Brighton Dance Festival features students, artists-in-residence

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The 8th Annual Brighton Dance Festival kicks off next week and culminates with two inspiring performances at the Brighton Center for the Performing Arts. Enjoy a night of professional contemporary dance at 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 4, as BDF’s visiting company-in-residence, Christopher K. Morgan & Artists, presents its newest work by choreographer Tiffanie Carson. CKM&A, a nationally touring, Washington D.C.-based company, will rehearse daily during the two-week festival to create this new dance piece. Also performing are several of the BDF faculty members and the Pure Existence Dance Company from Ann Arbor.

The following evening, celebrate the joy of dance with BDF at its annual Student Showcase at 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5. This showcase features more than 50 students performing works learned during their time at the festival. Contemporary, modern, hip hop and jazz dances choreographed by the BDF faculty and Professional Development Program students will be showcased.

“This is our first year hosting a company-in-residence at the festival, and we are so excited to share their talents with the community,” says festival programs coordinator Kelly Waltz. “We have the company visiting from D.C., plus students from all over Michigan and the Midwest. BDF is really putting Livingston County on the map as a dance education destination.”

Tickets to the Aug. 4 “Artists on Stage” Professional Dance Concert are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Tickets to the Aug. 5 Student Showcase are $8 in advance and $10 at the door. All of the proceeds will be donated to the Brighton Center for the Performing Arts, and the newly formed BDF Artist-in-Residence Educational Initiative.

Leading up to these performances, patrons can also enjoy two evenings of free in-studio informal showings during the festival for a glimpse into the creative process and a chance to ask the choreographers questions about their work. The student choreography informal showing is 7:30 p.m. Friday, July 28, and the Christopher K. Morgan & Artists company showing is 7:30 p.m. Saturday July 29. Both are located at Michelle’s Academy of Dance & Performing Arts Center (MADPAC) at 101 Appian Way, Brighton, MI.

Brighton Dance Festival was founded in 2010 by local dance educator Kathy King, in partnership with the Brighton Center for the Performing Arts. This is the festival’s first year growing from one to two weeks of training and performances. To date, BDF has donated over $30,000 to the BCPA and Cleary University’s Wellness Center, plus given away more than $17,000 in festival tuition scholarships to students statewide. This year’s event is sponsored in part by Michelle’s Academy of Dance & Performing Arts Center, Cleary University, and Advanced Foot & Ankle Specialists of Howell.

For more info or to purchase tickets, visit www.brightondancefestival.com.

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The Livingston Post is the only locally owned, all-digital information and opinion site in Livingston County, Mich. It was launched by award-winning journalists who were laid off from the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus by Gannett Co. Inc. in 2009.