Theater & Dance

Dance thriving in the Mount Washington Valley

Published Date

Dance is alive and well in the Mount Washington Valley this summer. There are numerous opportunities for children, dancers, performers, educators, and audience members of all ages. There are local choreographers and guest artists offering master classes and creating performance pieces.

Boston-based Anna Myer and Dancers will present Hoop Suite Project on Sunday, July 29, at 2:30 p.m. in Sandwich Central School gym. Hoop Suite Project is a spoken word rap opera that melds classical music and dance with spoken word, percussive instruments and hip hop movement.

Stephen Clapp, a Washington D.C. area choreographer began July 7 creating a new dance theatre performance piece, "Voices from the Valley." Clapp invites local dancers, actors, and musicians to meet at the Jeanne Limmer Dance Center in North Conway Aug. 7 and 8 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The new work will be presented at Cultivate Dance Festival in Bethlehem on Aug. 11.

Cultivate Dance Festival is in its third year. It was begun by Katherine Ferrier, with support from the NH State Council of the Arts and the Arts Alliance of Northern New Hampshire. This year's festival of contemporary dance is August 9-12. It has dance workshops for kids, adults, beginners, and professionals. There are theatre performances as well as site-specific performances in Bethlehem. For more information go to, www.cultivatedancenh.com.

Also in August is the ninth annual "For Katie, For Dance, For Healing" benefit dance performance. This annual performance is put on by Axis dancers and Axis alumni from the Jeanne Limmer Dance Center. "For Katie, For Dance, For Healing" benefits the Katie Armstrong Dance Scholarship, which provides one scholarship to a graduating senior and numerous local dancers that could otherwise not afford to dance. This year's "For Katie, For Dance, For Healing" will be held on Friday, Aug. 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the playground in Schouler Park North Conway.