Sol Vida Dance and The Denver Dance Project Present:

ANIMAL DANCE

7 pm, Saturday May 18, 2013

Buntport Theater, 717 Lipan St. Denver

Tickets: $10 Youth/Adult.

Purchase in our Online Store All tickets will be held at Will Call. Partial proceeds will benefit The Wild Animal Sanctuary

20 youth between the ages of 7-18 will embody their primal and wild selves through the body of Animal Dance. Join us for a journey into the discovery of Animal Totems, wild expression, and life. These youth have spent six weeks working on creating this performance art instillation which will include elements of dance, theater, live music, and visual art.

They have worked with an array of amazing guest artists from our great city, including Axe’, Robyn Gisbert, Colleen Murphy, and Zay Alejandro Dicamara Rios!

Preview our process here, see more awesome evidence of our work together! Pictures of The DDP: Animal Dance  at Sol Vida Dance Studio.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sol Vida Dance and The Denver Dance Project Present: A Black History Month Performance

God Bless The Child:A Performing Arts Tribute to Billie Holiday

7 pm, Saturday February 23 AND

2 pm, Sunday February 24, 2013 

Su Teatro, Salon del Arte 721 Sante Fe Drive, Denver 80204  

Get your tickets at the door! Please bring exact cash, check or credit card! 

25 Youth between the ages of7-18 will bring their performance art piece, God Bless The Child, to the stage this February in honor of Billie Holiday and Black History Month. They have spent six weeks together creating a chorus of movement and voice that seeks to invoke the deep soul of the great jazz artist, Billie Holiday and The Harlem Renaissance.

Each group has worked with internationally acclaimed, Best of Westword, award-winning guest artists in Dance, Music and Spoken Word including the study of Sol Vida Technique. Featured guest artists are: Axé, Panama Soweto, Abi McGaha Miller, Babah Fly and Holly Kai Hurd.

Please join us for the premiere instillation of The Denver Dance Project this February. With some light and some heavier moments, each group will dance to an original remix of Billie Holiday’s timeless music, as well as perform original poetry, choreography and song. Check out our Facebook Group Page and Sol Vida Dance Fan Page for highlights of the process!

 

FEATURED GUEST ARTISTS

Spoken Word: Panama Soweto

A performance writer, emcee and educator. He is currently the GED instructor for the Denver Housing Authority’s Youth Employment academy. His dedication to assisting youth in Denver as a mentor and educator has been demonstrated through his work over the course of the last 20 years.

He was a member of the 2006 Denver Slam Poetry team that won the National Poetry Slam in Austin, Texas. He is also the co-founder of Slam Nuba, the 2011 National Poetry Slam Champions.  He tours with Ken Arkind as Poetry’s Dynamic Duo, one of the county’s top spoken word acts at colleges and universities. Westword Magazine recently named the pair The Best Road Poets in Denver.

Literary bloggers have called his work, “transformative,” and “inspiring.”  His work has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and The HuffingtonPost.com. He has independently sold thousands of spoken word and hip hop albums and is the self-published author of “Photomagnetic Explosions and Stuff,” an anthology of his written work, poems and prose. His work is taught in Colorado State University’s Creative Writing Department.

Panama has performed  with such artists as The Last Poets, Gil-Scott Heron, Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Komunyakaa, Jack Kerouac composer David Amram, DJ Kool Herc (considered the father of Hip Hop), Zion I and The Grouch, Camp Lo, Sadat X, Digable Planets, Blu, Kidz in The Hall, Dead Prez, Souls of Mischief, Chiddy Bang and The Flobots.

 

Vocal Music: Abi McGaha Miller

Abi McGaha Miller began playing saxophone at age 13 and has been singing since the time she could talk. Having studied saxophone performance at the University of Colorado Denver for 3 years, Abi has been afforded incredible opportunities to play at various jazz festivals around the world, including the Cedar Basin Jazz Festival, Jazz Enkhuizen, and Jazz en Vercours. Abi is also the saxophonist/vocalist for Denver hip-hop group Wheelchair Sports Camp and has toured with the group all over America, playing festivals like CMJ in New York and SxSW in Austin, TX. She is honored and thrilled to be working with the Denver Dance Project on this tribute to the incredible Billie Holiday.

 

Dance and Theatre: Axé

Director of Sol Vida Dance Studio and The Denver Dance Project. Freelance Choreographer, dancer, Reiki Healer and writer. She has been an active member of the Denver and Boulder Arts Community for over 25 years. In 2012, she was chosen by the Metro State University of Denver’s Alumni Association to receive the first ever “STATEMent Maker Award,” and appointed to the MSU Alumni Association Board. The Sol Vida Dance Youth Tribe Company was featured on Good Day Colorado. In 2011 she was selected and appointed to the Colorado Governor’s Council for Physical Fitness.  Her adult dance company, Sol Vida Dance Ensemble received the Boulder International Fringe Festival’s “Pick of the Fringe” Award in 2008 for their piece “SOL BOUND: Stomping Spirits, Breaking Free, Catch Me Beaming.”

Learn more about The Denver Dance Project

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