We hosted it last year, and this year, it took place at the Sandy Spring Friends School, which had a beautiful campus and fairly new Performing Arts Center (just 6 or so years old). Interestingly enough, I'd actually been here before, but for a wedding by a couple of friends from the performing arts scene, a dancer and a fight choreographer, actually.
Speaking of small worlds, the director of the Sandy Spring Friends dance program is Meredith Rabil, a dancer I met choreographing my first professional/paid piece, for the spring concert of Montgomery College's Dance program in '07, the year after I finished my undergrad.
Anyway, the festival is a day of classes and workshops, including Bollywood, Latin, Jazz, Modern, Partnering, & African. Teaching one of the modern classes was Helanius Wilkins, Founder & Artistic Director of Edgeworks Dance Theater.
Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Founding Artistic Director and Choreographer of Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company closed out the festival by talking to the students about his choreographic process and then presenting excerpts of larger pieces, performed by company members Kelly Southall and Connie Fink. Connie actually had taught at NCS until the past year, so it was nice to see her. I'd actually gotten to work with Dana, when he choreographed The Secret Garden for Adventure Theatre, several years ago, and I was an ASM and Understudy.
The best part of the festival (out of many great moments), had to happen during lunch, when some students from our host school put on some music, and the kids gathered in a circle and just had an impromptu dance party.
Nothing like loving what you do for a living :-)
- J Street Jr
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