Connecticut Dance Alliance Festival

Hundreds of the best professional and student dancers from across the state will energize the capital city when Connecticut Dance Alliance brings its second statewide dance festival to Hartford on Saturday, April 12. An impressive, day-long schedule of activities and events designed to showcase the exceptionally high level of dance talent across the state will be open to the public.

The festival begins at 9 a.m. with master classes, panel discussions, and an exhibitor's dance mart in the Theatre of the Performing Arts at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Hartford's Learning Corridor. Master classes include ballet with Michael Uthoff, former Hartford Ballet artistic director; modern dance with Katie Stevinson-Nollet, faculty member at the University of Hartford/ Hartt School and artistic director of Full Force Dance Theatre; and capoeira with Dance Brazil's Ciba Vieira.

In the afternoon, the Dance Alliance will host a Showcase Performance in the Belding Theater at the Bushnell, beginning at 2:30 p.m. Over two dozen dance companies, schools and independent choreographers have been chosen to perform by a professional panel. These prestigious companies and schools include Bare Bones Dance Project of Ridgefield, ECA Dancers of New Haven, Syzygy of Salisbury, Starship Dance Theater of Guilford, Eastern Connecticut Ballet of East Lyme, Ballet Theatre Company of Bloomfield, and Estelle Jones School of Dance of West Hartford.

Following a benefit dinner reception from 6:30-8 p.m. in the Autorino Room of the Belding Theatre, the Festival culminates with a Gala Performance and Awards Ceremony at the Belding Theater at 8:30 p.m. Awards for distinguished service to the field of dance will be presented to Lee Lund of Milford, Betsy Mahaffey of West Hartford, and Pilobolus Dance Theatre of Washington. The Gala performance will feature the world premiere of a commissioned work, Geographical Preludes, featuring original dances by eight Connecticut choreographers to the music of Neely Bruce of Middletown. The participating choreographers for the commissioned work are Mary Barnett, Alison Bogatay, Kenichi Ebina, Laura Glenn, Adam Miller, James Robey, Brad Roth, and Debra Collins Ryder; the artistic director is Muriel Topaz of Milford, well-known dance writer and former head of the Juilliard School's Dance Division.

All-day tickets, priced at $75, are available by calling the festival box office at 860-757-6388. The all-day package includes three master classes, two panel discussions, and a single ticket to the Showcase and Gala Performance. CDA members receive a 10% discount on all events. Individual tickets to the Showcase Performance are $10; tickets to the Gala Performance are $20. For Belding Theater tickets only, call the Bushnell box office directly at 860-987-5900. (A $1.50 ticketing service/ building restoration surcharge applies to all individual ticket sales.)

For a complete festival schedule, visit the Connecticut Dance Alliance website at <www.ctdanceall.com>. Connecticut Dance Alliance is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1999 to serve the Connecticut dance community.