MAIDA WITHERS DANCE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
Performs at 12th Annual Dance in the Desert Festival, Las Vegas, Nevada,
Honoring Alwin Nikolais
Maida Withers, former guest teacher for famed multimedia/dance artist Alwin Nikolais, joins with other dance colleagues to celebrate the 100th year of Nik's birth. Maida Withers, Ayo Okunseinde, new media, and Steve Hilmy, composer/musician, will perform Fare Well - The End of the World As We Know It OR Dancing Your Way to Paradise! on Friday, July 30, 2010 at the Nicholas J. Horne Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada.
College of Southern Nevada presents the
12th Annual
DANCE IN THE DESERT Festival
Honors Alwin Nikolais
Friday July 30, 2010 at 7:30 pm
Saturday July 31, 2010 at 2:00 and 7:30 pm
College of Southern Nevada, Cheyenne Campus
Nicholas J. Horn Theatre
3200 East Cheyenne Avenue
This year’s Dance in the Desert Festival celebrates the 100th anniversary of modern dance innovator Alwin Nikolais’ birth. Regarded as the father of multi-media, “Nik,” as he was known to his colleagues, inspired successive generations of dance enthusiasts with his highly imaginative dance theatre creations for which he designed not only the choreography, but also the music, costumes, sets, props and his revolutionary lighting effects. Beyond the stage, Nik’s comprehensive philosophy of dance as an art form, disseminated through schools, workshops and master classes, continues to guide the aesthetic direction of many of today’s most original dance makers. The recipient of numerous professional honors during his career, Nik, who died in 1993, was awarded the National Medal of Arts, presented at the White House in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan. Esteemed abroad for his contributions to contemporary dance, Nik was called upon by the French Ministry of Culture to create a national school, injecting new energy into the European dance scene with his concepts of time, shape, space and motion. Nik’s fresh approach to dance theatre has inspired such companies as Pilobolus and Momix. Las Vegas audiences may also recognize Nik’s influence in the many Cirque de Soleil productions dotting the Strip. Dance in the Desert Festival 2010 includes a number of participants formerly associated directly with Nik as his dancers, students, teaching associates or just plain fans. Among these are Lynn Needle, Maida Withers, Cathy Allen, Nannette Brodie, Kelly and Leslie Roth and guest choreographer Claudia Gittelman.
Organizers anticipate nearly 40 different dances to be presented by 15 separate companies. Participating artists will be traveling from New York City, Washington D.C., California, Arizona and Michigan to join with our rich local dance community.
The Festival roster is as follows:
Lynn Needle and Kent Lindemer NEW YORK CITY
RusticGroove Dance JACKSON, MICHIGAN
Scorpius Dance Theatre PHOENIX, ARIZONA
Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre HUNTINGTON BEACH, CA
Moving Arts Dance SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Maida Withers Dance Construction Company WASHINGTON, DC
Desert Dance Theatre TEMPE, ARIZONA
Step’s Junk Funk TEMPE, ARIZONA
And LAS VEGAS companies:
Las Vegas Contemporary Dance Theatre
Las Vegas Ballet Company (Kyudong Kwak and Yoomi Lee)
Nevada Repertory Dance Theater
Saving Grace
Red Desert Dance
Kelly Roth & Dancers
Concert Dance Company
CSN Dance Ensemble
During the past twelve years the College of Southern Nevada’s annual Dance in the Desert Festival has worked to solidify its reputation as a significant venue for the premiere of new choreography and the creatively stimulating exchange of artistic energy. Noting the Festival’s steady progress dance critic Hal de Becker, writing for the Call Back, observed, “One thing is certain, dance lovers who miss the annual Festival, as directed by Kelly Roth, do themselves a disservice because it always offers innovative, exciting performances in varied dance styles and disciplines.” Dave Surratt used his bully pulpit at Las Vegas CityLife to compare the variety and success of the choreographic showcase to another annually heralded local festival: “Not only are these classical, modern and post-modern innovations coming from the local CSN crowd, but from troupes based in Reno, San Francisco, SoCal and Arizona as well. That’s interstate talent, man. It’s like CineVegas for the arms and legs. Chicken soup for the soles.”
Festival director Roth acknowledges his own debt to Alwin Nikolais and the honor this year’s performances share in being a part of the historically significant international commemoration. Said Roth, “I think the audience will again be intrigued with the scope of approaches this year. It’s a rare opportunity to experience the varied choreographic output of so many different artists linked by the abiding influence of a single forerunner, Nik.” Though there may be some repetition of works from one performance to the next, the three separate programs will for the most part offer different repertoire.
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