicts the torture of a female Vietcong spy who has become a prisoner of war.  The piece depicts the isolation and pain she experiences at the hands of men who have silenced their capacity for empathy. 

 

San Diego Ballet: Showcasing the students who attended the San Diego School of Ballet’s “Summer Workshop.”  The pieces performed will be classical and contemporary with possible works from the Junior Company and San Diego Ballet Company. 

 

San Diego Civic Youth Ballet: Our performance will include a section of works to be danced by our most advanced ballet students.  The pieces are both contemporary and classical.

 

San Diego ‘N’ Line Dancers: With our roots in country line dancing, we will demonstrate a variety of line dances of various difficulties performed to a variety of musical genre.  We invite beginners and experienced dancers to join us at our events in Balboa Park three times a month. 

 

The Shangri-La Dance Company: Introducing and promoting wholesome activities and entertainment to communities through the presentation of social and stage dancing.

 

Soulscape Dance Company: A professional Christian dance ensemble whose ministry includes performances, worship venues and prayer/ dance workshops.  With dance as our medium, we invite all people to worship the living God by sending visual messages through the language of dance. 

 

Stacey Jacob-Gerst: And Baby Makes What?!  A piece inspired by motherhood and the crazy, emotional journey that women experience when becoming a parent.

Stella Nova Dance Company: A professional modern dance company consisting of San Diego youth between the ages of 12 and 18.  Stella Nova co-founders Rayna Stohl and Molly Terbovich created Stella Nova Dance Company with the knowledge of the incredible artistry, professionalism, and talent that teens possess and can acquire with the correct training and nurturing environment.  

TangoAlma Dance Ensemble: Presenting a fun filled and unforgettable variety of authentic Argentine tango dance performances.  Performers will include both seasoned professionals and enthusiastic students eager to show their stuff.  They will leave the audience clamoring for more as they have year after year since the company was founded in 1999.

TANGOCENTRIC: An experimental dance company with works based around the dramatic movements of the tango.  As dancers and performers, the goal of TANGOCENTRIC is to entertain and educate the community about tango through dramatic story related performances.

Tap Fever Studios: With the largest variety of tap styles, classes and workshops, Tap Fever Studios teaches people from all walks of life how to take the rhythm from their hearts and expand it to their feet.  Our goals are to bring the joy of tap dance to anyone with the desire to make music with their feet, and to entertain San Diegans with exciting performances.

transcenDANCE Youth Arts Project: Description coming soon.     

 

Tribal SDstyle: American Tribal Style (ATS) was birthed in San Francisco in the late 80’s.  It is an off shoot of belly dancing from American origin which joins dance styles from all over the world.  The unique thing about ATS is that the lead person gives cues to the rest of the dancers and in doing so creates a dance that looks choreographed but is all improvisation.   

 

Unity Dance Ensemble: Known for their versatility, Unity Dance Ensemble is a cutting edge jazz and hip hop company directed by Tessandra Chavez.  Come and see a non-stop blockbuster performance that sends you on an epic roller coaster ride.