Poetry in motion during Dance Week 2011, captured by Adam Freidin.
National Dance Week kicks off (pardon the pun) in Santa Cruz Thursday, April 19, at 5:30pm right outside Santa Cruz Weekly’s doors—lucky us!—with performances in front of the Civic, City Hall and the Church Street Library. And what do the organizational wizards at Dance Week Santa Cruz have in store for the dance fans of Santa Cruz? Well, for a full schedule you’ll have to check www.santacruzdance.com, but here’s a little taste: Te Hau Nui Polynesian, Santa Cruz Tango, Tannery World Dance, UCSC’s Random With A Purpose and the Hoopalights. And that’s just a hint—in all, 19 dance troups will strut their stuff in the street. The finale, in front of the Civic, will feature the fire dancers of Nocturnal Sunshine.
And just because Dancing in The Streets ends Thursday at 9pm doesn’t mean the fun is over by any means. The Dance in Unlikely Places meme pops up all weekend long, starting at 6:30pm Friday in front of Verve with Mandy Greenlee and Shelly Adams’ Steamy Addictive Verve Excursion and Viva! Latina dance performing at 7pm in front of Motiv. It continues Saturday at 11:30am with Santa Cruz Sambistas at Trader Joe’s, Te Hau Nui at 5pm in front of Hula’s (appropriately enough) and Santa Cruz Tango—not to be missed—at 6:20pm in front of the Museum of Art and History. On Sunday, Furrst Meating with Tyler Wardwell and Dancers appear in the Cooper House Breezeway at 11am and noon, and the Yabas Dance Company performs at Abbott Square at 4:30pm.
If watching all the fun leaves you dance-curious, there are free dance classes in the offing all week. Here are some highlighted venues and classes:
Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center
Saturday
9am Balinese
11am Kids Modern 1 (6-8 years)
12:30pm Kids Modern 2 (8-16 years)
1:45pm Kids Hip Hop (8-16)
Sunday
10am Zumba
6:30pm Women’s Sacred Movement
Wednesday
10am Zumba
5:30pm Modern with Micha
Thursday
4:30pm Teen Contemporary (12-17)
6:15pm Limon Technique
7:30pm Senegalese with Oumou
Friday
10am Nia
4:45pm Hula
6pm Haitian Folklorico
Saturday
1:30pm Burlesque Basics
3pm Salsa Partnering and Technique
Sunday
11am Contemporary
Monday
5:30pm Mixed Level Tap
6:30pm Hip Hop Basics
Tuesday
12:30pm Lunchtime Pilates
7pm Jazz Basics
Wednesday
5:30pm Beginning Hip Hop
Tuesday
6pm Bellydance for Beginners
8pm Samba Basics
Saturday
5pm Beginning Hip Hop
7:30pm Beginning West Coast Swing (party at 9pm)
Santa Cruz Dance Company
Sunday
10am Zumba
Monday
2:45pm Boys Hip Hop 4-6 years
3:30pm Hip Hop/Jazz 6-8 years
4:30pm Hip Hop/Jazz 9-11 years
5:30pm Street Jazz
Wednesday
6:30pm Hip Hop Zumba
