Nacre Dance Group’s Empire State Youth Dance Ensemble Takes the Stage at the Spa Little Theater

Photos by Lydia Huibregtse.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —  Nacre Dance Group is pleased to announce the second annual Empire State Youth Dance Ensemble (ESYDE) performance at the Spa Little Theater on February 29 at 2:30 and 7 p.m. 

Nacre Dance Group’s mission is to elevate dance through education, performance and opportunity.  This program of Nacre Dance Group provides pre-professional training and performance opportunities in classical and contemporary modern dance to a select group of talented teenage dancers in the capital region.

The performances slated for February 29 (2:30 and 7 p.m.) at the Spa Little Theater in Saratoga Springs will showcase dancers from three area dance studios:  Dance Force in Schenectady; Dance with Ginny Martin in Glenville; Isabelle’s School of Dance in East Greenbush; as well as additional area dance students selected through an open audition process.

Each studio will represent a piece of choreography that transports the audience through the early years of modern dance to current contemporary work.The program includes modern dance classics Air for the G-String (1928) by Doris Humphrey and Floor Plastique by Ted Shawn. For the 2020 season, Nacre has been working with the American Dance Legacy Initiative’s Repertory Etude Project  (Rhode Island) to present “Rooms Etude” and “Battleworks Etude.” Etudes are short dances based on signature works of American choreographers. The Rooms Etude (arranged by Lorry May) is based on Anna Sokolow’s masterpiece, Rooms. This piece is a study in character and intention and provides dancers with many of the tools of the actor. Battleworks Etude (Choreography by Robert Battle, arranged by Erika Pujič) is a powerful tour de force that includes movement elements from four of Robert Battle’s signature works–Flock, Jewel Lost, The Hunt, and Rush Hour—representing the early years of Battleworks Dance Company (2002-2010). 

Nacre Dance Group builds new traditions in dance by showcasing contemporary choreographers of today. Students have been working with choreographers Anthony Alterio and Na’Keisha Barber on new choreography that bring a neo-classic style to the stage.  Anthony Alterio holds an M.F.A in Dance from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI and is Assistant Professor of Dance at SUNY Fredonia. Na’Keisha Barber attended Slippery Rock College, PA and is an independent choreographer based in NYC.

Tickets are $20/general admission; $15/students and seniors and can be purchased at nacredance.org/tickets  For more information, please contact Beth Fecteau, Artistic Director, at 518-817-3833 or Nacredance@gmail.com.