Description

Mesilla Valley Dance Collective is bringing a creative and collaborative dance festival to the Black Box Theater on July 15th and 16th, 2017. The Las Cruces-based dance company is bringing pieces from their past, and future shows along with guest companies from El Paso, Las Cruces, and Alamogordo.
The concept of the showcase originally grew from a request put forth by Ceil Herman, owner of the Black Box Theater. She and her husband solicited Mesilla Valley Dance Collective to put choreography to a Swedish song "Ett Annat Hav", a song dear to their hearts from their time spent in Sweden. "Björn Afzelius (1947-1999) was a very famous singer in Sweden who is record sold more than any artist singing in Swedish. He sung protest songs as well as ones that were more personal. His early death from lung cancer at the age of 52 is still mourned and several cover bands still perform memorial concerts in Scandinavia" says Ceil. "Ett Annat Hav was written by Leif Strandh, another Swedish singer. It protests killing whales and was produced as a video in 1989. Björn Afzelius was involved in that project which earned money for the World Wildlife Foundation. He also added additional lyrics and released his own recording." From that single conceived piece, the show has grown into a carefully curated exhibition of local talent.
The Mesilla Valley Dance Collective will showcase favorite pieces from previous shows as well as a special sneak peek performance from their upcoming February show choreographed by their newest member Janessa Player. "The River is a work in progress choreographed in remembrance of a young life lost" says Player. "The piece represents our journeys, and contrasts our expectations and reality. I don’t believe anyone is prepared for or expects to lose a young loved one. Tragedy and loss aren’t always easy to articulate. But they can, fortunately, be genuinely conveyed through the art of dance." Mesilla Valley Dance Collective is also proud to welcome featured guest performers Jessica Trembly, of 575 Dance in Alamogordo, NM, Human Nature Contemporary Ballet of El Paso, as well as many others.
About Mesilla Valley Dance Collective
"Mesilla Valley Dance Collective is a truly collaborative group with the goal of creating quality, entertaining dance shows for all ages. We work together to create pieces that showcase all styles of dance. This is a wonderful group of dancers who work extremely hard to make each and every show possible and successful," Creative Director Morgan Rivera says about the collective.
Mesilla Valley Dance Collective seeks to provide opportunities for dancers of all skill levels, backgrounds, and abilities, as well as individuals who are simply creative and want an outlet to dance and work collaboratively with others with similar passions. They are primarily focused on crafting a single creative theatrical production once a year that explores a theme or narrative that the members collectively agree on. These productions are highly collaborative in nature, with every member having a voice in their creation, by contributing original choreography, costuming, and more. Ages and skill levels of the dancers in the collective vary greatly, with members in their teens, twenties, and thirties, and members who have been dancing since the age of 3, with college degrees in dance, to members who found their passion for dance as recently as 3 years ago. Learn more at http://www.mesillavalleydance.com.

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