Austin Dance Festival Returns, March 24-26, 2023, by David Glen Robinson

The Austin Dance Festival (ADF) returns to the Rollins Studio Theatre at the Long Center March 24-26, 2023 with a new and diverse program of dance art. In what has become a tried-and-true format for the festival, the three days of dance art will feature two programs of juried and curated live dance showcases by professional companies, the highly regarded Dance on Film (DOF) annual series, a youth edition of showcases by academy companies, master classes for youth and adults, a college dance fair, discussion groups, Q&A sessions, and dance, dance, dance.

 

The short films of dances in DOF originate in Europe and North and South America. The professional companies appearing in the live showcases come from across the United States. What unites this globally diverse group of dance artists? Kathy Dunn Hamrick of the sponsoring KDH Dance Company says “This year’s festival highlights the resilience of the dance community as it continues its return from the economic fall-out of the pandemic. These are the professional dancemakers who have managed to develop resonant works along an extensive range of themes, making this year’s festival one of the most meaningful and diverse offerings to date.”

 

 

 

Fort Worth’s Bruce Wood Dance will present the highly regarded “Forbidden Paths” by choreographer Garrett Smith. The Body Shift Collective, a company of the differently abled in Austin with towering accomplishments in dance, will show “Pieces of Her,” described as a consideration of what it means to be a strong yet vulnerable woman in the modern world. The beyond-avant independent choreographer Kelsey Oliver will perform another of her original high energy meditations in athletic dance. The remaining dances live and on film will take audiences down artistic pathways both familiar and previously untrod. The Austin Dance Festival is a milestone of the arts year.

 

Tickets can be purchased through the Long Center.