By Jenn Sheridan ·
Tuesday, July 15
5:30 p.m. | Gala Opening Night celebration & performance
$55 individual | $440 table of 8 | Tickets include dinner
Wednesday, July 16
5:30 p.m. | Pre-performance talk: Meet the Artists
6:30 p.m. | Main Stage performance
$20 general admission | $35 picnic & admission | $200 VIP table of 6
Thursday, July 17
5:30 p.m. | Pre-performance talk: Meet the Artists
6:30 p.m. | Main Stage performance
$20 general admission | $35 picnic & admission | $200 VIP table of 6
Christin Hanna and Constantine Baecher are hard at work putting together the final touches for the second annual Lake Tahoe Dance Festival from July 15 to 17 at the Gatekeeper’s Museum in Tahoe City.
In addition to curating pieces and collaborating with dancers, the two put in a lot of time behind the scenes working on marketing, organizing and growing the festival.
“It’s really exciting coming from being dancers to creating the concept to the performance,” said Hanna, the founding Artistic Director of the Tahoe Youth Ballet. Hanna and Baecher met at a dance intensive in New York as teenagers and have remained close.
After a freelance career in New York, Hanna returned to Tahoe. She recognized a lack of opportunities for dancers in the area. Growing up in the Tahoe, Hanna had to travel to Reno or beyond to expand her dancing career.
“I met a lot of dancers who were enthusiastic about professional opportunities,” Hanna said.
So, in 2009, she founded the Tahoe Youth Ballet. The company boasts a sophisticated repertory of works and continues to grow and expand, including the introduction of a dance festival. Hanna reached out to Baecher, whose career brought him to Copenhagen where he founded Cross Connection Ballet and the Copenhagen International Choreography Competition. The result of the collaboration between the two friends and established dancers was the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival, which perfectly combines the beauty of dancing with the natural environment of Tahoe.
The festival is a combination of workshops and performances, which brings artists from across the dancing world to the region.
“We’re always very discerning about the work we present,” said Hanna. “We view ourselves as curators in a way.”
Hanna and Baecher bring a variety of dance styles to the area including everything from classical to modern ballet.
“We try to have a combination of quality and high access,” said Baecher. “We want it to be interesting to someone who has seen a lot of ballet, as well as someone seeing it for the first time.” Rather than focusing on a central theme, the festival includes a sampling of different works to create a more broad experience.
Audiences can look forward to works such as excerpts from “Greek Dreams” choreographed by Erick Hawkins and first performed at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 1973. This piece has been staged by Kristina Berger, who is the principal dancer with Erick Hawkins Dance Company and an international teacher, performer and choreographer.
Bryan Arias will present his work “Notice,” which was voted Audience Favorite at the Dance Gallery Festival in New York City. “Duality” explores a women’s struggle with contextual identity with choreography by Deborah Wingert.
Erik Wagner brings “Stimulus,” which opens a dialogue about relationships and allows the viewer to project his or her own meaning into the piece. Deborah Lohse brings “New Creation” to the stage. She has worked with the Tahoe Youth Ballet in the past, but this is her first work with the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival.
In addition to performances, viewers participate in an installation that explores the conceptual idea behind dancing and allows people to connect to the physicality of movement to discover what dancing really is.
New this year, the festival features an Opening Night Gala, which includes dinner and performance talks along with a swing dancing lesson that allows audience members to join in the dancing. In addition to performances, the festival also includes a number of workshops that allow dancers to get out of the studio and explore the art of dancing.
“I’m excited to create a piece with nature. It’s rare to get outside of the studio. You get a very different reaction when you take someone into the woods and ask them to dance. It’s more raw and playful,” said Baecher.
The performances, and many of the workshops, take place at the Gatekeeper’s Museum. The mountains and lake create a stunning backdrop for the beautiful performances.
“It’s a very special location and environment,” said Baecher. “It’s very energizing and very inspiring.”
Tickets for the Lake Tahoe Dance Festival range from $20 to $55. For more information, visit laketahoedancefestival.org.
