Following a successful kick-off party, VelocityDC Dance Festival is announcing the
first in its ever-expanding roster of featured artists who will appear in the new festival at Shakespeare
Theatre Company's Sidney Harman Hall on October 2 and 3, 2009. VelocityDC is organized by a new
consortium of local dance supportive arts entities, including presenters Washington Performing Arts
Society and Shakespeare Theatre Company; primary artistic partners The Washington Ballet and
CityDance Ensemble; and – as a collaborative partner – the region's service organization for dance,
Dance/MetroDC. Tickets are priced at $15. VelocityDC dance festival will be an annual event, creating an
exciting dance experience to be savored by new and existing dance audiences.
VelocityDC represents an exciting new direction in dance presentation and audience development
for the D.C. area and is the first large-scale collaboration between D.C. dance leaders. Designed to support
and promote the artistic and financial health of the dance community at large, VelocityDC will brand
Washington, D.C. as a top arts and dance destination nationwide.
Modeled after the highly successful Fall for Dance festival in New York City, VelocityDC Dance
Festival will feature world-class artists and dance companies presented in a fast-paced gala format that
promises an evening of movement and music interlaced with hip-hop and the spoken word. Low ticket
prices and a bold, new-media-centric marketing and research campaign are geared to capture and develop
new audiences.
Featured Artists include:
• Ron K. Brown and Evidence performing "Upside Down"
• The Washington Ballet performing "Wunderland" by Edwaard Liang
• CityDance Ensemble performing "Last Look" by Paul Taylor
• Liz Lerman Dance Exchange performing "Blueprints of Relentless Nature"
• Nejla Yatkin – modern dance
• Helanius Wilkins –founder and artistic director of EDGEWORKS
• Edwin Arapicio – flamenco dance with musical ensemble
• Gesel Mason performing "How to Watch a Modern Dance"
• Willi Dorner performing the site-specific work "Bodies in Urban Spaces" throughout the city
-moreThe
festival also features a Saturday evening VelocityDC Late Night beginning at 10pm, a cabaret-style
showcase of movement, music and mayhem featuring top DC dance artists, poets and musicians. . Coproduced
by Mason/Rhynes Productions.
VelocityDC Late Night features adult humor and situations and is 18+ only
Tickets to the Friday and Saturday performances are $15 for each show.
Tickets for Late Night are $15
Tickets go on sale on August 21 at www.velocityDC.org