Northern Michigan University is hosting the North Coast Dance Festival, an annual event where dancers from across the country come to the Forest Roberts Theatre to perform a professional ballet routine alongside NMU's CO/LAB company. The performances take place at 7:30 p.m. July 27-28.
The dancers featured at the festival are from Ballet Project OC (under the direction of Ally Helman), a dance company based in Orange County, Calif. There will also be professional performances by Julia Feldman and Ava Chatterson, both of whom are from Sacramento Ballet, as well as guest principal dancer Mate Szentes, who specializes in American contemporary ballet. NMU's CO/LAB company will be performing two contemporary pieces, “Taiko” and “A Different Kind of Love.”
“The idea behind the dance festival is to bring in high-quality professional dancers and combine that with some unique education opportunities,” said Artistic Director and Assistant Theatre and Dance Department Head Jill Grundstrom. “We want to allow our students to kind of share that space and get a feel for the professional world. Most of the dancers are coming from California, since that's where the two companies are based. However, they're from all across the United States and actually one of the Sacramento ballet dancers has family roots in Petoskey. Coming back to Michigan is really exciting for her.”
There will also be a free ballet class that is open for the public to view at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 26. Participants will be given the opportunity to observe a ballet master class of professional ballet and NMU community dancers taught by Julia Feldman. A talkback with the professional dancers will follow the class and will be moderated by Grundstrom.
This event was made possible by the Siril Endowment for the Arts' generous support.
Tickets for the performance are $17 for the general public, $12 for NMU faculty/staff, seniors and military; $10 for students and $5 for NMU students. To purchase tickets, click here.
To learn more about the North Coast Dance Festival, click here.