Feature: Top Artists to Lead Free, Outdoor Dance Classes in the Arts District for Dallas Arts Month

"Local Motion" To Feature Alvin Ailey, Danielle Georgiou, Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Dallas Theater Center

During April - which is Dallas Arts Month - Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Danielle Georgiou Dance Group, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, and Dallas Theater Center will each lead one session of the free outdoor fitness series Local Motion Presented by Topo Chico in the Dallas Arts District. The spring 2017 semester will begin Saturday, April 1 at 9 a.m. on the campus of the nonprofit AT&T Performing Arts Center. This popular series of performance-based classes takes place in Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park on Saturday mornings during spring and fall.

During Dallas Arts Month, join us on Saturday mornings in April for a month-long celebration of dance. Broaden your horizons and learn about different styles of dance from a special lineup of guest instructors representing some of the best performing arts companies from Dallas and beyond. All skill levels are welcome. Classes are free and open to the public.

• April 1: Modern Dance with Glenn Sims from Alvin Ailey Dance Theater

• April 8: Contemporary Dance with Danielle Georgiou and Colby Calhoun from Danielle Georgiou Dance Group

• April 15: Modern Dance with Nycole Ray, Artistic Director of Dallas Black Dance Theatre: Encore!

• April 29: Broadway Dance with Michael Sylvester, Teaching Artist at Dallas Theater Center

(Note: There will be no Local Motion class on April 22, but please join us in the Arts District for the Changing Perspectives block pARTy, a free day of performances, crafts, food and drinks, including three performances by vertical Dance Company BANDALOOP off the side of KPMG Plaza at HALL Arts!)

All classes are held from 9:00 -10:00 am in Sammons Park located outside of the Winspear Opera House. Free parking is available at the Winspear Opera House in Lexus Red Parking. If inclement weather occurs during the appointed Local Motion time we will cancel class 24 hours prior.

Each spring and fall, Local Motion brings hundreds of people from different areas of the Metroplex to participate. The Local Motion fitness effort is an important way to fulfill the Center's mission to be a community gathering place, and is just one of many free activities happening year round.

ABOUT OUR SPECIAL INSTRUCTORS:

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater continues its reign as an American "cultural ambassador to the world"-having performed live for an estimated 25 million people in 48 states, 71 countries, and six continents. The gifted and gorgeous Ailey dancers infuse energy and emotion to classics and new works alike. Guided by the visionary artistic director Robert Battle, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater remains the nation's leading modern Dance Company.

The Danielle Georgiou Dance Group (DGDG), was founded in 2011 by Danielle Georgiou, and is a dance theatre company that works within the ideas of contemporary dance and physical theatre. DGDG's work reflects Georgiou's interest in social and psychological issues, and in creating compelling images of a "new female." This class will explore how the body naturally moves and connects to conscious and unconscious movement, allowing for a dance experience that is full of freedoms and pleasure.

A Detroit native, Nycole Ray graduated from The California Institute of the Arts with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in dance. She received additional training at the California State Summer School of the Arts, Wayne State University, and as an exchange student at the London Contemporary Dance School in England. Mrs. Ray has performed with the Bruce Wood Dance Project, Walt Disney WorLD Entertainment, Christopher and Friends directed by Christopher L. Huggins, the Lula Washington Dance Theater, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II and the Zadonu African Dance Company. She has worked with noted choreographers such as Donald McKayle, Dianne McIntyre, Christopher L. Huggins, Alonzo King, Donald Byrd, Bruce Wood®, Rennie Harris and Camille A. Brown. In addition to her concert dance performances, and has appeared in music videos, industrials in the U.S. and Europe.

