Lake Tahoe Dance Collective Presents The Ninth Annual Lake Tahoe Dance Festival

Lake Tahoe Dance Collective enters its ninth year of presenting the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival, which will take place this summer from July 27-30, 2021 at 6pm at venues in Tahoe City and Truckee, CA for in-person audiences. Tickets start at $25 and are available online at laketahoedancecollective.org. The event will also be available via free livestream.

In accordance with CDC and California Department of Public Health Guidelines, the COVID safety policies for this summer's festival have changed. All COVID safety procedures are available at laketahoedancecollective.org/safety.

At this time, additional tickets are available for purchase through our website. Tickets for the Gala Opening Night on Tuesday, July 27 will still be sold in pairs in order to maximize safety with picnic baskets. Social distancing in outdoor venues is no longer required, therefore event seating will look more like it has in the past, with seating provided for the Gala Opening Night. Single tickets will now be offered for general admission entry to the festival performances on June 28, 29 and 30. Please note that these performances do not provide seating, instead bring a own picnic blanket or low-back chair to enjoy the performance.

The summer, the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival offers works by Constantine Baecher, Kristina Berger, Erik Wagner, Durante Verzola, Marco Pelle, Jack Blackmon, Jehbreal Jackson, and Christopher Wheeldon with special guests Holly Curran, Traci Finch, Christopher Charles McDaniel, Christin Hanna, Stephen Hanna, Ashley Bouder, and Lloyd Knight.

The festival begins on Wednesday, July 27 with a Gala Opening Night Celebration, where audiences will enjoy the silent auction with food and wine in a catered picnic basket that they get to keep! Dancers return to the stage on July 28, 29 and 30 for the festival's three Main Stage Performances.

"One of things I'm most proud of in my work is to provide opportunities to create new works, and that has always been a pillar of what we do at the festival." said Christin Hanna, the company's founder and Artistic Director. "After the year we've had, we felt strongly about commissioning as many new works as possible, to breathe life back onto the stage with fresh works from choreographers from a wide range of backgrounds."

Duo Duo

New commission choreographed by Constantine Baecher

Performed by Holly Curran and Traci Finch

Longtime collaborators Holly Curran, Traci Finch and choreographer Constantine Baecher who had found themselves in different parts of the country reunited for this virtual zoom creation during the time of covid to create a new work inspired by the poetry of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Featuring a commissioned score by dancer-turned-composer Ulysse Zangs, this female duo is a testament to the need for creative outlets and perseverance of artistic endeavors in the face of the profound challenges and change we all experienced over the past year and half.

Tjingeling, choreographed and performed by Kristina Berger and Erik Wagner

Finding connectivity inspired purely by Beauty, in a time of isolation, Tjingeling is a collaborative meditation on the visual splendor of sunlight reflecting off the water's surface. This visual phe-nomenon, this dance of light, was the jumping off point for our choreographic process. The dance, created entirely over Zoom from opposite coasts, is a reflection on hope and ephemeral beauty.

Rococo, new commission choreographed by Durante Verzola, performed by Christopher Charles McDaniel

Durante Verzola's commissioned work for Lake Tahoe Dance Festival features dancer Christopher Charles McDaniel in a 14-minute solo. It is set to selections from Tchaikovsky's Variations on a Rococo Theme. Tchaikovsky is quoted saying, "Do you know what Rococo means?" and answered himself: "It is a carefree feeling of well-being." Verzola seeks to illuminate this "feeling," as well as the swells, crescendos, quick tempo changes, romanticism, and style found in the music through McDaniel's dynamic movement. The process in creating the work began in 2020 over Zoom during quarantine to keep these two artists inspired, and they are both excited to see the ballet make it to the stage.

Gioco D'Amore, new commission choreographed by Marco Pelle, performed by Christin Hanna and Stephen Hanna

Marco Pelle, who hails from the same hometown as Giuseppe Verdi, choreographs a new piece set to the composer's music, 120 years after his death. This work is dedicated to the memory of Wil-helm Burmann, the mentor, teacher and coach to both Christin and Stephen Hanna, who passed away in 2020.

No Funny Business, new commission choreographed and performed by Jack Blackmon

Jack Blackmon's process focuses on crafting big, glorious dancing and then distilling out the intimacy, earnestness, and levity. He likens it to building a cathedral and finding a way to renovate it into a red velvet-curtained jazz bar.

Anima's in Decision, new commission choreographed by Jehbreal Jackson, performed by Ashley Bouder

Jehbreal Jackson is working with Ashley Bouder to develop one of the characters for an upcoming feature length cineballet titled The Death of Anima Faven: The Art of Fortune, The Art of Fugue, and the Art of Losing Yourself. The piece tells the story of the relations between the major civilizations of antiquity through to the colonization of America in a present-day context between six friends. The music of Johann Sebastian Bach serves as the score, and also as a formal compositional tool to explore how the concepts of counterpoint, harmony, and dissonance can be used to construct the cognitive inner and outer worlds of the characters.

Complete the Revolution, new commission choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon, performed by Lloyd Knight

Lake Tahoe Dance Festival is thrilled to be adding Lloyd Knight to the 2021 Festival roster. He joined LTDF virtually for the 2020 digital festival but makes his debut on the stage on July 27. Knight will be dancing an incredibly touching and powerful solo created for him by choreographer, Christopher Wheeldon. This work, originally made in fall 2020 for film, will receive its in-person premiere here.

"Working with Christopher during a time of Black Lives Matter, Corona and one of the most important elections of my time so far was one of the most inspiring things I've done, yes it's movement but after you experience this dance you realize it's much bigger than that," said Lloyd Knight.

The Young Dancers Workshop, a three-week intensive from July 7-30, 2021 for dancers ages 10 and up, offers training with festival artists in small class sizes with an emphasis on classical ballet, modern technique and improvisation. Dancers learn a repertory work that is performed in the festival.

For more information about the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival, visit: www.laketahoedancecollective.org

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