Festival Dance Student invited to Kirov Academy of Ballet!

Festival Dance student, Simone Wulfhorst, had a chance to go to the Kirov academy of ballet in Washington D.C. this summer.  Simone, daughter of Julie Parker and J.D. Wulfhorst, stayed in D.C. for three weeks and said she had a fabulous time and learned a lot.  Shortly after Simone returned, she received a letter from the director of Kirov inviting her to the year round training program and boarding school.  The director complemented Simone on her talent and advanced skills for her age as well as her spirit and attitude.  Mother, Julie Parker, said ". . . as a student of Festival Dance in our little town Simone has learned so much from the school.  Thanks.  Festival Dance has made a big difference in her young life and helped her attain great skills already.  Although I doubt she will start attending the Kirov year round this year, I hope that she can do so in the future." 

From everyone at Festival Dance, congratulation Simone!  We are so proud of you! 

Music Man

Festival Dance's summer workshop, Imagination Arts, will perform a mini musical of The Music Man at the Moscow Farmer's Market Saturday, July 16^th at 9:00.  Participants are 12 local boys and girls. The workshop is from 9:00 to 1:00 every day this week at the Festival Dance studios on the UI campus in the Physical Education Building.  The workshop instructor and choreographer, Crystal Bain, UI graduate now working in Coeur D'Alene, also former Festival Dance Faculty, teaches the children choreography, musical theatre, voice projection, rhythm, and general stage craft. Students will make some of their own costumes and "back drop" for the final show and keep the costumes and other crafts they make.

"This workshop packs in fun while teaching technical skills that will benefit young people by developing complex social and performance skills, confidence, and coordination," says Executive Director, Cindy Barnhart. "It's amazing to see the older students and the younger students working so well together, while learning and having so much fun with the funny story line of The Music Man."

The workshop will also perform the mini musical at the Moscow Farmer's Market August 27^th and at the Latah County Fair, as well as the UI Homecoming Parade.

Festival Dance Academy is the official dance school of Festival Dance and Performing Arts, a non-profit organization that supports cultural diversity, performing arts, arts education, and dance programs for youth. For more information, please contact: Executive Director, Festival Dance at 208-883-3267 or email Cindy@FestivalDance.org. Visit  www.festivaldance.org to learn more about Festival Dance & Performing Arts

Ballet Princess Workshop and June Session Start Monday

Do you know a Princess?

We have the perfect workshop for your little princess. In this fun, but disciplined dance workshop your princess will learn basic ballet positions, balance, point & flex, stretches, releve, plie, posse, tendu, chasse, hop & leap, marches & skips,
physical games, self confidence, performance basics, and more! Your little one won’t want to miss this sweet, dreamy workshop taught by Festival Dance Faculty, Connie Benson.

Princesses decorate their own Pink Tutu, Magic Wand, and
Tiara to take home on the last day. These embellished pieces of artwork will also be worn for the parent’s performance as well as at the Moscow Farmer’s Market June 18 at 9:00am.

June 13-17th

11:00 to noon
University of Idaho PE Bldng
Studio 110

Ages 4 - 7
Cost: $65
(Includes tutu, wand,
and tiara to take home.)
Final Performance at Moscow Farmer’s Market June 18 at 9:00am.
We still have space! Sign Up Now

The June Dance Session begins Monday and offers Ballet, Jazz, and Celtic classes for all levels.  Contact us to register or go to http://www.festivaldance.org/ to see the schedule and print a registration form.

Yours in dance,

2011 The Summer of Dance

Dance is everywhere. It’s not just in theatres and on stages across the world- it’s on TV and billboards, in movies and all over the web. “So You Think You Can Dance” is now in its eighth season, Natalie Portman took home an Oscar for her portrayal of an obsessed ballerina in Black Swan, and let’s not forget High School Musical and the dance-filled “Glee”! Upcoming movies featuring dance include Footloose, Rock of Ages and Move. More and more dance clubs are being formed every year, and ballroom dance has been elevated to a competitive sport. Dance Schools are getting into the action by offering performance teams, team dance, performance based workshops, and other highly specialized groups that compete for top prizes.
Since the golden days of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly, and even before, there have been remarkable dancers in Hollywood, many of whom were trained as children in small, inconspicuous, dance studios run by a teacher that was passionate about dance. Today, with so much demand for dance, dance schools are hoping to ride the wave of interest.

Studios know that to produce talented dancers requires commitment from the dancer, the dancer’s care givers, and the instructor. Festival Dance Academy, a local dance school that is celebrating its 40th Anniversary in 2011-2012, has a tight curriculum for teachers to follow. It is important for a teacher to be personable, care about her students, and encourage excellence – both in the studio and out. An excellent dance education includes the development of properly executed dance technique as well as social skills, artistry, and above all confidence.

For the body, it is well known that dance develops coordination, flexibility, stamina, large muscle strength, small motor skills and control, rhythm, and balance. For the mind, dance develops concentration, discipline, focus, spacial awareness, and a mind/body connection.

To get started in dance, whichever genre is chosen, a summer workshop is often a wonderful way to test the waters. Workshops are a short, intensive dance experience that provides the new dancer the chance to explore dance without committing to a weekly class. Locally, dance workshop selections are rich and variable with options for all ages.

