The AMERICAN DANCE GUILD PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL Will Return to the Ailey Citigroup Theater, February 22-25

The AMERICAN DANCE GUILD PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL will return to the Ailey Citigroup Theater, 405 West 55th Street (NYC), February 22 through February 25 with Leaps Beyond Bounds, a four-night program celebrating the Guild's 68th anniversary.

Thirty new and historical dance works will be shown, with this year's honors celebrating the late choreographer Joan Miller (Lifetime Achievement Award), Ron K. Brown/Evidence (Lifetime Achievement Award), and Celia Ipiotis/Eye on Dance (Distinguished Service in Dance - Lifetime Achievement Award).

Opening night, February 22, features all three ADG honorees and includes an awards ceremony and reception. Joan Miller, known for her bold and sometimes political statements will be represented by three solo works, courtesy of Sheila Kaminsky. Ron K. Brown will show work with his company Evidence on opening night and on Sunday; Celia Ipiotis will share her rich innovative history of bringing dance to television and other media. Each honoree will show their work more than once over the Festival weekend. *Full lineup below.

The ADG Festival participating artists represent a wide variety of aesthetic and cultural voices, reflecting the broad spectrum of American dance life and the diverse character of dance today. Works by both mature and emerging artists will be shown, including veterans Claire Porter, Chen Dance Theater, Douglas Dunn, and recent Bessie (New York Dance and Performance Awards) winner Young Soon Kim. 

“This year's Festival is looking at this leap year with a fresh jump into the relevant work of dancers. Politics, women's rights, personal issues, men's ability to relate to each other… the production will run the gamut. A special highlight is the Sunday 3pm Commemorative Event for Stephen Vendola, and the 7pm performance of Mary Anthony's “Threnody” in Steve's honor,” said Gloria McLean, ADG President. “The 2024 Festival program offers a vibrant blend of old and new.”

The 2024 American Dance Guild Performance Festival thanks The Arnhold Foundation, The Harkness Foundation for Dance, and The Janis & Alan Menken Foundation Charity Fund for their generous support.  

THE AMERICAN DANCE GUILD PERFORMANCE FESTIVAL
Leaps Beyond BoundsAILEY CITIGROUP THEATER - 405 West 55th Street, New York, NY 10019THURSDAY THROUGH SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22-25
Feb. 22 at 7:30pm; Feb. 23 and Feb. 24 at 8pm; Feb. 25 at 7pm.
TICKETS: https://adgfest.ticketleap.com/. Help desk: 877-849-5327.
Opening Night Gala, Thurs., Feb. 22 - $30 /$25
Fri through Sun., Feb. 23 to Feb. 25 - $25/$20  
Group discounts for 4 or more. Tickets will also be available at the box office one hour prior to curtain.

LINEUP: (not in performance order and subject to change)

THURSDAY February 22 at 7:30pm:
2024 Honoree Award Presentation with Reception to Follow Performance
Isabelle Evans
Peter Stathas
Zehnder Dance
Torens L. Johnson
Red Clay Dance Co.
Joan Miller
Celia Ipiotis
Ron K. Brown

FRIDAY, February 23 at 8pm:
Tina Croll
Xiang Xu
Claire Porter
Catherine Meredith
Celia Ipiotis
Chen Dance /Dian Dong
White Wave/Young Soon Kim Dance Co.

SATURDAY, February 24 at 8pm:
Eddieomar Gonzalez/ CJ Johnson
Douglas Dunn
Elizabeth Keen
David Parker  
Jin-Wen Yu
Robenson Mathurin
Joan Miller
Norberto Collazo & Abraham Texidor
Marisa f. Ballaro

SUNDAY February 25 at 3pm:
Special Event
STEPHEN VENDOLA MEMORIAL AND RECEPTION (Ailey Studio TBA)Stephen Vendola -- life-time and board member of ADG, dancer with Hadassah and the New Dance Group, Alwin Nikolais Co., and served on the boards of Nikolais/Louis and Mary Anthony Dance Theater.

SUNDAY February 25 at 7pm:
Sean Curran
Gloria McLean
Amy Pivar
Maxine Steinman
Marques Furr
Ron K. Brown / Evidence
Nancy Zendora
Ara Fitzgerald/Clare Byrne
Dance Fusion/Mary Anthony*
            *Dedicated to Stephen Vendola

FESTIVAL LIGHTING DESIGNER: Walter Rutledge

The American Dance Guild has served the dance field in many capacities for more than 60 years, including sponsoring conferences, festivals & publications. The yearly Performance Festival continues the Guild tradition of bringing together artists from across the nation and internationally for performances and master classes.  ADG offers performance opportunities that range from gala productions to bare-bones choreography showcases.  In June 2014, ADG participated in Jacob's Pillow's Inside/Out program. In addition, ADG provides scholarly resources through its New Dance Group Gala Video and its publications such as Branching Out: Oral Histories of Six National Dance Organizations and Dance Scope.

The American Dance Guild offers an annual summer scholarship to Jacob's Pillow in Becket, MA. ADG supports one-half of the tuition for a gifted young dancer to attend this renowned summer festival. Congratulations to Matthew McCray, the 2024 American Dance Guild |Jacob's Pillow Scholarship awardee.