Artistic Investment: Jamestown Dance Festival Returns Sept. 9-13
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Sukanya Burman Dance is proud to announce the return of the Jamestown Dance Festival for its third year, taking place Sept. 9-13 across multiple venues throughout Jamestown.
Building on the momentum of its first two years, the festival continues its mission of bringing world-class dance and movement experiences to Western New York through performances, workshops, film screenings, artist talks and community engagement events.
Headlining this year’s festival are two acclaimed New York City-based companies: Music From The Sole and Sun Kim Dance Theatre, who will share the stage at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts on Friday, Sept. 11.
Co-founded by Leonardo Sandoval, Brazilian choreographer and dancer, and Gregory Richardson, bassist/composer, Music From The Sole is a contemporary tap dance group that blends tap, live music, Afro-Brazilian traditions, house dance, passinho, and improvisation. The company has presented work nationally and internationally at venues including Jacob’s Pillow, The Joyce Theater, New York City Center, Caramoor, and Works & Process at the Guggenheim. At the Jamestown Dance Festival, they will present House Is Open, Going Dark, a new work co-commissioned by Works & Process, The Joyce Theater Foundation, The Yard, Guild Hall, Dance Place, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, and the National Performance Network.
Joining them is Sun Kim Dance Theatre, the New York City-based company founded by South Korean-born choreographer Sun Kim. Known for expanding the possibilities of popping and street dance within contemporary and theatrical contexts, the company creates works exploring identity, migration, belonging and resilience. Their work has been presented at venues and festivals including Works & Process, New Victory Theater, NYU Skirball, Symphony Space, the Bronx Museum, and the San Francisco International Hip Hop Dance Festival. The company will present Alien of Extraordinary, a dance theater work inspired by Kim’s personal experiences navigating the U.S. artist visa system, examining immigration, bureaucracy and belonging through the movement language of street dance.
Additional festival performances will feature a lineup of artists working across aerial arts, contemporary dance, postmodern performance, disability-centered movement practices, and interdisciplinary performance. Returning to Jamestown Community College’s Scharmann Theater, audiences will experience International Lover by aerial artist Troy Lingelbach, a solo work blending aerial arts, dance, burlesque and physical theater. The festival will also present a mixed-bill performance featuring Buffalo-based contemporary company TwinHead Dance, movement artist and disability advocate Rik Daniels, and postmodern dance pioneer Jim Self, whose five-decade career includes work with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, Robert Wilson, Jacob’s Pillow, and the American Dance Festival.
Workshops led by featured artists, community engagement activities, artist talks, and additional programming will be announced throughout the summer.
"Jamestown deserves bold artistic experiences that surprise, challenge, and inspire. This festival is our way of investing in the creative life of our community year after year. You don’t need to know anything about dance to belong here. All you need is curiosity. The festival is an invitation to experience something unexpected together," said Sukanya Burman, executive artistic director of Sukanya Burman Dance.
Festival passes are currently on sale, along with individual performance tickets and workshop registrations as well. For more information, visit www.sukanyaburman.com/jamestown-dance-festival.