NM's Fête de Danse returns to the North Country

Plattsburgh, NY – Norte Maar is pleased to announce the return of Fête de Danse, one of the North Country’s signature dance events! From 2004-2009 Fête de Danse ran in succession at the Civic Center in Rouses Point and was presented in collaboration with the Rouses Point Historical Society. The event brought renowned local, regional, and international dance companies together in a converted ice rink for a night celebrating dance and the Rouses Point community. On August 1 + 2,  Fête de Danse returns full steam as Norte Maar collaborates with the Strand Center for the Arts (formerly known as the North Country Cultural Center for the Arts) to present the return of this unique dance event. This event marks the first major production of contemporary dance to be held in the newly renovated Strand Theater in downtown Plattsburgh. Tickets are $25 / General; $20 / members. >Buy Tickets Here<

Fête de Danse 2014 will feature:

Gleich Dances Contemporary Ballet.Gleich Dances Contemporary Ballet (London, UK / New York City) is under the artistic direction of Julia K. Gleich and has been the featured company at Fête. The company is the organization for the creative, collaborative, and educational work of choreographer, teacher and director Julia K. Gleich. The company has presented in New York City and throughout the United States and Europe. A renowned ballet choreographer and instructor, Ms. Gleich is currently lecturer at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, London, and the Head of Choreography at London Studio Centre. Ms. Gleich’s choreographic residencies have included: Brooklyn Ballet, Burklyn Ballet Theatre, VT, University of Northern Colorado, CO, Island Moving Company, RI, University of California-Irvine, CA, Dancer’s Workshop, WY, and recently Norte Maar, Rouses Point/Plattsburgh, NY, among others.

MADBoots Dance Co.MADboots dance Co. (New York City) was co-founded in August 2011 by Jonathan Campbell (Juilliard ’10) & Austin Diaz (N.Y.U. Tisch ’11). The company made its premiere at the Gibney Dance Center and has since been presented at festivals such as the Alto Jonio Dance Festival (Italy), Springboard Danse Montreal, David Parker’s Soaking WET, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Inside/Out Series, TOES for dance (Toronto) & DANCENOW Joe’s Pub Dance Festival (2012 Challenge Winner). Dance Magazine featured the company in their Vital Signs segment in December 2013. Aside from performing, Campbell & Diaz have also taught master classes at Broadway Dance Center (NYC), Dance New Amsterdam (NYC), Point Park University (Pittsburgh,PA) and Velocity Dance Center (Seattle,WA). MADboots has been generously granted the boo-koo round 4 space grant at Gibney Dance Center, the Inception to Exhibition 2012 Space Grant, and two residencies at the Duo Multicultural Arts Center. The 92nd Street Y presented MADboots as part of their inaugural Dig Dance: Weekend Series in December 2013, and Jacob’s Pillow granted the company a Creative Development Residency in February 2014. MADboots is looking forward to performing at Socrates Sculpture Park, as part of Norte Maar’sDance at Socrates in August 2014. For Fête MADBoots will perform Blue (2013).

Racoco Productions.Racoco Productions (New York City) is under the artistic direction of Rachel Cohen. Racoco Productions creates theatrical experiences that combine movement, the visual arts, burlesque, cinematic styles, everyday objects, and musical composition. Movement phrases and traditional forms translate textures of emotion, transporting audiences through the looking glass to where the ordinary is iconic, the mundane mysterious, and the silly sacred. Recently, Racoco has created idiosyncratic explorations of interactions between the human body and inanimate materials—e.g., clay, flour, taffy, paper, chewing gum—collaborating with composers and visual artists to blur the boundaries between the real and the imaginary. This innovative company performs nationally and internationally, and has been presented by the World Financial Center in New York City, the Emelin Theater in Mamaroneck, NY; Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD; Harvard University in Cambridge, MA; Sanskriti Foundation in Delhi, India; and Mix-Art-Myrys in Toulouse, France. This innovative company appears regularly in NY. Previously, Norte Maar has invited Racoco to perform in Fête de Danse in 2006 and Dance at Socrates in 2013.

Artistic director Rachel Cohen is a native of the North Country, born and raised in Plattsburgh. “I was born at CVPH and lived my first twelve years on Brinkerhoff Street,” she explains, “I saw my first movie at the Strand Theater. My first dance class was just down the street with Debbie Guibord, and I later studied with Patricia Cross, Patricia Conroy, and Olga Baigas (and had so many other wonderful teachers of all kinds, I wish I could list you all!). Plattsburgh was and is an amazingly creatively fertile place, and I feel lucky to have had the opportunities I had growing up to see and participate in dance, music, and theater. I performed many times in Plattsburgh as a dance student; I’m delighted to be performing here with my company for the first time, on the street I grew up on, in the newly, beautifully, renovated Strand.”