sjDANCEco Presents Spring DANCE Festival in San Jose
Celebrating Bay Area Dance Week with free performances and classes for all ages.
By: A.A. Cristi Apr. 05, 2024
sjDANCEco will present its SPRING DANCE FESTIVAL at Eastridge Center, Saturday, April 27 and Sunday, April 28, 2024 from 12 Noon to 5:00pm.
Celebrating National Dance Week - and a cornerstone of Bay Area Dance Week. The festival is also the kickoff to sjDANCEco's 21st Season. Everything is free.
Professional Programming segments are 15-minutes each on the half-hour (1:30pm, 2:30pm, etc.), and free 15-minute dance classes are held every hour, on-the-hour (both days).
Over 60 choreographers and Bay Area dance organizations (from young children to professional companies and everything in between) present many styles of dance on the Eastridge festival stage during a free non-stop 5-hour program each day.
The professional dance portions of the show are at 12:30pm, 1:30pm and on the half-hour all day long. Free dance classes will be offered at 1:00pm, 2:00pm, and on-the-hour throughout the day. The celebration is part of Bay Area Dance Week and National Dance Week (April 26- May 5, 2024) and showcases the diversity of the Bay Area dance community.
The lineup includes professional dance groups:
- sjDANCEco Contemporary
- Rosangela Silvestre (from Brazil) Afro-Brazilian
- N'fungola Dance Company (New Orleans) West African
- Abhinaya Dance Company (San Jose) Indian Classical Dance
- Tachiria Flamenco (San Francisco) Flamenco
- Diablo Ballet (Walnut Creek) Ballet
- Monsoon Dance Company (Palo Alto) Contemporary Indian
- Magnetic Pole Fit (San Jose) Contemporary Pole
- Hermosura Dance Productions (Fremont) Social Latin
- Aboriginals (Manteca, CA) Hip Hop/Breakdance
- Kyleigh Brine (Arcata, CA) Contemporary
- Agua Doce Dance (Santa Cruz) African-Brazilian Contemporary
- Los Lupeños de San José Mexican Folk Dance
- Jenni Hong Dance (Palo Alto) Contemporary
- Noorani Dance (Menlo Park) Kathak
- Other Dance Groups Include:
- Calpulli Tonalehqueh of San Jose Ancient Aztec Dance
- Flying Colors Dance & Fitness (Hollister) Jazz
- Los Gatos Ballet (Los Gatos) Ballet
- New Ballet (San Jose) Ballet
- Monsoon Dance (Palo Alto) Contemporary Indian
- Yerba Buena High School (San Jose) Jazz
- San Jose State University Modern
- Los Lupeños Juvenil (San Jose) Mexican Folk Dance
- Cal Poly Humboldt (Arcata) Contemporary
- Lin HH School of Dance (San Jose) Contemporary
- SBCC Dance Company (Santa Barbara) Modern
- Lara Jean Choreography (Los Gatos) Contemporary
- Concept o4 (San Francisco) Contemporary
- Latizmo Hi Hop Productions (San Jose) Modern
- DBDC (Capitola) Hip Hop/Breakdance
- Veksler Academy (Sunnyvale) Hip Hop/Breakdance
- NDS Nijikko Dance School (San Jose) Hip Hop/Breakdance
- IndepenDance (San Jose) Contemporary
- Dance Academy USA (Cupertino) Jazz
- The Ruby Slippers (Santa Clara) Kpop
- Dance Expressions (Sunnyvale) Pom
- East West Music and Dance (San Jose) Lyrical
- Ace Dance (Sunnyvale) Jazz
- Ako Ballet Dance School (Cupertino) Ballet and Lyrical
- Free classes will be offered in various styles including West African, Flamenco, Classical, KPop, Salsa, Symbology of the Orixas, and Hip Hop.
Calpulli Tonalehqueh of San Jose will be presenting the Art of Ancient Aztec Dance to open the festival on Saturday from 12:00 noon to 12:30pm. The opening ceremony is a ritual with drums which calls the four elements (wind, water, fire, earth) and the four cardinal directions...North (Tezcatlipoca), East (Quetzalcoatl), South (Huitzilopochtli), and West (Xipe Totec) along with the Great Cosmos, Mother Earth, and the Center - Our Hearts. Traditionally, dancers carry the elements in the form of the atecocolli (a conch shell) which is played to call in the winds, popoxcommi (which carries fire), and copal (a sacred incense) is burnt which carries scented prayers on white smoke to the ancestors. The ritual is a ceremonial way to ask permission to be present and to call the gods of the directions to help guide and protect the space.
This ritual is in deep respect of Mother Earth and the Cosmos, recognizing that we walk the Red Road (living life with purpose) and are of the elements. It is profoundly deep and important work in reconnecting us to our home - this planet.
sjDANCEco is a year-round contemporary dance company based in San Jose, California that produces world premieres by its core and guest choreographers, and presents the very best of Contemporary and Classic Modern Dance and Masterpieces of the American Modern Dance Repertory. In addition to a full season of dance concerts, sjDANCEco also is a major participant each Spring in free outdoor dance presentations during National Dance Week, international dance festivals, and has a full schedule of contemporary dance classes for the advanced and professional dancer. sjDANCEco ignites the spirit of dance.
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