Schedule: Interactivce Dance Stage
Hosted by The Dance Complex and José Mateo Ballet Theatre
12 p.m. - Sinha Capoeira
Sinha Capoeira is a Boston Based International full-time Capoeira school led by its founder and artistic director Mestre Chuvisquinho, a capoeirista with 40+ years of experience in his career. We are a School dedicated to the growth and development of the Afro-Brazilian Martial Art of Capoeira, offering classes to children, teens and adults in Boston since 2006.
12:30 p.m. - MetaMovements
Creators of Salsa In The Park, MetaMovements is a collective of artists dedicated to cultural exchange, social change, and the preservation of Caribbean traditions. Its Music and Dance Program offers a powerful journey into forms like Rumba, Orishas, Danza, Son, and more. Led by Javier Jeffer Cumbrera—a dynamic artist here on a special visa from Havana—the teams train, perform, and grow together through authentic choreography, animaciones (follow alongs), and cultural exploration. At Cambridge River Festival, get ready to see them perform as well as engage the audience in follow alongs and more.
1 p.m. - Blues Union & Bluesy Tuesy
Partner dance is a conversation. Blues Blues Union & Bluesy Tuesy is a weekly blues (social partner dance) event in Cambridge and Somerville. Blues dance is a family of Black American social dances starting in the early 20th century. Blues Union & Bluesy Tuesy aims to cultivate a community around blues dancing, music, and culture, commit to center Black voices, to partner with Black musicians, scholars, businesses, and community members, and to use art as an in-road to social change.
1:30 p.m. - Off Beat Tap
Off Beat is a performing ensemble dedicated to presenting engaging, inventive, rhythm-based work that takes tap dancing off the beaten path. Under the artistic direction of Ryan P. Casey, the company infuses its original choreography with quirky humor, poetry, characters, and more.
2 p.m. - Odissi Dance by Priya Bangal
Odissi is a classical dance from the Eastern Indian state of Odisha. Based on archeological evidence, it is known to be one of the oldest living dance traditions in the world. It began as a form of ritual worship to invoke the deities in the temples. Drawing from various other folk traditions and allied arts of Odisha, it was reconstructed as a performance art by great masters of theatrical and dance traditions, in the post colonial era of the 20th Century. Born out of the temples of Odisha, Odissi brings to life the sculptures that ornament the walls of these temples. Priya will present works from the traditional Odissi repertoire that are composed and choreographed by masters based in Odisha, the land of its origin.
2:30 p.m. - House Dance for All Levels with Sean Bjerke
House is a freestyle dance whose sound was born in Chicago. The dance was born in New York nightclubs. Come learn some of the steps and fundamentals of house dance, and listen to amazing club music in the process. No experience necessary.
3 p.m. - Back Pocket Dancers
Back Pocket Dancers is truly an intergenerational ensemble; ages 17-89, some remember party lines on rotary phones, some have never heard a dial tone, others type with just their thumbs. It is the love of dance and community that is their bond. The company is directed by Andy Taylor.
3:30 p.m. - BABYBABYBABY (excerpts), choreographed and directed by Laila J. Franklin. Performed by Alex Davis, Laila J. Franklin, Marissa Molinar, Andrea Muñiz, Sarah Pacheco
BABYBABYBABY explores the aesthetics that communicate romance, infatuation, desire, and desperation. With reference points ranging from early aughts romantic comedies and So You Think You Can Dance duets, to archival footage of live performances by Roberta Flack and Nina Simone, to obstacle course TV game shows and clowning, the work seeks to tonally stumble through shades of silliness, irrationality, and grief, calling into question the role of sincerity, earnestness, and truthfulness in performance, and the power of physical states.
4 p.m. - Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe
Janelle Gilchrist Dance Troupe is a contemporary ballet company founded in 2011 by Janelle Gilchrist. Gilchrist, the choreographer of the troupe, grounds her choreography in strong ballet technique, fused with modern and jazz, and creates ensemble, small group, and solo pieces. Gilchrist incorporates various themes throughout her work including the African American experience, multicultural influences, pop-culture, and relationships. JGDT aims to do this by creating equitable and inclusive performance opportunities for professional dancers, apprentices, students, and adult recreational dancers, fostering growth and creativity.
4:30 p.m. - Afro-Brazilian Dance with Isaura Oliveira
Mestra Isaura Oliveira was born and raised in Bahia, Brasil, one of the cradles of African-Brazilian culture where African and Native Indigenous traditions and arts are maintained and nourished in Brasil. Isaura has been a dancer, storyteller, and actress for 44 years, over 20 years teaching and performing in Brasil, USA, France, and Italy, among others. Although her work spans multiple disciplines, African Brazilian Culture is the primary language Isaura uses as a dancemaker and educator. She creates both short and full length soloist works and choreographic ensemble pieces that most have taken the form of Ritual Performances.
Isaura’s methodology combines a warm up with setting intentions, flowing to dance moves in constant repetitions to improve your skills on the movement technique. Her teachings include traditional steps from the sacred and secular Afro-Indigenous Brazilian dances as well as from her own movement repertoire. Isaura engages participants to express themselves in storytelling through movement, singing, clapping rhythms and more. This interactive session is open to all - no dance experience is necessary.
5 p.m. - Drum and Dance Circle
If you are a mover, come join us as we wind down the day at the Dance Stage. We'll have a few surprises in store, but there is sure to be some joyful music to dance to provided by talented local musicians. Feel the groove of the live music and the vibrations of the drums as you dance the hour away.