Press Release – Announcing the 1st Annual Resident Company Concert

For Immediate Release

Date: October 20, 2017

 

Announcing the 1st Annual Resident Company Concert

at the Atlas Performing Arts Center on December 9th

 

Washington, DC: Joy of Motion Dance Center announces its 1st Annual Resident Company Concert, coming to the Atlas Performing Arts Center on December 9th and featuring two of Joy of Motion’s 2017-18 Resident Companies: Motion X Dance and UpRooted Dance. Our third resident company, El Teatro de Danza Contemporanea/DC Contemporary Dance Theatre (TDC), will mounts its own winter concert at Dance Place on December 2nd and 3rd.

Selected through a competitive, open process, Joy of Motion’s Resident Companies receive free rehearsal space, online and print promotional assistance, free and discounted classes for their dancers, and at least one presented performance annually. TDC has been in residence at Joy of Motion in years past, while both Motion X and UpRooted are new partners. With four decades of history in DC, Joy of Motion is committed to leveraging its resources to support the careers of professional dancers and build dance audiences in the local region — and the Resident Company program directly reflects that commitment.

The December 9th concert will celebrate the upgraded Resident Company program and showcase the intricate styles and voices of two “on the rise” companies:

  • Motion X Dance DC: “Resist.Assist.Persist.,” choreographed by Halle Schulman, is a vigorous trio set to a spoken word piece about the discovery of one’s inner beauty. Artistic Director Stephanie Dorrycott will present two pieces, including a re-work of “Unrest,” which dives into the minds of insomnia sufferers, and “In Its Place,” a solo about perfectionism. Company dancers also will collaborate on a new work set to the music of French pop singer, Jain.
  • UpRooted Dance: UpRooted dancers will explore consumption, waste, recycling, and pollution through movement, story, and narrative in a work-in-progress from “The Legacy Project – Our Lives of Consumption,” with costumes and scenic elements created from repurposed trash. UpRooted will also present an excerpt (“Layered Crossings – Sketching Through Movement – Designing the Matrix”) from their evening-length collaboration with printmaker Susan Goldman, entitled “Circling the Line.”

ABOUT OUR RESIDENT COMPANIES:

  • Founded in 1984 as the first multicultural repertory dance company in the District, TDC relocated to El Salvador in the early 1990s and then returned to the US in 1999 to engage with Salvadoran artists in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Founding Artistic Director Miya Hisaka has taught at Joy of Motion for more than 30 years.
  • Founded in 2013, Motion X unites emerging choreographers with more seasoned artists, and presents innovative contemporary dance in a visceral, immersive context. Founding Artistic Director Stephanie Dorrycott is Jazz Department Chair at Metropolitan School of the Arts (Alexandria, VA) and Associate Director for Greater Washington Dance Center (Reston, VA).
  • Founded in Charlottesville in 2007, UpRooted works at the intersection of dance and other art forms, creating immersive storytelling and striking visuals. Founding Artistic Director Keira Hart-Mendoza is the Resident Movement Artist at Georgetown University Hospital.

ABOUT JOY OF MOTION

A non-profit charitable organization founded in 1976, Joy of Motion Dance Center has since developed into the “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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