Arts & Entertainment
Northwest Dance Project to Premier ‘Summer Splendors’
Company recently won Audience Award in German dance competition
By Brian Stimson
of The Skanner News
H
igh off their recent
competition win
in Germany, The
Northwest Dance Project
will
present
their
“Summer
Splendors”
show featuring premiers
from
choreographers
Sarah Slipper, Carla
Mann, Loni Landon and
Lauren Edson at their stu-
dio and performance cen-
ter.
Unlike many of their
big scale performances,
Summer Splendors will
take place in their inti-
mate studio/performance
space at 833 N. Shaver St.
(at Mississippi Avenue) in
Portland. The contempo-
rary ballet show runs June
9 through June 18. Tickets
are $30 in advance or $30
at the door. Tickets are
available through the pro-
ject’s box office at
www.nwdanceproject.org
or boxoffice@nwdance-
project.org or 503-828-
8285.
“Our in-studio shows
have been an incredible
success,” says Sarah
Slipper, founding artistic
director of the Northwest
Dance Project. “There is
just something so special
about seeing the company
perform in such an inti-
mate setting and really
getting to see how physi-
cally demanding dance is
Choreographic Festival in
April.
“Some seats are literally
one foot away from the
dancers,” he said.
Each performance has
space for only 70 seats.
In
Hannover,
the
Northwest
Dance
Company
competed
In Hannover, the Northwest
Dance Company competed
against 15 other pieces to
bring home the Audience
Award – taken by ballot from
the sold-out performances
and experiencing the
emotional and theatrical
nuisances of the works.”
Executive
Director
Scott Lewis says that a
performance in their stu-
dio space is much differ-
ent from one of the likes
they
performed
in
Germany at the 25th
annual
Hannover
Page 6 The Portland Skanner May 25, 2011
against 15 other pieces to
bring home the Audience
Award – taken by ballot
from the sold-out per-
formances. While in
Europe, Lewis said the
company was able to
secure an agent to repre-
sent them overseas.
The trip nearly didn’t
happen, says Lewis.
While they had been
accepted into the competi-
tion, the competition said
they would not pay for
their plane fare because
Ihsan Rustem, the compa-
ny member who had
applied in the firstplace,
was in the European
Union.
Within three weeks,
Lewis raised enough
money through donations
to buy nine airfares.
“I felt it was an opportu-
nity we couldn’t pass up,”
he said.
Lewis is currently look-
ing to find other opportu-
nities to perform in
Europe. Next January, the
company plans to attend
the prestigious APAP pre-
senters conference in New
York, the largest perform-
ing arts industry event in
the nation.
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T
he 2012 King Neighborhood mural
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increase respect and ownership of the area.
The process of creating it will strengthen
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pation of youth in King.
PSU students are currently researching
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involvement.
The King Neighborhood Association is
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tive impact on our community. Meetings are
second Wednesday of each month at 4815
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www.kingneighborhood.wordpress.com