What is the Jazz & Tap Dance
Festival?
The Jazz & Tap Dance Festival is a dance revue with pieces
performed by 7-9 companies each year. Dancin’ Unlimited
produces the show to
celebrate the vitality and breadth of jazz, tap, and hip-hop
dance at this unique Washington area event.
The annual Festival
features the artistic achievements of the dancers with the
exciting new creations of their choreographers. This
festival is not a recital. These are advanced and
professional dancers performing in a theatrical setting with
lots of … lights – music – action!
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Why is the Jazz & Tap
Dance Festival so unique?
The Jazz & Tap Dance Festival is the longest running dance
festival in Northern Virginia! It has survived the test of
time. Most dance festivals in the area are less than 10
years old. The Festival has lots of variety and generates
enthusiasm for “show” dance forms – jazz, tap, hip hop.
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When/Where is the next Jazz & Tap Dance Festival?
The 26th Annual Jazz & Tap Dance Festival is on
Saturday, March 3rd at 8:00 P.M. and Sunday,
March 4th at 4:00 PM at the
Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC), Annandale Campus
theatre. The NVCC Annandale Campus theatre is located at
8333 Little River Turnpike, Annandale, VA; and is convenient
to Rt 495 Beltway Exit 52-A.
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How do I buy tickets
for the festival?
Tickets are $20 in advance and $22 at the door. For tickets
and information, click on the Festival tab on this website, or contact any of the participating dance
organizations: Dancin’ Unlimited, Encore Performers, Center
Stage Dance Company, Capitol Movement, MetroTap, Impulse,
and, MYTE. Discounts are available
online. The Festival is supported and funded in part by the
Arts Council of Fairfax County.
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May I come to a dress rehearsal?
The dress rehearsal is primarily to conduct a preliminary
run through of the program and for the dancers to see each
other. If you have a special group, however, such as a
scout or church group, arrangements can be made for them to
see the dress rehearsal. Dancin’ Unlimited wants to provide
opportunities for exposure to the dance arts.
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Who produces the J&T Dance
Festival?
Dancin’ Unlimited, a professional jazz dance company in
Northern Virginia, produces the Festival as an annual
community dance arts effort. Two other dance companies have
been consistent collaborators through the years: Center
Stage Dance Company, which focuses on tap dance, and Encore
Theatrical Arts Project, which focuses on musical theatre.
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Who is Dancin’ Unlimited?
Dancin’ Unlimited, which began in 1973, is the only
professional jazz dance company in Northern Virginia with a
focus on both concert and musical theatre jazz dance.
Marilyn York, the artistic director, produces new and
exciting programs each year with an emphasis on artistic
excellence, broad variety and professionalism. Their
repertoire ranges from classical jazz dance to hip-hop, from
the Big Band era dance to Broadway. Company dancers are all
classically trained in ballet and modern as well as jazz
dance. Several are dance instructors in the Northern
Virginia area; several have college degrees in dance and
have performed in a wide range of venues. Dancin’ Unlimited
is a non profit arts organization, a member of the Arts
Council of Fairfax County for many years and a founding
member of the Fairfax County Dance Coalition.
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Why does Dancin’ Unlimited keep
producing the Festival?
The Jazz & Tap Dance Festival is part of Dancin’ Unlimited’s
commitment to bring the art of concert and musical theatre
jazz dance to the community. The Festival provides a venue
to showcase jazz dance separate from traditional ballet and
modern dance. Jazz dance is very entertaining. It’s just
plain fun. It attracts audiences not accustomed to seeing
dance shows to the dance arts. The production effort
promotes artistic cooperation/collaboration among the
participating companies. Dancers build their network and
are inspired by each other to continue their training.
Participation improves their skills and artistic talent.
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When did the Festival start?
The Jazz & Tap
Dance Festival started in 1986. The inspiration for the
festival first came to Marilyn York in the early days of
Dancin' Unlimited, then known as the Virginia Dance Theatre.
The group presented concerts in a cabaret format,
interspersing different musical acts among their own numbers
in order to give the dancers a chance to catch their breath.
In 1986, York decided to make the jump to an exclusively
dance-oriented program. With the help of a $2,000
contribution from former Stein's Theatrical and Dance Supply in
Arlington, York was able to organize the very first Jazz &
Tap Dance Festival.
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Why should I come to
the Festival? What will I see?
