Last fall festival-goers judged the first Wake Forest Dance Festival the most outstanding event of the year. And it will be back in town on Saturday, Sept. 29, in E. Carroll Joyner Park with a day-long event featuring international, national, regional and local dancers.
With a format similar to last year’s inaugural event, the 2018 festival brings a day of dance to the Triangle in an outdoor, wooded setting. WFDF showcases a diversity of dance genres, including classical ballet, modern, contemporary, jazz and world dance, by international, national and regional professional dancers as well as local rising advanced dance performers.
WFDF will begin with an educational technical rehearsal in the morning and conclude with a staged performance lasting through the early evening. During the day, mini dance performances showcasing various dance styles will take place in select areas of Joyner Park culminating with a staged performance.
Presented by ARTS Wake Forest and the Wege Foundation, in partnership with the Town of Wake Forest and Wake Forest Parks and Recreation Cultural Resources, WFDF is supported by United Arts Council of Raleigh and Wake County.
A tribute will take place to honor the Durham-based American Dance Festival (ADF), an institution and festival that has been an integral part of the dance community since 1934. The WFDF will highlight ADF’s incredible lineage of dance history showcasing a diversity of genres, performers, choreographers and music.
The festival’s founder and director Mariya “Masha” Dashkina Maddux, a former principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company in New York City, says it is a privilege to honor ADF.
“One of the goals of the Wake Forest Dance Festival is to bring attention to the art of dance in our community. It’s an honor to bring artists of such high caliber to the second season of this free, public event,” said Maddux. “We hope people throughout the Triangle and beyond will take advantage of this inspiring day of dance.”
Some standout dance performances during the September 29 day-long event will include:
- Logan Frances Kruger of the José Limón Dance Company performing Chaconne (1942), a solo choreographed by one of the most celebrated performers and choreographers of modern dance José Limón. The solo will be performed to the music of Bach. A Sept. 23 Limon Techniquediscussion as well as a Sept. 27 master class are also planned.
- The DASH Ensemble, a New York-based dance company performing in honor of ADF, will present a male duet by its founder and choreographer Gregory Dolbashian.
- Antonio Fini, who is the director of Fini Dance New York and Alto Jonio Dance Festival in Calabria, Italy will perform a solo inspired by Italian dance Tarantella.
- Local North Carolina and guest artist professional dancers will perform Danzón, a work by renowned choreographer and dancer Pedro Ruiz.
The 2017 WFDF paid tribute to long-time Wake Forest dance instructor Elizabeth “Betty” Hunt Holding and her dance legacy as a Radio City Music Hall Rockette and ballet understudy for famed Russian choreographer George Balachine. This year, Holding’s family, some who still reside in Wake Forest, started The Betty Holding Dancers Fund, which will award scholarships to some of the area’s most advanced dancing students.
Several $500 scholarships will be available to students who participate in the 2018 WFDF and are currently enrolled in a dance program at a school, college or university. Interested applicants can find more information atwww.wakeforestdancefestival.org/scholarships/.
The program schedule for the day will be:
- 9:30 a.m. – noon: Technical Rehearsal– Attendees who want a behind the scenes look can attend the Technical Rehearsal, which is a run-through of the Festival Performance that will take place later in the day. Some of the performers and the stage manager will be available to answer questions.
- 1 p.m. – 4 p.m.: Tour in Motion– A guided walking tour beginning at the top of every hour that gives attendees the opportunity to experience different dance genres in intimate outdoor settings at four locations throughout Joyner Park. This year’s Tour in Motion will feature emerging choreographers and showcase Classical Indian Dance.
- 5:00 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.: Festival Performance – The culminating Festival Performance will feature professional dancers and rising advanced dancers from local institutions, such as Destiny Dance Institute, Wake Forest Civic Ballet and North Carolina State University Dance Company.
See the full list of choreographers and performers on the event website atwww.wakeforestdancefestival.org/artists.
Visionary sponsors of the event are ARTS Wake Forest, Wege Foundation, The Newman Family Foundation, Town of Wake Forest, Destiny Dance Institute and Hampton Inn by Hilton Wake Forest. Dreamer level sponsors include The Dance Attic, Dancing Angels Foundation, Hoffmaster CPA, PLLC, Holly Eishenhour, Klok’s School of Martial Arts and PhysioFit of NC. Scholarship sponsors are The Betty Holding Dancers Fund, Alto Jonio Dance, Dancing Angels Foundation and Fini Dance New York. The festival’s in-kind sponsors are Arrow Tree Boutique, Communicopia, PTM Photo & Video, George Randy Bass Photography and Strategic Insights Brand Marketing.
Festival attendees should adhere to E. Carroll Joyner Park rules when attending the event, which include keeping pets on a leash and no alcohol or personal grills, however picnics are encouraged. The full list of park rules and reminders can be found on the Town of Wake Forest’s website (www.wakeforestnc.gov).
Visit the event’s website www.WakeForestDanceFestival.org and Facebook pagewww.facebook.com/WakeForestDance for more information on the event, the indoor backup venue in case of inclement weather, and for sponsor and volunteer opportunities.
