The Historic El Portal Theatre Presents NVITATIONAL Dance Festival, 7/28-8/14

El Portal Theatre and Artistic Director Dee Caspary present the first annual Nvitational Dance Festival from July 28 through August 14, 2011. Performances will be held at the historic El Portal Theatre in the NOHO Arts District, encompassing both the Mainstage and Forum Theatres.

After 10 years of hosting a variety of dance companies and performances, El Portal Directors Pegge Forrest and Jay Irwin wanted to create a unique dance event that would celebrate the incredibly high level of talent and versatility in the Los Angeles dance community. They approached choreographer Dee Caspary with the idea of a dance invitational/festival. Based on Caspary's successful creative background at El Portal with his IV Dance Company and his national exposure on shows such as "So You Think You Can Dance," they decided to team up and focus the spotlight onto this 21st century, vibrant, and artistically energizing dance population!

The Nvitational will be a series of collaborative events featuring dance from America's best, boldest, edgiest, and fiercest choreographers including the festival's Artistic Director, Dee Caspary and notables Marty Kedulka, MAndy Moore, Kitty McNamee, Ryan Heffington, Bubba Carr, Peter Chu, Tabitha and Napoleon, Tovaris Wilson, Kevin Maher, Eddie Garcia, Justin Giles, Scott Hislop, Terry Beeman, Jennifer Hamilton, Dana Wilson, Adam Parson, Nina McNeely, Helene Phillips, Erica Sobol, David Moore, Tessandra Chavez, Mark Meismer, Amanda Leise, Gustovo Vargas, CJ Salvador, Kim DelGrosso, Wes Veldink, and more to be announced.

These choreographers and their work have been seen worldwide on music videos and concert tours; on stage for operas and musical theatre; and the hit American television shows "So You Think You Can Dance," "Dancing With the Stars," and "America's Best Dance Crew." For the first time, these choreographers will collaborate on world premiere dance pieces with each other, featuring dancers from their own companies as well as 75 hand-picked dancers from across the country.

These 75 dancers are the "invited" artists culled from dance workshops, intensives, master classes, and competitions throughout North America. Each choreographer has been given a limited number of invitations to offer to top dancers the opportunity to participate in this first-of-its-kind event. These selected artists will work with the star choreographers in group classes and individually every day, fully immersing themselves in each specialized dance style. In the afternoons the dancers will study with acting teachers, talent managers, photographers, and image consultants to prepare themselves for the professional life of a dancer. On the weekends, the dancers will then display their technique, artistry, and talent onstage as featured performers in the El Portal Theatre MainStage collaborative performances.

Additionally, the festival will host RARE one-hour "pre-show" performances in the intimate Forum Theatre by the choreographers themselves. For the first time, you can see the dances performed by the people who created them. Weekday performances in the Forum, titled A Night at the Piano, will feature a live pianist in the center of the room with the choreographers improvising in their respective styles to the live music. Because of the unique nature of these performances and the limited seating (99), we anticipate that these performances will sell out very quickly. The artistic vibe will spill over to the Skyy Vodka Lounge in the lobbies, where live musicians, fashion designers, and artists will share ideas, libations, and fun!

Information and tickets are available online at www.elportaltheatre.com and www.thenvitational.com or by calling 818-508-4200 or 866-811-4111.
El Portal Theatre is a historic landmark in the San Fernando Valley located in the heart of North Hollywood. Choreographers and dancers unite in praise of El Portal stages as the perfect venue for their projects. Groovaloos, Sonja Tyheh, Belly Dance Superstars, Debbie Reynolds Dance Studios, and Millennium Dance Studios to name a few.
Since its opening in 1926 -- first for Vaudeville, then Silent Movies, and then Academy Award-winning films -- as the primo movie house in the valley, the theatre has weathered the Jazz Age, the Depression, 4 wars, and finally the great earthquake of 1994. The lobbies boast luscious carpeting secured in 2004 from the now demised Los Angeles Shubert Theatre.

Rebuilt in the late 90's and opened in January of 2000, the once 1400-seat movie palace now houses three theatres -- the 42-seat Studio Theatre (the permanent home of Stuart Roger's Theatre Tribe), the 95-seat Forum, and the 360-seat Main Stage -- along with the Judith Kaufman Art Gallery, featuring many of Los Angeles visual artists.

 

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