The Festival presents fresh jazz, tap and hip hop dance
material each year. If you are new to the dance arts, these
dance styles are energetic and entertaining. Audiences tell
us that the variety of dance numbers, enthusiasm and
professionalism of the program keeps them coming back. The
Festival honors classic and concert jazz technique, our
indigenous American dance style that’s become integrated
into Broadway dance and the wide range of popular
entertainment venues.
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Do the same companies
participate each year?
Four to five of the companies tend to participate each year,
which means that the audience can follow their favorites.
Three to four of the companies are new or rotate each year.
The structure of the show is similar year to year, but the
material is fresh and new. Dancin’ Unlimited rotates
presentation of some repertoire pieces every 3-5 years. The
choreography for these pieces has been recognized at the
Giordano Jazz Dance World Congress several times.
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What is jazz dance?
As a general term, jazz dance encompasses such a dizzying
range of styles and eras that it is nearly impossible to
pinpoint. Originating from West African musical tradition,
jazz dance has grown from the streets of New Orleans to
Vaudeville to Broadway musical theatre to the jazz concert
stage. Jazz has evolved over the 20th century to
include the lively Lindy Hop, the sleek stylings of musical
theater legend Bob Fosse, and the hip-hop of today’s hot
young artists.
For Marilyn York, the main focus of her career has been the
“classic” approach to jazz dance. Classic jazz technique
borrows heavily from the fluid lines of ballet, featuring
broad, grounded movements and captivating music. Though it
demands years of training, jazz allows dancers more freedom
to showcase their personalities. Quality jazz dance is
timeless. As a living artistic history, jazz dance stems
from the heart of a nation never at rest. Kinetic yet
fluid, technically acute yet hugely entertaining, jazz dance
generates communal energy. Jazz dance is always fresh,
reflecting a mixture of popular musical culture with its
traditions of liberation and empowerment.
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Why Jazz Dance? What
makes Jazz Dance Different?
Jazz dance is distinctly American. Jazz dance
is uplifting, exciting and fun. It tends to
get people moving in their seats, and the dancers feed off
their energy. The audience becomes part of the show.
They are “engaged” in the dance and follow the
movement closely, alert and ready for each next dance
phrase. Young dancers are inspired by the jazz dance
performance energy and fun. They are exposed to American
music since the big band era.
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Why live dance
performance?
Dance as an art is unique each time the choreography is
performed. When the piece is over, the art is past, it is
history. Dancers present themselves to the audience and
then react to the audience involvement.
Because jazz dance is so engaging, the live performance is
an intense experience.
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Who is Marilyn York? How did she
get started? **
As the artistic
director of Dancin’ Unlimited, Marilyn York has been
bringing first class jazz dance to the Washington
Metropolitan Area for over thirty years. Her experiences as
an artistic director, performer, instructor and
choreographer attest to her unwavering resolve. With her
keen attention to detail and no-nonsense management style,
York devotes herself to improving the quality and visibility
of jazz dance.
Like many
aspiring performers, York’s interest in dance was first
sparked by the charm of classic Gene Kelly films. She began
taking dance classes at age eleven in a satellite studio of
the Washington Ballet. York studied ballet for nearly six
years, until pure chance introduced her to the dance style
that would become her passion. When York was seventeen, the
Washington Ballet's main studio offered a jazz master class
taught by choreographer Wally Saunders, a Baltimore native.
York took the class on a whim, and found that the movement
came naturally.
After that first
fateful class, York jumped at every opportunity to further
her jazz dance education. In addition to Saunders, York
trained with Nilo Toledo in Georgetown, as well as jazz
icons Gus Giordano, Luigi, Frank Hatchett, and Phil Cole.
She even attended the first Jazz Dance World Congress in
1990, where she was able to fully immerse herself in the
unique form that she had quickly grown to love.
In the mid-1970s, York started doing guest performances
for a local nonprofit group called the Dance Theatre
Company of Northern Virginia. When director Robert Thoma
left the company in 1976, he offered York the chance to take
over his position. York accepted the directorship and
changed the name to Virginia Jazz Theatre and later Dancin’
Unlimited. In the process, she took on a challenging
trifecta of responsibilities: directing, choreographing and
performing in her own company.
** These are sections of a recent article published by
Fairfax Woman magazine, “Northern Virginia’s Jazz Dance
Treasure,” January/February 2011, by Sarah Anne Sillers.
For the entire article, go to the link:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/fairfaxwoman/docs/9/original.pdf
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