July 03, 2020

DANCECleveland Invites Ohio to “Dance On!” with its 2020 Virtual Summer Dance Festival and Community Dance Day

DANCECleveland Invites Ohio to “Dance On!” with its 2020 Virtual Summer Dance Festival and Community Dance Day

CLEVELAND (July 2, 2020) – DANCECleveland, northeast Ohio’s premiere dance presenting organization, has announced the details of their Virtual Community Dance Festival launching on DANCECleveland’s annual Community Dance Day, July 25, and running for one week. Registration is required and is now open on their website dancecleveland.org.

The organization worked quickly after canceling its live summer festival programming in Cleveland due to COVID, to create and launch a Virtual Summer Dance Festival. The new 2020 Virtual Summer Dance Festival will share an exciting range of content, including dance classes for all levels, four world-class dance performances, and discussions with Artistic Directors. Additionally, DANCECleveland will create a compilation video of participants who have learned and submitted a set of created choreography so we will all be able to dance together while being apart.

All community members interested in accessing the online programming should register at DANCECleveland.org/events to obtain an online pass. The online pass is valued at over $40; however, registrants are invited to “pay what you can” to make this summer’s programming open and available for everyone.

Registered participants will receive an exclusive link that will become activated on July 25, for all of the Festival programs and remain viable for one week so participants can watch and participate on their own schedule.

DANCECleveland’s 2020 Virtual Dance Festival includes Company Wang Ramirez’s “Monchichi,” Lucky Plush Production’s “Punk Yankee” and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s “Indestructible” and “ Altar-ing” and Vertigo Dance Company’s “Birth of a Phoenix” and more! All performances will include an introduction pre-chat with Pam Young, Executive Director of DANCECleveland, and each featured company’s Artistic Directors.

Additionally, registrants will be able to access ten different dance classes, including:

• Intermediate Contemporary with Antonio Brown, former dancer with Bill T. Jones,
• Intermediate Ballet with Kristina Weimer of Ballet West,
• Movement for Seniors with Noa Wertheim of Vertigo Dance Company,
• Intermediate Jazz with Kelsey Wilkins Coach of The Cavs PowerHouse Dance Group,
• Early Childhood Movement with Regina Pietraroia, Director of Dance Arts by Regina,
• Beginner Hip-Hop with Samuel McIntosh of Kent State University,
• Beginner Ballroom with Rebecca Sweet of Viva Dance,
• Beginner Salsa with Rebecca Sweet of Viva Dance,
• Beginner African Drum & Dance with Talise Campbell of Djapo Cultural Arts Institute,
• Beginner Zumba with Suzi Mason of OnetoOnefitness and Case Western Reserve University.

“Although COVID 19 made it impossible to present our Summer Dance Festival in and around Playhouse Square, the virtual platform allows audiences to see dance from the best seat in the house-their house! For our 2020 Virtual Dance Festival, we will present more dance companies, have audience participation from around the world, and give everyone the opportunity to take a dance class in the privacy of their own homes. We have had to build an entirely new set of skills to bring this Festival about, and we are excited to share it all with our community and beyond.” Pam Young, Executive Director of DANCECleveland, said.

The final component of DANCECleveland’s Community Dance Day includes a challenge to all Ohioans to “Dance On !”. The nonprofit created a short 16 count routine that can be done sitting or standing and is encouraging participants to learn the routine at home and then videotape themselves and submit themselves doing the routine for a chance to be featured on July 25 in the premiere of the compilation video. For more information, go to DANCECleveland.org or visit DANCECleveland on Facebook. Posts should be tagged with the hashtag #DanceOnOhio and be submitted by July 8.

DANCECleveland, a Cleveland, Ohio based nonprofit, is one of a handful of presenters in the nation that is dedicated solely to the presentation of modern and contemporary dance. The centerpiece of the organization’s programming is its annual performance series. Surrounding each performance is an array of educational outreach events designed both to break artistic boundaries and provide community access to the dance aesthetic and dance luminaries that DANCECleveland brings to Northeast Ohio.

DANCECleveland is generously funded by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

The Ohio Arts Council helped fund DANCECleveland with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.

Thank you to The Cleveland Foundation for their generous support.

This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

In addition, thank you to our other generous supporters:

Eaton Corporation

The Char and Chuck Fowler Family Foundation

Nordson Corporation

The Shubert Foundation

John P. Murphy Foundation