“Throughout Seattle thrives a vibrant, innovative, and inclusive dance community in which visual and performance art boundaries are blurred.” Dance Magazine, January 2011
Velocity Dance Center is proud to be part of a thriving ecosystem of dance artists, students and audiences. There is a lot going on in Seattle’s dance community! On this page please find out about events where you can connect with other dancers, artists, and audience members.
UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS
Applications are due on February 29 and the residency occurs from May 1 through August 26. Download the Application from OFS website here.
Seattle International Dance Festival: Beyond the Threshold is seeking applications for 3 performance series: Spotlight on Seattle performance series, Art on the Fly site-specific event, and Sanity Cafe: a new cabaret performance series with a twist.
Visit www.SeattleIDF.org for more information. Apply through the “Contact Page” or click here.
Deadline: February 15 (10pm) for all events. No applications will be accepted after that time. It is a simple online only application and video sample.
Spotlight on Seattle, a series of performances at Raisbeck Hall in partnership with Cornish College of the Arts featuring 4-6 Seattle-based artists/companies each evening (Tue.-Thur, June 5-7). It will be curated by three regionally/nationally recognized dance figures with some connection to Seattle: 1) Olivier Weavers, Whim Whim Artistic Director and former PNB Dancer, Dan Mayer, Kirkland Performance Center Executive Director and Tonya Lockyer, Velocity Dance Center Executive Director. These individuals are familiar with Seattle in different ways and therefore have varying perspectives on the dance scene here. It will give applicants the opportunity to be seen by dance figures inside and outside the region and encourage the diaspora of Seattle-based work. The press covers nearly every day of each festival event and the festival provides exposure and access to regionally important figures.
Art on the Fly a wildly popular Site Specific event taking place in South Lake Union June 2nd (with previews June 1st) connecting several areas along the Seattle Streetcar route in SLU essentially turning it into an art ride and presenting dance on the sidewalks and in parks. The areas that are available are 1) 2200 and 2201 Westlake Plaza (at Denney Way) two highly visible sites at the crossroads within sight of whole foods and the adjacent plaza, 2) The Lake Union Park (860 Terry Ave N) with 12 acres of water features, a foot bridge, pathways and beachfront with the streetcar stop located at the park entrance and 3) McGraw Square Park at the downtown Streetcar terminus located at the intersection of Westlake Avenue, Stewart St, 5th Ave and Olive Way. For some interesting ideas, visit http://blogs.wsj.com/
Sanity Café is intended as a cabaret-style event with a twist. Each artist will be given a week of free rehearsal space at Cornish to create a piece based around a theme that all the artists learn just before starting rehearsal. The artists can work together to decide how to share the work or split it up (for instance, each artist could choreograph ½ a piece and then let another artist finish it or any other format desired). Creativity in presentation is encouraged. Artists can tug at the theme as much as possible and use creative abandon in interpretation of not only the theme but the works’ structure as well as the evenings’ presentation format. Learning the theme at the last moment and the creative license given to the artists will provide an air of excitement around the unpredictable outcome. The resulting works will be presented in a showcase of several artists/groups per evening presented at Cornish College. It is not intended as a competition to see who plies the theme best, but to engage audiences in the creativity of approach to the theme and its presentation. Raucous discussion is encouraged throughout the process and performance. At the “opening meeting” of all the choreographers, a video may be made of the first decision-making process to provide audience an in to how the artists “set up” the works. This will be played in the lobby of the 9th Ave Studios and used to promote it before the event.