Each winter, after the season of prancing Scrooges and pirouetting Sugar Plum Fairies has come to an end, dance schools and companies around the region turn their attention to a broader range of works, and the Vanaver Caravan organizes a showcase called DanceFest! that serves up a sampling of that variety. SUNY-Ulster’s Quimby Theatre plays host this Saturday evening to the 24th annual DanceFest! spotlighting the latest productions from 12 Hudson Valley dance studios. World dance, ballet, modern and other styles will be represented as each troupe takes the stage in turn.
Just back from a trip to India, the Vanavers are introducing special guests the Natyanikethan School of Indian Dance. The company’s offerings will include a piece in which the dancer balances a brass plate holding a pot of water on the head while enacting the tale of Krishna’s defeat of Kaliya, a Naga or serpent who was poisoning a river. The CaravanKids Project and the Vanaver Caravan Youth Company will perform a swing dance medley featuring music by Duke Ellington and Glenn Miller. Also on the program will be performances by the American Youth Ballet, the Ballet Arts Studio, the Barefoot Dance Center, the D’amby Project, the Dutchess School of Performing Arts, Gina Marie’z, the New Paltz School of Ballet, the New York Academy of Ballet, the Rhinebeck Dance Centre and the Saugerties Ballet Center.
DanceFest! 2016 begins at 7 p.m. on Saturday, February 27 (snow date Sunday, February 28). Tickets cost $18 general admission, $12 for seniors and children aged 12 and under, and can be purchased through the participating dance schools as well as at the door. Proceeds from DanceFest! will benefit the Vanaver Caravan’s Arts Education programs in Ulster County and surrounding areas.
SUNY-Ulster is located at 491 Cottekill Road in Stone Ridge. For more info, call (845) 256-9300 or visit www.vanavercaravan.org.
Join the family! 
