American Dance Festival Tickets On Sale Monday

Once all the fanfare of a busy Mother's Day and Graduation weekend passes, people can begin to focus on the bounty of summer in Durham - and that means the American Dance Festival, tickets for which go on sale on Monday. This is the 80th Anniversary Season in Durham.

The 2013 ADF celebrates 80 years of presenting, preserving, and promoting modern dance with six and a half weeks of performances that feature some of the most celebrated artists making work today. The season includes 47 captivating performances by 25 companies and choreographers, including the return of festival favorites Shen Wei Dance Arts, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and Pilobolus, as well as the ADF debuts of LeeSaar The Company, Camile A. Brown & Dancers, Canada's The 605 Collective, Ireland's ponydance, and many more. In all, this season features 11 ADF debuts, 9 ADF commissioned world premieres, 2 reconstructed classic works, and 1 US premiere.

Tickets for ADF@DPAC performances will be on sale through the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) Ticket Center; tickets for ADF@DUKE and ADF@OFFSTAGE performances will be on sale through the Duke University Box Office. Performances will be presented at DPAC, Reynolds Industries Theater, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, and Motorco Music Hall from June 13-July 27. Tickets will be available for purchase in person, by phone, by mail, and online for each venue.

Visit the festival website for information on performing companies, schedules, ticket prices, discounts, parking, and seating, as well as to purchase tickets.

For more information about things to do in Durham, NC while at the American Dance Festival, click here.                  

American Dance Festival Announces 80th Season Schedule

At 80, most are just happy to be mobile and active, let alone planning on dancing for six and a half weeks straight. But that's exactly what Durham's most well-known dance festival plans to do.

The American Dance Festival (ADF) is back for its 80th season and has announced its 2013 schedule June 13- July 27, 2013. The Schedule includes 47 captivating performances by 25 companies and choreographers from around the word.This year's season will feature 11 ADF debuts, 9 commissioned world premieres 2 reconstructions and 1 US premiere.  The season also includes four collaborations including the ADF and Lincoln Center Out of Doors co-commission of a new site specific performance by Mark Dendy. The work will premiere in New York City during ADF’s season and will feature 80 dancers in honor of the Festival’s anniversary.

Founded in 1934 in Bennington, Vermont by four modern dance legends—Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman—ADF continues to be the premiere service organization of modern dance: from performances, to educational programs, to outreach activities, and more. Audiences continue to flock from around the world to see the breathtaking performances that happen each year by companies and artists of the highest caliber.

“During our 80th anniversary season we will celebrate the critical role ADF has played in the
development of one of our indigenous American art forms, modern dance. Additionally, we will
continue to embrace the role we play in supporting talented artists of the field,” said
ADF Director Jodee Nimerichter.

The anniversary season is packed with a breadth of performances including nine ADF commissioned world premieres by both newcomers to the ADF stage including LeeSaar The Company, Adele Myers, and Vanessa Voskuil, as well as by ADF favorites Twyla Tharp, Shen Wei Dance Arts, and Rosie Herrera. Iconic dance troupe Pilobolus will present two commissioned world premieres in collaboration masterful illusionists Penn and Teller and with Trish Sie and Tijuana’s Nortec Collective Presents: Bostich & Fussible

The season will also feature Paul Taylor Dance Company, Trisha Brown Dance Company, Argentina’s Brenda Angiel Ariel Dance Company, Mark Haim, Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion, and Faye Driscoll, as well as the ADF debuts of Camille A. Brown & Dancers, Canada’s The 605 Collective, Ireland’s ponydance, and four North Carolina artists that were chosen by a national panel of judges to present their work in a special shared-program in collaboration with the NC Dance Festival.

The 2013 Festival performances will take place at the Durham Performing Arts Center, Reynolds Industries Theater and Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, and Motorco Music Hall and Lincoln Center in New York City. All performances begin at 8:00pm unless otherwise noted. Single tickets and subscriptions go on sale Monday, May 13th and prices range from $15 to $54 with many savings options available. Tickets can be purchased through the ADF website. More detailed information about ticket prices and performing companies, including photos, videos, and press reviews are also available online.

For more information about how to get to the American Dance Festival or where to stay in Durham, visit online.

American Dance Festival Kicks Off 79th Season

Twenty years after starting at American Dance Festival (ADF) as an intern, Jodee Nimerichter launches the festival's 79th season this weekend as the festival's director. For the previous 43 years, the ADF was lead by Charles Reinhart who retired in 2011. Reinhart was in charge of the festival when it moved to Durham in 1977 at the invitation of then Duke University President Terry Sanford.

Under Nimerichter's leadership, the festival boasts an outstanding line-up of performances and activities including seven ADF commissioned world premieres, two US premieres and eight ADF  company and choreographer debuts.

The 2012 season opens tonight with a one-night-only performance of Doug Elkins & Friends' Fräulein Maria at DPAC - Durham Performing Arts Center. The Opening Night Fête will continue on to Parizäde for food, wine and more dancing. Proceeds from the party will benefit ADF Educational Programs. See the ADF web page for ticket information.

