SARATOGA SPRINGS — Nacre Dance Group stages the third annual Empire State Youth Dance Ensemble (ESYDE) performance at Universal Preservation Hall on Feb. 26. Shows are at 2:30 and 7:30 p.m.
The performances will showcase dancers from four area dance studios: Merritt’s Dance Studio in Schenectady; Dance with Ginny Martin and Dana Wojcik in Glenville; Creative Dance Arts in Round Lake; Saratoga City Ballet in Saratoga, 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 Soaring by Doris Humphrey and Floor Plastique by Ted Shawn. For the 2022 season, Nacre has been working with the American Dance Legacy Initiative’s Repertory Etude Project (Rhode Island) to present the Rainbow and Bushasche etudes. Etudes are short dances based on signature works of American choreographers.
The Rainbow Etude is based on Donald McKayle’s signature work, Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder and is a masterful distillation of the quintessential elements of the larger work. The Bushasche Etude choreographed by Pearl Primus is based on a traditional dance from Zaire and is a dance of peace in which the participants call up the gods of war and defeat them.
Tickets are $25/general admission; $20/students and seniors; $15/groups of 8 or more and can be purchased at www.nacredance.org/tickets For more information, contact Nacre at 518-817-3833 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
