Seattle International Dance Festival Opens June 7

Over the past 14 years the Seattle International Dance Festival (SIDF) has grown to three weeks of events and performances. This year's festival has attracted dance artists from Seattle, the United States and as far away as Benin/West Africa, Italy, Germany, Ireland and India. The festival kicks off on June 7th with an opening party and SHUFFLE; by Saturday June 8th the performances and activities hit full speed.

Tickets to paid performances are $25 in advance, $30 at the door (25 and under are $18 in advance, $22 at the door). A 2-Show pass is $40, the All Festival Pass is $85 and the Premium Pass is $135 (includes reserved seating, complimentary beverages and entrance to the opening night party. Brief performance and event details listed below. Locations, ticketing information and more details are available online at www.SeattleIDF.org.

OPENING PARTY + SHUFFLE June 7; 6:30 - 10pm

Dance artists are randomly paired with local musicians. They have one week to collaborate on an entirely new performance piece. SHUFFLE party guests enjoy snacks, music and drinks in a cabaret-warehouse environment.

ART ON THE FLY June 8; 12 noon 3pm FREE for all-ages.

Outdoor performances and dance classes intertwine with food trucks and the South Lake Union Saturday market. Art on the Fly activates Denny Park at 9th Avenue and Denny Way.

INTER|NATIONAL ARTISTS SERIES WEEKEND 1 - June 8-9 (Sat @ 8pm. Sun @ 7:30 pm)

Alessandra Corona Performing Works (NYC/Italy) with a splash of color and mood, the company develops a lively multi-disciplinary work that integrates dance, music, video, theater and film art. HYPERNOVA (Seattle), the piece is conceptualized by a collaborative team of artists to deliver a stylistically charged art experience with vividly dynamic performance and production elements.Julie Tobiason (Seattle) - this world premiere explores choices and relationships. It's a fast-moving contemporary ballet piece that explores attraction and distraction and how one can lead to the other.Equilibrio Dinamico (Italy) this powerful and passionate female-led company performs a piece that combines contemporary ballet bodies with an animal instinct that seems to seethe from a deep inner sanctum.

James Ray RESIDENCY PROJECT

In the culmination of a year-long residency sponsored by SIDF and supported by the Raynier Foundation, Seattle based artists present new work to audiences.June 11-13 Tues Thurs @ 7:30pmForthun + Rome Dance Theater the company delves into philosophical, emotional, scientific and humanitarian artistry to create an athleticly beautiful and intellectual piece. SOTO+TOWER a boundary-blurring multidisciplinary duo who creates whimsical, visually enticing stage work that is rooted in storytelling, community activation and research. Ranging from humorous to horrifying, they highlight the absurdity of human existence.Cameo creates dense, complex, highly physical pieces. The work is intellectual, intricate and captivating and the choreography pushes the team's creative capacities and curiosities to new places.House of Verlaine an exquisite assemblage of daring classical artists who will create a new piece that brings life to hedonistic fantasies.Petra Zanki this Croatian-American choreographer returns to her Seattle home after touring the world to present a new piece.

SPOTLIGHT ON SEATTLE NOW- June 14 (Fri @ 8pm)

Seattle dance in a nutshell. It includes new and upcoming as well as the tried and true.Curators: Betsey Brock, Cyrus Khambatta, Constanze Villines, and Vicki WattsArtists: Alexandra Madera Roumanis, Beth Terwilleger, Elise Meiners Schwicht, Marlo Martin / Take3 Dance Project, Meredith Pellon.

INTER|NATIONAL ARTISTS SERIES WEEKEND 2 - June 15-16 (Sat @ 8pm, Sun @ 7:30 pm)

Molissa Fenley and Company (NYC)- perform Cosmati Variations with music by John Cage. This work requires strength and endurance. It was created while in residence in Rome and is inspired by the 11th c. Cosmatesque floor mosaics.Tchekpo Dance Company in collaboration with Elisabeth Mas (Germany / West Africa)- European and African sensibilities collide in The Cloak. With an African ritualistic red circular heavy linen embroidered cloak at the center, this work intersects static images with movement. Voodoo rhythms crisscross techno and ballet echoes off African ritual dance.Tara Brandel (Ireland) weaves together diverse stories about masculinity, queerness, MeToo and new immigrants. This piece is a collaboration with Nigerian street dancer Nicholas Nwosu and mixes twerking, contemporary dance, pole dance and video projection.ARC Dance Company (Seattle) founded in 1999 under artistic director Marie Chong, the company has an emphasis on contemporary ballet and is one of Seattle's best-regarded mid-sized professional dance companies.

SPOTLIGHT ON CONTEMPORARY BALLET - June 18 & 19 (Tues & Wed @ 7:30pm)

An audience favorite, this program shines a light on the dance community's promising contemporary ballet talents.Curators: Donald Byrd, Julie Tobiason, Cyrus Khambatta, and Eva StoneArtists: Victoria Gutierrez, Kaelyn Lefferts, Amanda Morgan, Meredith Pellon and Alex Ung / The Guild Dance Company

INTER|NATIONAL ARTISTS SERIES WEEKEND 3 - June 22-23 (Fri & Sat @ 8pm)

ka nei see | collective (San Francisco) - will present a play on the words, can I see? The work promotes perspective and social change via accessible and vitalizing contemporary dance.Sumeet Nagdev Dance Arts (India) creates Contemporary Stage and film productions that are modern yet rooted in Indian ethos and artistry.Robert Moses' KIN (San Francisco) gives a voice to expanded possibilities; they use their art as a platform for focused expressions on race, class, culture, belief, gender and aspiration. The work serves as a testament to expressiveness of the human body birthed by the spirit.Khambatta Dance Company (Seattle)- presents emotionally resonant performances that are highly technical and athletic. KDC is one of the few Seattle contemporary dance companies that tours internationally.

The festival is produced by Khambatta Dance Company and provided to Seattle residents to enrich the local community through the availability and diversity of high caliber contemporary dance.