Press Release – Joy of Motion Dance Center & Alight Dance Theater Partner for “Page 115″

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 18, 2018

 

Joy of Motion Dance Center & Alight Dance Theater Partner to Bring “Page 115″ to DC Middle School Audiences (March 5-26)

Washington, DC: Joy of Motion Dance Center and Alight Dance Theater (ADT) will join forces to celebrate National Reading Month with an interactive dance experience that delves into a world of books and movement.

Joy of Motion will present four free performances of ADT’s “Page 115” on March 5th, 12th, 19th, and 26th for audiences of DC middle school students. With one performance at the Town Hall Education Arts Recreation Campus (THEARC) and three performances at Joy of Motion’s Jack Guidone Theater, “Page 115” should reach more than 600 students.

This collaborative project is made possible by the DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities’ Field Trip program.

Inspired by the eponymous page of three books, “Page 115” premiered at Anacostia Arts Center in 2015. Eleni Grove and Matina Phillips (core faculty member at Joy of Motion) conceptualized and choreographed the work, which they performed with Erica Chamblee. The work’s three sections explore body language, the solar system, and Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings through movement, text, and visual art.

Drawing upon Joy of Motion’s partnerships with nearly 20 DC public, charter, and independent schools, Joy of Motion and ADT will offer a pre-show event at each participating school, focused on the show’s concept and principles of abstract art, as well as concert etiquette. Students will also be invited to bring their own books to the performance, so that they can try their hands at translating stories and concepts into abstract movement after the show.

“This is a tremendous opportunity for DC students to connect curricular concepts to dance and to watch the text and stories from their classrooms come to life through movement. This project is an intricate collaboration among Joy of Motion, Alight Dance Theater, the DC Commission on the Arts, and numerous DC school partners — and we look forward to seeing where it leads,” says Kourtney Ginn, School Programs Coordinator and Joy of Motion Core Faculty.

ABOUT JOY OF MOTION:

A non-profit charitable organization founded in 1976, Joy of Motion Dance Center has since developed into “the area’s most comprehensive dance institution” (Washington Post), engaging 60 faculty members and teaching artists, providing more than 300 weekly classes, and drawing nearly 9,000 unique students and artists annually to three studio locations (in two Wards of DC and in Bethesda, MD). With more than 40 years of history in the District, Joy of Motion has become the hub of a vast artistic community, committed to excellence both in high-level training and community-based arts experiences.

Our Mission: to unite dance professionals, students, and audiences by providing exceptional education and performances that stimulate a universal love of dance.

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