WINSTON-SALEM – The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) will once again host its annual “Festival of North Carolina Dance.” Approximately 400 students, teachers and directors from more than 25 dance schools and companies across North Carolina will participate in the event, Feb. 18-20 on UNCSA’s campus.

The weekend culminates in a showcase of adjudicated works by North Carolina dance companies selected for performance at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 20, at the Stevens Center in downtown Winston-Salem.  Admission is free.  For more information, call the UNCSA Box Office at 336-721-1945 or visit www.uncsa.edu/performances.

“This is a wonderful way to celebrate dance with our colleagues and their students from across the state of North Carolina,” said UNCSA School of Dance Dean Ethan Stiefel. “It is a welcoming forum that allows us all to learn more about the level of talent and dance instruction statewide, while simply enjoying the hard work and performances of our enthusiastic participants.

“I know that the UNCSA faculty and I always look forward to the festival and the energy it brings to our campus,” added Dean Stiefel, who is a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre.

 Over the course of the weekend, dancers will take classes that will include ballet technique, contemporary technique, pointe/variations, jazz and character. All sessions will be taught by members of the distinguished UNCSA School of Dance faculty and guest artists. 

Dance companies participating include Arendell Parrott Academy (Kinston), Bonita’s School of Ballet/Monroe City Ballet, Cary Ballet School, Carolina Performing Arts Center (Southern Pines), Centre of Performing Arts (Graham), Center Stage Dance Studio (Asheville), Charlotte City Ballet, Charlotte School of Ballet, City Ballet (Raleigh), The Dance Cooperative (Wilmington), Dance Davidson, Dance Express (Wilmington), Danceworks Dance Studio (Wilmington), Elements in Dance (Dallas), Encore Academy of Dance (Durham), Gaston Dance Theatre (Gastonia), Gotta Dance (Wake Forest), Greensboro Ballet, Greenville Civic Ballet, Infinity Ballet (Apex), Inspirations Dance Centre (Southport), The International Ballet Academy of Cary, Jami Masters School of Dance Ltd. (Charlotte), Sheets Dance Academy (Lexington), Sonya’s Dance Academy (Hickory), Taylor Academy of Dance (Wake Forest), Triangle Youth Ballet (Chapel Hill), Walkerdance Ballet Theatre (Elon), and Wilmington School of Ballet.

The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is the first state-supported, residential school of its kind in the nation. Established as the North Carolina School of the Arts by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, UNCSA opened in Winston-Salem (“The City of Arts and Innovation”) in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system in 1972. More than 1,100 students from high school through graduate school train for careers in the arts in five professional schools: Dance, Design and Production (including a Visual Arts Program), Drama, Filmmaking, and Music. UNCSA is the state’s only public arts conservatory, dedicated entirely to the professional training of talented students in the performing, visual and moving image arts. UNCSA is located at 1533 S. Main St., Winston-Salem. For more information, visit www.uncsa.edu.

 

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