Austin will welcome its own annual dance festival this month, thanks to Valentine Productions, on January 29, 30 and 31, at the Scottish Rite Theatre. The event is a perfect introduction to the Austin dance community, a three-day event designed to expose audiences to the dance culture based in the Austin community, and to provide Austin dance performers with a collective performance venue through which they can build a more robust audience base.

The program will showcase an eclectic mix of performance groups, from modern dance, to slow-movement improvisation, to middle eastern, to irish dancing. A few of the highlights include the CREEPS, an improvisational team performing slow, continuous motion in juxtaposition to normal time, an experiment in opposing gravity and momentum using a high level of concentration and energy; the Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance Group, a tour of the culture and history of Puerto Rico through traditional dances like the Bomba, Plena and Seis; Kinesis Dance Theatre Project, an interdisciplinary performance group using theatre, music and dance artists to explore dance as art form as well as humorous social commentary; Sharir/Bustamante Danceworks, an award-winning partnership of two choreographers pioneering dance in virtual reality and cyberspace; and Believe In Me, a group dedicated to teaching commitment, confidence, and personal excellence to children of all ages through the study and performance of dance and the arts.

Here is a listing of the well-rounded festival, which promises something for everyone:

FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1999

  1. Csardas Hungarian Dancers, Hungarian
  2. Karuna, Middle Eastern
  3. Ariel Dance Theater, Indian
  4. The Creeps, Slow Motion Improvisation
  5. Johnson/Long Dance Company, Modern Dance
  6. Ballet Austin, Ballet

SATURDAY, JANUARY 30, 1999

  1. Anuradha Naimpally, Indian
  2. Auspicious Breaking Crew, Break Dancing
  3. Ballet East Dance Theatre, Modern Dance
  4. Kinesis Dance Theatre Project, Modern Dance
  5. Sharir/Bustamante Danceworks (showcasing Xenon Dance), Modern Dance
  6. Deborah Hay, Modern Dance

SUNDAY, JANUARY 31, 1999

  1. Body Talk, Modern Dance
  2. Believe in Me, Modern Dance
  3. Aztlan Folklorico Dance Company, Folklorico
  4. Roy Lozano's Ballet Folklorico de Texas, Folklorico
  5. Puerto Rican Folkloric Dance, Puerto Rican
  6. Irish Dance Company, River Dance

The festival is produced by Chris Valentine, an arts advocate with a long list of arts administration and production credits in the Austin community, with the help of partial funding from the City of Austin via Austin Arts Commission, and sponsored by Dance Umbrella, a non-profit organization, and Family Style Web Designer. Future plans for the festival include a lecture series and an awards show; if you can attend this year's performance, they just might get there...

For details, visit http://www.austindancefest.com or email producer Chris Valentine at BEE_MY_VALENTINE1@prodigy.net

No images published herein may be duplicated, printed, or published on the internet or elsewhere, without the express permission of the artist(s).

Page Design by Hilary Kretchmer

CRE8TIVEZ ARCHIVES