As early as May 23rd, one can begin a week long Celtic Dance workshop for the beginner or intermediate dancer. The same week is a Ballet workshop that is geared toward the dancer that has had a few years of dance to advanced dancers ages nine to adult. There is a very popular “Ballet Princess” workshop June 13-17 for ages four to seven, a mini musical performance workshop themed “The Music Man” July 11-15. A workshop based on the Broadway hit “STOMP” in mid July for students in 4th through 6th grades, and an annual intensive Ballet/Jazz workshop the last week in July called “Dance Idaho.” Many of the workshops perform their final showcase in dance presentations for the community at local Farmer’s Markets, fairs, and parades.

With dance options like these, it is now easier than ever to join into the dance craze while getting fit and connecting your mind to your body.  Go to www.festivaldance.org for workshop and dance class schedules or call 883-3267.

We are living in scary times for the arts...

We are living in scary times…Arts funding from every source has taken a beating, and in general, there is a feeling of unease in the arts world.

Festival Dance is feeling the uncertainty.
Through tough times and good times, we positively impact our community by educating youth in the arts and by providing diverse artistic opportunities that are accessible to all. By bringing world class performances to the area, providing free educational performances for 5,000 youth in 13 area communities, helping the universities with dance classes and programs for students, and offering dance courses in rural communities, we positively impact lives and our community.


Sadly Festival Dance ended last year with a $4,000 deficit. Because of the power of our programs and our strategic vision, we absorbed that loss while continuing to maintain and improve our existing programs that touch the lives of so many. We have made prudent choices and cut expenses where appropriate; however, due to circumstances beyond our control we are projecting an even larger deficit this year. With your financial support, you can help us reverse this trend. We are looking to you to help us continue to make a positive difference. Every dollar matters.
Already this year we have reached 8,600 people through our programs.  Enriching lives is what we do.
This is what your contribution can do:

 $1,000 can allow us to offer free ballet classes in Lapwai, Idaho for an entire semester for all interested youth.


 $500 can pay for 6 hotel rooms to accommodate 12 professional dancers we bring to town to perform.


 $350 can pay for 15 Senior Citizens to attend a world class performance.


 $250 can pay for 10,000 post cards to advertise our enriching and diverse dance series.


 $150 can pay for a bus, driver, and fuel to bring 3 classes of 3rd graders to an educational performance.


 $25 to $100 can contribute to a dance scholarship for a student whose family is struggling financially.


Imagine the feeling you’ll get, knowing you have touched the lives of children and adults by making the performing arts more accessible, enhancing quality of life, and making a positive difference in these scary times. We appreciate your help.

To donate, please contact us at 208-883-3267.
Yours in dance-

Internationally Renowned African Dance Choreographer

Lula Washington Dance Theatre To Appear In Pullman

Sandwiched between tours of Russia and China, the Lula Washington Dance Theatre will visit the Palouse for a two day residency, which will include a public performance at Beasley Coliseum on Sunday, April 3rd at 3pm and two educational programs for area students on Monday, April 4th at Beasley and at Troy High School. The residency is sponsored by Festival Dance & Performing Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Western States Arts Federation, and local assistance from the Latah County Community Foundation and the Moscow Hotel.


In addition to its recent successful tour of Russia, the Los Angeles based company has danced in over 150 cities in the United States, as well as abroad in Germany, Spain, Kosovo, Mexico, and Canada. The Russian tour follows Lula Washington Dance Theatre’s 2009 performance at the International Book Fair in Guadalajara, Mexico, where some 1,500 viewers stood for an entire two-hour concert without an intermission, and then screamed for more when the dancing ended.

Company founder and director, Lula Washington is a much honored national dance treasure, who is fulfilling her vision of creating a dance company that performs the works of leading African American choreographers as well as her own pieces reflecting Black culture and history. Recently she received notice for her assistance in the movie “Avatar,” for which she created cultural/ritual movements including war scenes, hunting and large dance sequences for the motion capture technology.


Lula is admired as a teacher, leader, dancer, and choreographer with a very unique style and approach to dance. Stylistically, Lula fuses African and Afro-Haitian dance. She also incorporates the dance styles of gospel church, classical ballet, modern, street, theatrical, hip hop, while drawing from various ideas and issues. Her works have been praised by critics for their strong political and social commentary, as well as their avant-garde composition and their roots in African-American culture.


Prior to “Avatar”, Lula choreographed Disney’s The Little Mermaid movie. One of the songs that she choreographed, “Under The Sea”, won an Academy Award. Lula has been the subject of several nationally broadcast news stories including a PBS special that focused on her choreography for “Gospel Kwanzaa” – a blending of gospel and African dance in salute of the Christmas and Kwanzaa holidays.


In 1983, Lula established her own dance school that provides low cost and free dance classes to neighborhood children through an after school program called “I Do Dance, Not Drugs!” Remembering her own impoverished childhood, she wanted to make dance classes affordable for and accessible to children from low income neighborhoods, where her studio is based. Since then, the School has taught dance to over 45,000 inner-city students.


The April 3rd performance will present a wide spectrum of dance styles and themes, including the social commentary piece, “We Wore the Mask;” a jazz piece, “Thanks and Praises;” a high-spirited “Ode to the 60’s;” a tongue in cheek comment on contemporary culture, “WWW.Connections.2010;” and a breathtaking solo, “Angelitos Negros,” by legendary African American pioneer choreographer, Donald McKayle.


“We are thrilled by the opportunity to finally present this internationally acclaimed dance company for both public and educational programs,” said Festival Dance executive director, Cindy Barnhart. “We have been trying to bring them here for several years, and finally a northwest tour has come together.”


Tickets for the April 3rd matinee performance of Lula Washington Dance Theatre are available from Festival Dance office, Beasley Coliseum and TicketsWest outlets. Prices are $14 to $28, with discount for groups of 10 or more. WSU students will be admitted free.