Founded in 1976 by Ann Williams to inspire minority boys and girls to appreciate dance as an art form and to realize the possibility of dance as a means to express their creativity, Dallas Black Dance Theatre offers dance opportunities for the entire population, regardless of race, age or circumstance, through professional dance concert performances, arts-in-education programs, community outreach activities, and dance training classes. DBDT has grown from a community-based, semi-professional organization to a fully-professional Dance Company that is renowned in the U.S. and noted for its rich cultural diversity, history of inclusion, and high-level of artistic excellence in contemporary modern dance and educational programs.

Michael Sylvester is a choreographer from Dallas who recently appeared in Casa Mañana's production of West Side Story. Other performance credits include: (National Tour) Todrick Hall Presents The Toddlers Ball, Oz The Musical and Twerk Du Soleil. (Regional Theatre) In The Heights (Walnut Street Theatre), Elf The Musical (TUTS), Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Dallas Theatre Center), Hairspray (Casa Mañana) as well as many other theatres in DFW. Michael has been featured on Poo Poouri's latest viral video with more than 12 million views on YouTube. He has also danced on the MTV Movie Awards (2015), BET Awards commercial (2015), Season 1 of MTV's docu-series Todrick, the FIAT 500, Dance Moms and Cirque Dreams. Choreography credits include: Snow White, Rudolph world premiere, Alamo The Musical, Alice in Wonderland for Casa Mañana's Children's Conservatory as well as their Professional Children's Series. Assistant Choreographer for CHOICES The Musical at Kids Who Care Summer Camp and the resident Hip Hop instructor for KWC Children's Conservatory. Footloose and Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Artisan Center Theatre), Beauty and the Beast (Plaza Theatre Company), Little Shop of Horrors, Thoroughly Modern Millie and All Shook Up as well as the film Rising Stars available on Netflix and in stores.

Dallas Theater Center engages, entertains and inspires a diverse community by creating experiences that stimulate new ways of thinking and living by consistently producing plays, educational programs and community initiatives that are of the highest quality and reach the broadest possible constituency.

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ABOUT THE AT&T PERFORMING ARTS CENTER

The AT&T Performing Arts Center is a nonprofit foundation that operates and programs a 10-acre campus comprised of three premier performance venues and a park in downtown Dallas. Opening in October 2009, the Center has helped complete the 30-year vision of the Dallas Arts District.

Audiences enjoy the best and most recent from Broadway and off-Broadway; the finest dance companies from across the globe co-presented with TITAS Presents; top concerts and performers with Center Presents; cutting-edge speakers from the #hearhere series; and a five-year initiative to present The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Thousands of students explore and more deeply experience the arts through the Center's education program, Open Stages. Working with local service agencies, the Center provides free tickets to underserved individuals and families through Community Partners. These programs are made possible by the ongoing support of donors and members.

The Center's five resident companies are among the city's leading arts institutions: Anita N. Martinez Ballet Folklorico, Dallas Black Dance Theatre, The Dallas Opera, Dallas Theater Center and Texas Ballet Theater.

Designed by internationally acclaimed architects, the Center's performance spaces are some of the finest venues in the world:

• Margot and Bill Winspear Opera House, designed by Foster + Partners of London, is a stunning 2,200-seat venue wrapped in red glass with outstanding acoustic performance halls.
• Dee and Charles Wyly Theatre is a 575-seat theatre with one of the most versatile stages in the world and a distinctive aluminum exterior. It was designed by REX/OMA, Joshua Prince-Ramus (partner in charge) and Rem Koolhaas.
• Annette Strauss Square, designed by Foster + Partners, is an open-air entertainment venue with lawn and patio seating for 2,000 surrounded by the downtown skyline.
• Elaine D. and Charles A. Sammons Park is an urban park with native plants and grasses, landscaped lawns, performance spaces, a reflecting pool. Sammons Park was designed by Michel Desvigne and includes the Information Center designed by Foster + Partners.

The Center's mission is to provide a public gathering place that strengthens community and fosters creativity through the presentation of performing arts. For more information about the AT&T Performing Arts Center and to purchase tickets, become a member, or make a donation, visit www.attpac.org.

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