Editor’s Note: This event has been rescheduled for Monday, June 30th, 7:30 p.m.
Dance On Broad, which concludes its eight-week run on Saturday with a “Best of Memphis” dance concert, was inspired by dance festivals in New York and Chicago. Those events, says Collage Dance Collective’s Managing Director Marcellus Harper, showcase emerging dance companies while getting attendees up on their feet and dancing.
Harper says turn out for Dance On Broad has been “pretty fantastic”: 700 for the swing-themed evening in May, 500 for Zumba a couple weeks ago. And what does 500 folks doing Zumba look like? “It’s a community looking alive,” says Harper, who describes a crowd that’s as diverse as it gets.
Each event is begun with a one-hour dance class, and then it’s time to boogie. There’s a DJ or band, and beer and food trucks for fuel.
Saturday’s “Best of Memphis” finale will feature 12 local dance groups, including Collage, Ballet Memphis, and Company d. The Golden High Steppers will be there, too, as will the Overton High School pom squad and others.
Harper calls Dance On Broad a judge-free, stress-free zone. “We just move,” he says.
