Jose Mateo Dance For World Community Festival, 2012

From Ballet to Hip Hop, Square Dance to Modern,
over 15,000 people expected at this FREE all-day, indoor-outdoor celebration showcasing dance as a positive force for social change.

Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre proudly presents the “Fourth Annual Dance for World Community Festival”, free and open to the public, on Saturday, June 9, 2012, 12:00 pm to 10:00 pm in Harvard Square, Cambridge, in and around the Old Cambridge Baptist Church (traffic closed to Harvard St. from Ware to Quincy Streets). The dance-based Festival showcases dance as a powerful force in bringing people together to work and celebrate for a better world.

“The Dance for World Community Festival, the first dance festival of its kind in this area or any where, was created to respond to a number of needs within and beyond the dance community,” says Artistic Director Jose Mateo. “The response from the participants and community at large has been phenomenal over the past three years. Amid the fun, entertainment and provocative performances, people are getting the point: that dance can play a larger role in engaging and shaping community. This year we will be enhancing each of the components; more performers, more classes and more surprises, all to raise more awareness about the critical social and environmental issues to which we should all be paying attention.”

In collaboration with the City of Cambridge, other arts, civic and social advocacy groups, and with support from the local business community, the Festival will present an array of dance performances, classes, and an interactive dance celebration:
12:00 pm-7:00 pm: varied dance performances by over 50 New England dance companies and youth troupes and introductory classes for adults and children in ethnic, classical and contemporary dance forms
7:00 pm-10:00 pm: “Dancing in the Street,” a come-one, come-all block party with live music and entertainment into the night.