20 Years of Dance Collaboration Continues at the 20th Annual VT State Dance Festival at Lyndon Institute

By: Rebecca McGregor
Lyndon Institute Dance Teacher
VT State Dance Festival Founder & Coordinator
National Dance Education Organization’s Mentoring Dance Educators Committee Member

Once again, the Saturday before Thanksgiving marks the annual Vermont State Dance Festival (VSDF), a very special day of dance in the Northeast Kingdom when student dancers and professionals from around Vermont and as far away as New York City come together to learn and share in the art of dance education and performance. Dancers and teachers alike collaborate in professionally-led workshops in a variety of styles and techniques in preparation for an evening performance open to the public.

This year marks the 20th VSDF. The Vermont State Dance Festival began in 2003 after Lyndon Institute dance teacher Rebecca McGregor toured each Vermont high school’s dance program as part of a college independent study in 2002. She discovered that there was little collaboration, resource sharing, or opportunities for Vermont dance teachers and students to work together and learn from one another. The Vermont State Dance Festival offers dance educators and high school-aged dancers of all disciplines an opportunity to study new and varied techniques with professional dancers and to showcase their skills before professional artists, teachers, their student peers, and the general public. Dance educators at the festival participate in workshops alongside the students throughout the day but also attend a specialized workshop on various topics relating to dance education in the morning.

The State Dance Festival is composed of three elements:

• A series of workshops led by the professional artists;
• A closed session for the dancers to perform prepared choreographies for feedback from a professional, whose remarks get transferred onto adjudication sheets for the dance educators and students to take home and make choreographic improvements in their work for future performances;
• An evening performance open to the general public.

The mission of the VT State Dance Festival is to:

• Introduce students to new dance styles and techniques that they might not routinely be exposed to in their high school dance programs;
• Allow students to interact with experienced professionals;
• Provide students an opportunity to perform before a larger audience than they might typically enjoy;
• Provide dance educators a chance to come together to discuss topics of interest, develop curriculum and instruction, share resources, and learn about changes and opportunities in dance education which they can bring back to their classroom or studio.

The professionals in attendance and teaching workshops this year will include the following:

Paula Higa will be teaching contemporary warm-up and cool-down as well as Brazilian Dance

Alexis Kamitses will be teaching Hip Hop grooves, Broadway Jazz, AfroJazz, Latin Jazz, and Yoga Stretch

Christina Coleman will teach Social Issues through Dance

Isadora Snapp will teach Choreographic Manipulations

Joan Wiegers will teach Creating Amazing Choreography

Millie Heckler will be teaching Street Dance

Ashley Hensel-Browning will teach Modern Dance: Exploring Energetic Flow

A special thank you to Student Choreographer Adjudicators - Liliana Cubero, Jacque Mackay, and Elizabeth Mahnker, as well as the Rehearsal Adjudicators - Lois Trombley and Julie Peoples-Clark.

The Vermont Dance Educators PLC will also meet to talk about preparing dancers for college/career in dance and what they do in their high school programs to encourage these pursuits, as well as discuss a new scholarship opportunity for next year’s festival for student choreographers planning on going on with dance in their future.

As always, the public is welcome and encouraged to attend the evening public performance at the Lyndon Institute Alumni Auditorium on Saturday, November 19th, at 7:00 p.m. Admission is by donation, and performances will be shown by students from dance programs all across VT and as far away as NYC. You don’t want to miss this amazing performance!

For more information about the 20th Annual VT State Dance Festival, or if you are a teen and want to participate in workshops, contact Rebecca McGregor at 802-535-3636 or [email protected].

A special thank you for the event to Lyndon Institute, NVU-Lyndon, the Town of Lyndonville, and Burklyn Arts Council for helping make this event possible in our rural kingdom.

Photo Caption: The 20th Vermont State Dance Festival will occur on Saturday, November 19th, with a public performance in the Lyndon Institute Auditorium at 7 pm. Admission is by donation.