[Dancenews] Call to Artists: Lake Champlain Parade

[Alia Thabit]

Hi everyone

I got selected as one of several choreographers for the July 11 Parade in
Burlington VT,
part of the celebration of the
QUADRICENTENNIAL OF THE DISCOVERY OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN.
http://celebratechamplain.org/content/view/174/115/<http://www.champlain400.com/>

As such, I am issuing a *Call to Artists*
for dancers and musicians who would like to be part of this event.

Parade starts at 6 PM on Saturday, July 11, rain or shine.
The parade route is about a half mile long, and you will be
walking/dancing for 45 mins to an hour, but outside for longer.
There may also be a post-parade performance.

We will cycle through about 5 rhythms, playing each for about 1-2 minutes
per shot,
so we will probably get through our whole cycle once or twice per stage.

Percussionists can play the straight rhythm and/or add ornamentation.
Melody instruments will have a simple song, ornamantation, and/ or freestyle
improvisation to play over the rhythm.
Dancers will have a simple series of traveling steps, about 4 steps per
rhythm.
We may arrange the steps so each group has its own order of steps and vary
the visual effect.

The parade will stop about 5 times along the route for staged sequences.
of about 2 minutes each. Each time the parade stages, a group will come
forward and do their thing.

Dancers will be in 5 groups, and each group will get one staged sequence,
which I will set individually for them based on a particular rhythm and
their level of ability.
A class can be a group, or a bunch of dancers can be a group.

Some possible group motifs might be Zar, Sword, Stick, Debke, etc (Veil is
out due to wind/rain complications).
Really there are far more motifs than time to do them. We could also do
shorter times and more groups.

Costumes: We are classified as "Contemporary Dance," the designation for
dance rooted in ethnic forms.
We are not obliged to be folkloric in either presentation or costuming.
However, this is chorus work, and each group will need to dress alike for
the sake of visual unity.
I will work with you on costuming, which  should be fairly covered
(weather protection, plus no one needs a sunburned belly button).
Groups must be willing to provide their own costuming for the event.

Rehearsal locations will depend on where the majority of participants are
located,
but will probably be in STJ, Burlington, and/or WRJ areas.
Expect rehearsal at least once a week through July 11.
I can also come to your class and teach the sequences there.
There will be at least one full-group rehearsal, probably in Burlington.

Please email me if you or your class would like to participate, and
Please pass this along to any musicians/dancers you think would make a good
addition to the mix.

This is going to be a really fun event!

Thanks,
Alia

Alia Thabit
Traditional and Avant-Garde Bellydance
Vermont Arts Council Juried Artist; NEST Roster Artist
http://www.earth-goddess.com; http://youtube.com/aliathabit
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