Urbanity Dance to Host Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, 8/16-17

Urbanity Dance, a Boston-based contemporary Dance Company, is hosting the second annual Boston Contemporary Dance Festival from August 16-17 at the Paramount Center in Boston. The Boston Contemporary Dance Festival draws a diverse array of contemporary dance artists from across the world. Tickets to the festival are available online via the Paramount Center box office or by calling 617.824.8400 for $20-$35. Premium seating is also available for $75.

"Last year's inaugural Boston Contemporary Dance Festival had 40 applicants and this year's response was an eye-opener with more than 100 applications received from dance companies from Boston to Alaska"

This year, the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival received an outpouring of more than 100 applications. From this elite pool, Urbanity selected 35 contemporary companies and choreographers to present their work in the Boston Edition and National Showcase shows. Communities from Boston and beyond will have the opportunity to meet and mingle with industry-leading critics, producers, and photographers and explore contemporary dance as a means of social change and exchange during a series of panels and workshops.

On Friday, August 16, nationally renowned contemporary dance companies will offer free master classes to intermediate and advanced dancers, ages 14 and up, at the Paramount Center. Space in the workshops will be first come, first served. The Boston Contemporary Dance Festival will also offer panels on (1) the Boston arts ecosystem and (2) best business practices for dance directors and board members. Please check bostoncontemporarydance.org for the latest schedule.

On Saturday, August 17, a global array of choreographers and dancers will perform in the National Showcase shows at 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., including Robert Moses' Kin-known as one of "the most important art entities in the San Francisco Bay Area," Gillmer Duran and the Alaskan Dance Theater, and ELSCO Dance, a modern Dance Company led by Ellenore Scott (So You Think You Can Dance,Smash). Boston area choreographers and dancers will perform in the Boston Edition show at 12 p.m. to recognize local contemporary dance talent.

"Last year's inaugural Boston Contemporary Dance Festival had 40 applicants and this year's response was an eye-opener with more than 100 applications received from dance companies from Boston to Alaska," said Betsi Graves, artistic director at Urbanity Dance and founder of BCDF. "This unprecedented clamor to participate in an all-volunteer festival demonstrates the enormous need for dancers to have an opportunity to perform in a professional venue and reflects the draw of Boston as a groundbreaking center for ideas and the arts."

For more information regarding the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival, please visit bostoncontemporarydance.org or emailinfo@bostoncontemporarydance.org.

The Boston Contemporary Dance Festival draws a diverse array of contemporary dance artists from across the world to Boston. The festival aims to inspire and build a mighty contemporary dance community in the Boston area and beyond. Visit bostoncontemporarydance.org to learn more about the festival.

Urbanity Dance is a Boston-based contemporary Dance Company, celebrating its fifth anniversary in 2013. Its 30 company dancers hail from strong technical backgrounds, but flock to Urbanity because of its vitality, organized chaos, and raw dedication to the community. Our work is a product of cross-disciplinary collaboration with local musicians, fashion designers, and architects. We exist to inspire, engage, and empower individuals and communities through the art of dance and movement. The company has performed in venues across the United States, including Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in the Berkshires, the Dance Gallery Festival in Houston, and the Alvin Ailey Citigroup Theater in New York. In 2012, the Improper Bostonian named Urbanity Dance the Best Dance Company in their Best of Boston issue.