The five festivals - Regional Dance America

Dance Magazine, Oct, 1994 by Muriel Topaz, Robert Lindgren, Kathryn Gasper, Jeraldyne Blunden

Each year in late spring and early summer, the member companies of Regional Dance America come together for the five regional festivals. Referred to simply as Festival, this event is always a high point for the dancers. Classes, seminars, and concerts are crammed into a mad four days of learning, performing, and finding new friends. This year the Southeast festival was held April 6-10, hosted by Greensboro Ballet in North Carolina; the Southwest festival was held April 6-10 in Galveston, Texas, hosted by the City Ballet of Houston; the Pacific festival was held May 11-14, hosted by Peninsula Dance Theatre of Bremerton, Washington; the Mid-States festival was held May 4-8, hosted by Kalamazoo Ballet in Michigan; and the Northeast festival was held June 2-5, hosted by Vineland Regional Dance Company in New Jersey.

All member companies are required to attend the annual festival in their region, and all (except intern companies) perform at least once. The difficult decisions of choosing what a company will perform and at which festival program are made by an outside adjudicator. The adjudicator, chosen from an approved list of dance experts, visits the company, views several ballets, gives a written evaluation of each, and chooses a dance to be presented at the festival. To retain status as a performing company, a troupe must be adjudicated and appear in one festival gala, which is open to the public, or two concert performances, which are open to members only, within a three-year period. The adjudicator may also decide that a company is not qualified to perform in a given year.

THE SOUTHEAST FESTIVAL

This report was written by Robert Lindgren, adjudicator for the Southeast festival. He was formerly the executive director of the School of American Ballet and, before that, dean of dance at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

The 1994 festival of the Southeastern Regional Ballet Association (SERBA) was held in Greensboro, North Carolina, from April 6 to 10, hosted by Greensboro Ballet under the direction of Maryhelen Mayfield. It was well organized, well attended, and held in outstanding facilities. Nineteen companies and over five hundred yound dancers participated.

There were three evenings of performances presented in the beautiful Carolina Theatre: an emerging choreographers evening, a festival concert evening, and a final gala performance that closed the festival. There were many exciting performances by the participating companies, with some interesting and imaginative choreography performed by talented and disciplined dancers.

The gala is usually a showcase for the "honor companies" (the highest status) and this gala was outstanding. Every year one company's performance seems to emerge as a surprise, and this year it was Festival Ballet Company from Morrow, Georgia, performing Paganini, a ballet choreographed by the talented Nicolas Pacana. Festival Ballet's performance closed the gala on a thrilling note.

Each day there was a full schedule of rehearsals, classes, and other activities. The dancers were assigned to classes based on their technical level. The outstanding faculty of guest teachers this year included Lupe Serrano, Sara Yarborough, Thom Clower, and Mel Tomlinson. The classes are one of the most exciting aspects of the festival, and one that the dancers anticipate with great enthusiasm and enjoyment. These classes offer the dancers an opportunity to challenge themselves and compete with their peers on a friendly basis. There are also lectures and movies and time to socialize, make new friends, and swap T-shirts and stories.

After almost thirty years of being involved with RDA, I am still impressed by the level of instruction and the dedication, discipline, and talent of the dancers. Congratulations and bravo to all involved in this year's SERBA festival, and especially to Greensboro Ballet and Maryhelen Mayfield. Ballet in the Southeast is alive and well!

THE MID-STATES FESTIVAL

This report was written by Kathryn Gasper, codirector of the Red River Dance & Performing Company of Fargo, North Dakota.

The 1994 Regional Dance America festival in the Mid-States region was hosted by Kalamazoo Ballet directed by Therese Bullard. Adjudicator Francoise Martinet's selection of works demonstrated nightly each company's strengths and weaknesses. After each performance I went away with pride in the Mid-States, the smallest region. The guest faculty included Simon Dow, Nathalie Krassovska, Jillana, Melissa Lowe, Jory Hancock, and Valerie Roche. They all skillfully geared classes to the various levels of expertise within the companies. The instruction was positive and productive, with just the right amount of challenge to ignite the passions of even the most exhausted dancer. Workshops were held on such subjects as the Alexander Technique, auditioning, stress, makeup, and the history of the pointe shoe. The festival impressed me with its energy, passion, and commitment to quality dance. Once again I left understanding the importance of RDA's mission.