The 28th annual Downtown Dance Festival is a platform for everything dance
by Mary Staub
www.encoremag.com
During nine days this August, dance companies from near and far will blur some of the boundaries between performer and viewer, one dance form and another, and bring the expressivity of movement to workers, tourists, families, residents and passersby in Battery Park, Chase Plaza and on Governor’s Island. The 28th annual Downtown Dance Festival, hosted by Battery Dance Company, serves as a platform for everything from classical Indian, to contemporary ballet, and, like in previous years, audiences will have the opportunity to learn segments of the choreographies they’ve just watched. Jonathan Hollander, Battery Dance’s founder and artistic director, hopes that this year’s festival, which, as always, is free, will evoke a communal spirit of hope.
Is there a particular company you’re especially excited about introducing to New Yorkers?
We hope to present a folk dance ensemble, Kolkha, from the Republic of Georgia. It’s tantalizing because we’re still worried about the immigration aspect. This company has 30 dancers and it’s notable because of New York’s relationship with Georgia due to Balanchine’s Georgian roots. Also, from a political standpoint, I think it would be interesting to put a human face on what was front page news on the political side just a year ago.
What is the DDF’s overall focus this year?
People have been so depressed about the economy, the state of the world, and the state of the government for eight years. Now the Obama administration has ushered in a new era and people are embracing a communal sense of hope. I felt this at the opening of BAM’s Muslim Voices festival in June where people of all colors and economic brackets were shoulder to shoulder under the spell of music and world peace; everyone from patrons to people who scraped together the money for low-priced tickets. I just hope that same spirit carries through in our festival where there are companies from many ethnic backgrounds and there’s a similar diversity in the audience.
How did you select the participating companies?
We received over 90 applications this year. That’s up from 70 last year and the most we’ve received ever. We love to present international groups because we feel there is never enough cultural exchange. A curatorial panel, which I’m not a part of, selects based on our mission of wanting to broaden the experience all New Yorkers can have of dance, not just the cognoscenti.
August 15–23: Battery Park, Chase Plaza, Governor’s Island.
by Mary Staub
www.encoremag.com
During nine days this August, dance companies from near and far will blur some of the boundaries between performer and viewer, one dance form and another, and bring the expressivity of movement to workers, tourists, families, residents and passersby in Battery Park, Chase Plaza and on Governor’s Island. The 28th annual Downtown Dance Festival, hosted by Battery Dance Company, serves as a platform for everything from classical Indian, to contemporary ballet, and, like in previous years, audiences will have the opportunity to learn segments of the choreographies they’ve just watched. Jonathan Hollander, Battery Dance’s founder and artistic director, hopes that this year’s festival, which, as always, is free, will evoke a communal spirit of hope.
Is there a particular company you’re especially excited about introducing to New Yorkers?
We hope to present a folk dance ensemble, Kolkha, from the Republic of Georgia. It’s tantalizing because we’re still worried about the immigration aspect. This company has 30 dancers and it’s notable because of New York’s relationship with Georgia due to Balanchine’s Georgian roots. Also, from a political standpoint, I think it would be interesting to put a human face on what was front page news on the political side just a year ago.
What is the DDF’s overall focus this year?
People have been so depressed about the economy, the state of the world, and the state of the government for eight years. Now the Obama administration has ushered in a new era and people are embracing a communal sense of hope. I felt this at the opening of BAM’s Muslim Voices festival in June where people of all colors and economic brackets were shoulder to shoulder under the spell of music and world peace; everyone from patrons to people who scraped together the money for low-priced tickets. I just hope that same spirit carries through in our festival where there are companies from many ethnic backgrounds and there’s a similar diversity in the audience.
How did you select the participating companies?
We received over 90 applications this year. That’s up from 70 last year and the most we’ve received ever. We love to present international groups because we feel there is never enough cultural exchange. A curatorial panel, which I’m not a part of, selects based on our mission of wanting to broaden the experience all New Yorkers can have of dance, not just the cognoscenti.
August 15–23: Battery Park, Chase Plaza, Governor’s Island.
