|
Sunny spring weather can understandably inspire the urge to dance in the streets, and local dance companies seem to be acting on that impulse. Dancers will take to the street--or plaza, actually--for Dancin' Downtown on April 24-25. The free, two-day dance festival features more than 30 dance artists strutting their stuff on an outdoor stage at the Circle of Palms, between the San Jose Museum of Art and the Fairmont Hotel.
The third annual event marks the kick off to San Jose's celebration of National Dance Week. Numerous dance companies will participate in the festivities with a variety of performances and classes. National Dance Week takes place April 22-May 1 (Apparently, there's enough to celebrate that the week has tacked a few extra days onto the original seven.)
If Shakespeare plays well in the park, then so can ballet, modern, jazz, salsa and classical Indian dance, and that's just a sampling of what downtown visitors can check out each afternoon at the Dancin' Downtown stage. The festival, organized by local modern dance company sjDANCEco, features professional dance artists, such as Western Ballet, Adage Repertory Company and Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose, and students from a number of local dance schools like Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley School, Tude's School of Dance, as well as university performers from San Jose State and Santa Clara universities.
Other National Dance Week events include a master class and open rehearsal on April 23 at Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley. Led by Lise la Cour, director of Ballet San Jose Silicon Valley School, the master class focuses on the Bournonville technique. Later in the afternoon, visitors can observe an open rehearsal of the ballet The Ugly Duckling. Anyone inspired to try some fancy footwork has an array of classes to choose from, including an open-level hip-hop dance class for adults and teens offered by Los Gatos-based Dance Attack! Performing Arts on April 27, and an open workshop introducing traditional south Indian classical dance presented by Abhinaya Dance Company of San Jose on April 29.
Dancin' Downtown takes place April 24-25, noon-5 p.m. at the Circle of Palms, Market Street near San Fernando Street, adjacent to the San Jose Museum of Art, 110 S. Market St., San Jose. Free. For more information, call 408.207.8983 or www.sjdanceco.org. Complete National Dance Week events can be found at www.bacndw.org or call 415.561.1433.
|