The 2012 American Dance Festival continues through July 28 with performances at DPAC and Reynolds Theater, Duke University. Go to ADF's calender online, and see the DPAC and Duke Ticket Office for tickets.

Festival Season Is Just Beginning

Any other community having just hosted the Bennett Place Civil War Surrender Commemoration, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and the Doughman might look forward to taking the summer off, but not Durham. In Durham, the summer months are just as prolific with the Juneteenth Celebration, American Dance Festival, Festival for the Eno, the Bull Durham Blues Festival and the NC Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.

Durham's festivals are unique; they don't just fill the calendar, many have earned global reputations and continue to put Durham in the national spotlight. These signature festivals are a part of Durham's story. They are a part of Durham's incredible quality of life.

The New York Times recently called Durham a "major summer dance destination." The American Dance Festival, which runs throughout the months of June and July, is one of Durham's great cultural assets. Tickets for the 2011 season are available here.  For more events, visit the Official Durham Community Calendar, Durham's most comprehensive event calendar, a service of Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau.

2011 Annual Tribute Lucheon "A Huge Success"

The 2011 Annual Tribute Luncheon, held today at Bay 7 in American Tobacco for a sell-out crowd, was, according to Shelly Green, "A huge success."  Green is the President and CEO of the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, the organization that produces the event each year.

Annually, the Tribute Luncheon honors individuals and groups who have helped shape and preserve Durham’s unique sense of place. This year it celebrates three Durham institutions and some of the individuals associated with them who have worked tirelessly and artfully to achieve greatness. Their organizations have become synonymous with Durham and they have made even richer the tapestry that comprises the fabric of Durham.

For 2011, the theme was "Great Rhythm. Great Blues." and showcased three of Durham's most enduring organizations: the African American Dance Ensemble, the American Dance Festival and the Bull Durham Blues Festival.

The African American Dance Ensemble expresses the rhythm of life and is more than a dance troupe. The ensemble is an agency of positive social change and reinforcement of the human values of peace, love and respect, as well as a world-renowned arts education organization.

The American Dance Festival has its hands on the pulse of modern American Dance. Relocating to Durham in 1978 from Connecticut, the festival floods Duke's campus each summer with about 500 dancers, choreographers, musicians, critics and scholars from around the globe.

Durham loves to sing the blues, but not the kind that speaks of bad luck, hard times and lost love. Showcasing an art form that is reflective of Durham’s rich musical heritage, the Piedmont or Carolina Blues style is upbeat, and just as likely to make listeners jump up and dance as shake their heads in reflection. For more than two decades, the Bull Durham Blues Festival has been held in Durham as a showcase of some of the finest contemporary blues artists today.

This event is produced annually and in the past has recognized the culinary arts, architecture, authors and civic organizations.  To see some images from today's event, click here, here and here.

The event is always a "who's who" of Durham and of the respective community being celebrated with today's event being no exception.  "Events like this help to remind us all how special Durham is, and why we are all so proud to be here," Green added.

Annual Tribute Lunch on Wednesday

This Wednesday, Bay 7 is going to come alive with music and dance as Durham celebrates its unique sense of place at The Annual Tribute Luncheon.  This year The African American Dance Ensemble, The American Dance Festival and The Bull Durham Blues Festival are taking the stage. The theme is Great Rhythm and Great Blues which ties directly into the dance and blues that make such an impact on Durham each year.

A few tickets were available at the time of writing, but like in years past, the event's host, the Durham Convention & Visitors Bureau, expects all tickets to sell.  The event is held annually and is invariably a great show of community support.

Two Durham Festivals Announce 2011 Lineups

Just announced! Two of the largest, nationally known festivals in Durham have announced their 2011 schedules!

This year’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival will run from April 14-17 and will feature nine World Premieres, nine North American Premieres and seven US Premieres. Over all there will be 66 selections for the NEW DOCS program, 43 feature films and 23 shorts from all over the world.

Click here for a film schedule and film descriptions and visit their website for ticket and festival information.

Once Durham has caught its breath following the festivities of Full Frame, the American Dance Festival will take over Durham for six weeks in June and July.

“Something New, Something Treasured” is this theme for the 2011 American Dance Festival and the performances, to span from June 9 – July 23, have been announced. Mark your calendars to take part in this very treasured Durham festival.

For additional information about the 2011 American Dance Festival, ADF community programs, performing companies/choreographers, and to purchase tickets (starting May 9), visit their website.

The Time is Now - Annual Tribute Luncheon Almost Sold Out

Good things come to those who…act now! The African American Dance Ensemble, the American Dance Festival and the Bull Durham Blues Festival have all enhanced Durham’s reputation as a center for the arts; now it’s your chance to celebrate them for all they’ve done.

Tickets for this year’s Annual Tribute Luncheon, Great Rhythm Great Blues, to be held on April 27th at American Tobacco’s Bay 7, are going fast! Order now, before they are sold out, and and join Durham in honoring these organizations that are an important piece of the tapestry that comprises Durham’s unique sense of place.