Cultural Meets Contemporary in 2016 Queensboro Dance Festival This Fall

The Queensboro Dance Festival, which presents only Queens-based choreographers, will open October 18-23 at the Secret Theatre (44-02 23rd St) in Long Island City. As a unique platform where cultural and contemporary dance intersect, the festival is an annual representation of professional dance-making in the quickly developing borough. Tickets ($15) for the festival are on sale at www.queensborodancefestival.com.

The festival will showcase 27 professional Queens-based choreographers and dance companies from all corners of the borough, spanning from Briarwood to Long Island City, Floral Park to Howard Beach. Dance genres represented are as diverse as the neighborhoods they hail from, featuring Indian, tap, Brazil Zouk, hip-hop, Chinese, contemporary, Mayan, ballet, and Filipino.

In the months leading up to performance week, the Queensboro Dance Festival hosts meet-and-greets, events at Queens businesses and arts institutions, free dance classes, and free outdoor previews as opportunities for Queens dancers to connect with one another and engage the local public.

"You get to see a slice of what Queens dance is--who the artists are and what they are creating here," says festival founder/director Karesia Batan. "It's about cultivating a stronger sense of the Queens dance community for both the dancers and the public."

This year's participating companies are:

Barbara Mahler

Jessica Feng Performance Company

Q&A Productions

Ezra Goh

#taplife

Cole Collective

Ella Rosewood Dance

LVCID

NSquared Dance

Nicolosi and Dancers

Brandon Welch Creative Projects

Rastro

Coopdanza Inc

KINEMATIK Dance Theater

Micca

MEGUS

Megan Stricker

SUNPROJECT

SIA Academy

The Solettes

L E M I collective

Awaken Dance Theater

Collaborart SIN

Dance Into Light

Xiang Xu Dance Theatre

Dugal Dance Projects

The Rogue Dancers?

For full performance schedule, event listings, and more, visit www.queensborodancefestival.com.

The Queensboro Dance Festival launched in 2014 with the mission to strengthen the dance identity in Queens and bring the local community together through dance. The Queensboro Dance Festival is a program presented by The Physical Plant, a dance + Production Company based in Long Island City led by founder/director Karesia Batan. The Physical Plant was founded in 2010 with a two-pronged purpose: to create meaningful dance works, and to provide innovative dance programming that bridges various communities within Queens and the arts.