A Jamaica nonprofit has announced the return of a multi-day dance festival that celebrates the legacy of dance in the neighborhood.
A Better Jamaica announced on Monday that for four consecutive Saturdays in June, the third annual Jamaica Dance Festival will present performances of professional dance companies on stage built on the front lawn of the King Manor House at Rufus King Park.
“This year, we’re thrilled to be presenting multiple companies on each night of the festival,” said Greg Mays, executive director of A Better Jamaica. “As in the past, we’ve programmed the festival to appeal to as broad a spectrum of Jamaica’s residents as possible.”
The following companies are scheduled to perform:
- Saturday, June 1 – American Bolero Dance Company + BHdos (Ballet Hispanico’s 2nd Company)
- Saturday, June 8 – Matthew Westerby Dance Company + Jamal Jackson Dance Company + Jeremy McQueen’s Black Iris Project + Obremski/Works
- Saturday, June 15 – Harlem Stage E-Moves on Tour featuring It’s Showtime NYC! + Sun & Cein + Joseph Webb and Berédu Ahmed aka Long Arms
- Saturday, June 22 – White Wave Rising Young Soon Kim Dance Company + Parul Shah Dance Company
Each show will begin at 7 p.m. The performances taking place between June 1 and June 15 will offer pre-show dance workshops that begin at 6:30 p.m. All performances are free and open to the public.
The event was made possible thanks to New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Cultural Immigrant Initiative allocations from New York City Council members Adrienne Adams, Rory Lancman, and I. Daneek Miller, a Challenge America grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, funding from the Howard Gilman Foundation, and a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts.
For more information, visit TheJamaicaDanceFestival.com or facebook.com/TheJamaicaDanceFestival.
