Even if you can’t dance and you can’t jive, you’ll have the time of your life at the 2nd Annual Memphis Dance Festival. Presented by Collage Dance Collective, the free event features all types of dancing, from ballet to jookin’ to tap and everything in between, with performances by Lil Buck, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater from New York City, Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies from Los Angeles, Alonzo King LINES Ballet from San Francisco, Nashville Ballet, Memphis Grizz Girls, Ballet Memphis, New Ballet Ensemble, Collage Dance Collective, and many more.
“It’s important that Memphis gets to celebrate the talent that’s homegrown but also that we celebrate that we are worthy of national talent also being here,” says Marcellus Harper, Collage’s executive director. “There’s so much great dance here, whether it’s the ballet companies, the amazing jookin’ community, or our national pom squad. We wanted to create a festival that invites more people from the community to experience it.”
The festival, Harper says, will be like a “sample platter” of different types of dance and the different organizations and troupes, with the hope being that a taste of what these groups offer will lead to continued support. Just like with genres of music, Harper says, “There’s something for everybody. Dance is not monolithic, and we want to amplify that with this festival.” Attendees will also have the opportunity for informal meet-and-greets with the dancers.
Collage, for its part, will have both its professionals and its students perform. The professional company will perform two pieces inspired by Memphis, Harper says. One, titled “Wash,” reflects on the Mississippi River and all that it represents; the other, titled “Bluff City Blues,” celebrates the merging of Memphis blues music with ballet.
“When you think about Memphis, you think about music, blues, barbecue,” Harper says. “I want people to start thinking about Memphis as a dance city as well. You can’t have the blues without movement, and nothing pairs better with music than dance.”
2nd Annual Memphis Dance Festival, Collage Dance Center, Saturday, October 1, noon-4 p.m., free.
