Shepherdstown, WV -- Goose Route Arts Collaborative is pleased to announce the dates and artist line up for the Eighth Annual Goose Route Dance Festival. This year’s Festival, known for its intimate setting and stimulating presentations, runs July 10-20 and will feature concerts, lectures, shows and classes for children, master classes, and a teacher training program. The Festival has expanded this season to include eight performances, up from four in the past seven seasons. Four different concerts will each be presented twice -- Friday night and Saturday matinee; and Saturday night and Sunday matinee. The number of tickets sold for each performance will be limited to improve on the crowded conditions of last year’s sold-out shows and give people a second chance to catch a performance.

Performing the weekend of July 10-13 are Megan Mazarick (Philadelphia, PA), who blends raw athleticism with character-based movement studies to address such issues as racism, classism, and stereotypes; Karen Schupp (Phoenix, AZ), whose virtuosic solos are laden with rich symbolism; Guta Hedewig (New York City), whose company will perform Dog Days, dance theater that uses slapstick, folk dance, and burlesque to portray the disturbing implications of the Bush administration’s use of propaganda; and Heather Ahern (Morgantown, WV), with four pieces that reflect explorations of gender issues, humor, and inner emotional states in dances that are funny, high energy, quirky, and contemplative.

During the weekend of July 18-20, choreographers include Cara Hagan (Winston Salem, NC), performing a fun solo with video projection that reveals the choreographer’s personal journey, and two duets danced with uncanny precision with twin sister Mackenzie; Sweetie Pie Productions (Boulder, CO), a duet company comprising Erika Randall and Anna Sapozhnikov, performing two dance theater works that exude humor, tenderness, and a healthy dose of dysfunction, topped off with whip smart movement vocabulary; Courtney Greer, Carson Efird, and Katherine Kiefer Stark (Raleigh, NC), a collective of choreographers whose solo and group work contain impulse- driven, interactive movement that explores the edges of modern dance; and Kitty Clark (Shepherdstown, WV), whose choreography is laced with both gestural and highly physical movement that explores our relationship with the environment, with each other, and with the unseen forces around us.

Concerts take place Fridays, July 11 and 18 at 7 pm; Saturdays, July 12 and 19 at 3 pm and 7 pm; and Sundays, July 13 and 20 at 3 pm. Tickets are $12 in advance ($10 for students/seniors); $15 at the door ($12 for students/seniors). Master classes for adults and teens in modern dance technique and contact improvisation, taught by visiting dance artists, take place Saturdays, July 12 and 19 and Sundays, July 13 and 20 at 10:30 am and cost $12 each (or all four for $40). Classes for kids (free) take place on Thursday, July 10 at the Martinsburg Public Library (time TBD), on Thursday, July 17 at the Shepherdstown Day Care Center (for Day Care enrollees), and on Saturdays, July 12 and 19 at 9:30 am. Open dress rehearsals, free for kids, take place on Fridays, July 11 and 18 in the morning. Two free lectures are also planned for each weekend. The Goose Route Dance Festival will also host the West Virginia Dance Teacher Institute, co-sponsored by the Appalachian Education Initiative. This free teacher training program is open by application to all West Virginia public school teachers of dance and includes workshops in all facets of dance training, fundraising, and production. The Institute takes place from Wednesday, July 16-Sunday, July 20. Unless otherwise noted, all events take place at the War Memorial Building, 102 East German Street, Shepherdstown, magically transformed into a dance theater for the Festival.

For more information and to order tickets, call 304-876-6751 or go to gooseroute.org Print Add a Comment Back to All Articles