José Mateo Ballet Theatre sets the stage for a new dance series
DANCE SATURDAYS AT THE SANCTUARY
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Showcasing local, culturally diverse dance groups along with music, visual arts, and food for an immersive dance celebration
Ten Saturday Nights: March 16 – May 25, 2019
Sanctuary Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge
After 32 years of presenting new ballets known for their distinctive, streamlined classicism, José Mateo Ballet Theatre (JMBT) introduces a groundbreaking series: DANCE SATURDAYS AT THE SANCTUARY. For ten Saturday nights this spring at the company’s home (The Sanctuary Theatre, 400 Harvard Street in Harvard Square, Cambridge), the series will highlight several of the unique cultures that characterize Greater Boston’s diverse dance communities. DANCE SATURDAYS will make accessible new discoveries in the realms of Classical Indian Dance, Traditional Japanese Dance, Hip hop, Salsa, Traditional Greek Dance, Tap, Flamenco, Contemporary Dance Theatre, Ballet, and West African Dance. For more information and tickets, visit www.ballettheatre.org.
Schedule for Dance Saturdays at the Sanctuary
Events begin at 7:00 p.m.* at The Sanctuary Theatre (400 Harvard Street in Harvard Square, Cambridge)
*In some cases, a dance lesson will be offered in advance of the event.
March 16 Classical Indian Dance (Vidyanjali Dancers of New England)
March 23 Traditional Japanese Dance (Michiko Kurata)
March 30 Hip hop (The Wondertwins)
April 6 Salsa (Salsa Y Control)
April 13 Traditional Greek Dance (Boston Lykeion Ellinidon)
April 27 Tap (Subject: Matter)
May 4 Flamenco (Yosi Karahashi)
May 11 Contemporary Dance Theatre (Lorraine Chapman The Company & Moving Steps)
May 18 Ballet (José Mateo Ballet Theatre’s YouthWorks and faculty)
May 25 West African Dance (Benkadi)
TICKETS:
Starting at $25 per performance (as part of the 10-performance package)
Single Performances: $35 each
VIP Tickets: $125 includes free parking
Tickets and Information: ballettheatre.org or 617-354-7467
Dance Saturdays continue JMBT’s signature style of presenting “dance up-close” with an expanded vision and format. Upon entering the Sanctuary, audiences will be immersed in an in-depth cultural and artistic experience as a way to further explore the provocative and sometimes hidden worlds of ten different dance forms. Presented as a celebration of dance, the performances by leading dance artists from the Greater Boston area will be accompanied by a culturally rich dance party ambiance with music, visual art displays, dancing for all, food and drinks.
JMBT founder and Artistic Director José Mateo expressed his enthusiasm for the project stating, “After three decades of lavishing in the beauty of classical ballet, I look to Dance Saturdays to demonstrate to diverse audiences how beauty, in dance as in nature, will always reveal itself in many different forms. I’m confident that audiences will thoroughly enjoy themselves but my deepest hope is that the connections they experience at these events will broaden their understanding of beauty in dance and its inherent role in building trust and community.”
Dance Saturdays will be presented under the auspices of JMBT‘s signature project, Dance for World Community, best known for its indoor/outdoor June festival in Harvard Square. Now in its 11th year, the DWC Festival annually presents performances by over seventy local dance groups.
For details about Dance for World Community Festival Week on June 3-8, 2019, visit: www.ballettheatre.org/dance-for-world-community
Dance Saturdays Advisory Council
Catherine Amidon, Exhibition Curator
Shelly Bradbury, Sculptor / Designer
Mary Catherine Deibel, Director of Development, Cambridge Center for Adult Education
Lynne Federman, Lawyer / JMBT Board Member
Susan Fleischmann, Executive Director, CCTV
Jane Goldberg, Author, Performer, Tap Historian
Denise Jillson, Executive Director, Harvard Square Business Association
Paul Kirshen, Professor, UMass Boston’s School for the Environment / Academic Advisor, Sustainable Solutions Lab
Mara Littman, Communications Consultant / JMBT Board Member
Catherine Peterson, Executive Director, Arts/Boston
Elaine Shannon, Media Production Stylist / JMBT Board Member
Denise E. Simmons, Cambridge City Councilor / Former Mayor of Cambridge
Valentine Talland, Consultant, Art Conservation Specialist / JMBT Board Member
Jason Weeks, Executive Director, Cambridge Arts Council
John Wilpers, Media Consultant / Innovation Media Consulting
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About José Mateo Ballet Theatre
Founded in 1986, José Mateo Ballet Theatre consists of a performance company distinguished by its 32-year run that brought it recognition as one of America’s leading producers of new ballets; an innovative ballet school for professionals and recreational dancers of all ages; and Dance for World Community, a project that has been expanding and elevating the role of dance in the Greater Boston area since 2009. Cuban-born Founder/Artistic Director José Mateo has developed his unique vision to create a new model for an inclusive and socially responsible ballet organization that works to engage the diverse audiences of our contemporary global culture. ballettheatre.org