The Wake Forest Parks, Recreation & Cultural Resources Department is partnering with Wake Forest Arts to present the first-ever Wake Forest Dance Festival on Saturday, Sept. 30. This exciting and unique event will take place at E. Carroll Joyner Park, 701 Harris Road.
Free and open to the public, the Wake Forest Dance Festival is the premier performance of the Wake Forest Dance Project – directed by local resident and professional dancer, Mariya “Masha” Dashkina Maddux, former principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York.
“The vision for the Wake Forest Dance Festival is to bring a day of dance to our community in an outdoor setting,” said Maddux. “Whether rekindling an existing passion or sparking a new found interest in this remarkable art form, through dance, the event is designed to bring the community together for a day of performances, new experiences, making memories with neighbors and new friends, and gaining a deeper understanding of the art of expression through movement and its historical significance.”
The day-long event will begin with an educational technical rehearsal in the morning and culminate with a staged performance late in the afternoon.
The festival will feature regional and national professional dancers along with local rising advanced dance students. Throughout the day, dancers will perform in different areas of the park and facilitate a variety of educational stations. Genres will include classical ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz and world, but no tap or hip-hop.
Sponsors are needed and a variety of sponsorship levels are available. For complete information concerning sponsorships, volunteer opportunities, and participation, visit www.wakeforestnc.gov/wake-forest-dance-festival.aspx.
