PRESS RELEASE

Free Family-Focused Community Event from 12 to 4pm at the Collage Dance Center

Festival Artists Include Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band, Lil Buck,
New York City Ballet, Alonzo King LINES Ballet, SOLE Defined,
Nashville Ballet, Ballet Memphis, Grizz Girls,
Studio 413, Grind House Dance, Kindred Spirit, Company D,

Plus Performances by
Collage Youth Ensemble and Collage Dance Collective
collagedance.org

August 17, 2023 (Memphis, TN) — Collage Dance – one of the largest Black-led performing arts organizations in the South and one of only a few professional ballet companies in the world with a roster of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) dancers – is excited to announce the 3rd Annual Memphis Dance Festival on National Dance Day, Saturday, September 16, 2023. As Collage Dance’s 2023-2024 season opener, this free, family-focused community event – recognized as the preeminent dance festival in the region – will take place at the Collage Dance Center from 12:00pm to 4:00pm and features some of the best dance makers in the nation.

Festival attendees can look forward to seeing Grammy Award-winning Rebirth Brass Band (New Orleans, LA) and Memphis’ own Lil Buck performing as soloist and together with Adji Cissoko of Alonzo King LINES Ballet (San Francisco, CA) in addition to artists from world class dance companies across the nation including New York City Ballet, SOLE Defined (Washington, D.C.), and Nashville Ballet.

Many hometown favorites will also be featured in performance including: Ballet Memphis, Grizz Girls, Studio 413, Grind House
Dance, Kindred Spirit, and Company D—a nationally recognized dance company of young adults with Down syndrome—plus performances from Collage Youth Ensemble and Collage Dance Collective. The event is hosted by emcee Ena Esco, with additional musical entertainment by DJ Siphne.

In addition to top notch dance performances and exciting live music, the largest celebration of dance in the city of Memphis also includes pop-ups from area businesses, raffles, and food offerings from Buttermilk Babes Memphis, Mama Pug’s, Mango’s Caribbean Grill, Mempops, Parker’s Water Ice, Smurfey’s Smokehouse, Speed Vegan, Stickem, and Taco Cat.

Collage Dance’s fourteenth season is made possible through generous support from the Mellon Foundation, The Hyde Family Foundation, SouthArts, ArtsMemphis, Tennessee Arts Commission, Shubert Foundation, and the International Association of Blacks in Dance.

Program Information
3rd Annual Memphis Dance Festival
Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 12:00pm
Collage Dance Center | 505 Tillman Street | Memphis TN 38112

Link:

Artists:
Alonzo King LINES Ballet
Ballet Memphis
Collage Dance Collective
Collage Youth Ensemble
Company D
Grind House Dance
Grizz Girls
Kindred Spirit
Lil Buck
Nashville Ballet
New York City Ballet
Rebirth Brass Band
SOLE Defined
Studio 413

Free and open to the public, but prior registration is strongly encouraged HERE.

About Collage Dance

Recently named a “Southern Cultural Treasure” by South Arts and the Ford Foundation, Collage Dance is one of the largest Black-led performing arts organizations in the South and one of just a few professional ballet companies in the world with a roster of BIPOC dancers.

Working to inspire the growth and diversity of ballet, Collage Dance Collective showcases a repertoire of relevant choreography and world-class dancers representative of the communities we serve. The professional company has presented thirteen full-length seasons in Memphis, plus national and international touring presenting a diverse range of classical and contemporary choreography from George Balanchine, Nacho Duato, Ulysses Dove, Joshua Manculich, Amy Hall Garner, Kevin Iega Jeff and more.

The work of Collage Dance Collective has been featured in media outlets including Huffington Post, Allure, Yahoo!, The Commercial Appeal, Afropunk, Dance Magazine and Pointe Magazine. Its institutional arm, the Collage Dance Conservatory, trains more kids of color in a classical art form than any other non-profit in the region. More than 1,000 students each week study dance through Collage’s in-school dance education programs and on-site at its new 22,500 square foot state-of-the-art facility, Collage Dance Center, opened in December 2020. The Conservatory’s unified curriculum coupled with a rigorous culture of excellence, hard work, and high standards provides students with a first-rate experience. Students are challenged, nurtured and prepared for the rigors of a professional career on or off the stage.

Collage Dance also runs the Collage Dance Continuum, which seeks to dramatically increase access to dance and movement classes for Memphians, regardless of age, ability, disability, or body type. The Continuum is a collection of community engagement initiatives, collaborative partnerships, adult CLASSESfor beginner and intermediate adult dancers, and COURSES for adults with no previous dance training. The Continuum offers affordable classes in a non-competitive, affirming environment with master teachers at the top of their craft.

Learn more at www.collagedance.org.
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