'GOTTA DANCE' to Premiere at Smith Center Today and Tomorrow Only

"Gotta Dance: A Tribute To...Life!" a spectacular, new stage extravaganza celebrating dance through the years, is set for a World Premiere showcase July 2 and 3, 2014, at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in the Troesh Studio Theatre, presented by The HAND Company, directed and choreographed by Giulio Scatola, and produced by Steve Hand, with production design by Emmy Award winner, Andy Walmsley and music produced by Josh Connolly.

"Gotta Dance: A Tribute To...Life!" is about the uncontrollable urge to move and freely express yourself as you find rhythm and music in everything that surrounds you," says director/choreographer Giulio Scatola. "It could be a song or an unexpected beat pulsing from ordinary, every day sounds - from a machine engine hum to the sound of raindrops on the roof. As you liberate yourself through movement, you find connections with the vibrations of life and the people you come in contact with in a timeless celebration of who you are and who we all are!"

The showcase will consist of a variety of dance styles and music and will take the audience on a journey through some iconic and historical dance moments and figures from Hollywood to Broadway, to concerts and classic music videos. Styles will range from Jazz/Fosse to Tap, Modern, Hip Hop, Ballet, Latin, Ballroom, Acrobatics, Pole and Hand-To-Hand numbers and will be performed by a cast of some of the most in-demand, dancers from Las Vegas and around the world. The production will also incorporate an eclectic array of music featuring dance in the title from all genres and eras including the show's title track to "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston, "I Hope You Dance" (Lee Ann Womack) to "Dance My Pain Away" (Wye Oak), among many others.

Each dance "story" will depict various types of desires and urges: from sensual awareness to pure rhythm exploration; from old Hollywood dream sequences to modern dance poetic expression; from pure fun entertainment to spiritual and universal connection. The stage, the sights and the sounds will move as these desires unfold, transforming the physical stage environment into an explosive yet intimate evening of self-exploration and expression.

Some of the celebrities, events and organizations that the creative team behind "Gotta Dance: A Tribute To...Life!" have collaborated with in the past include: Oprah Winfrey, Justin Timberlake, Jay Z, Beyonce, Cee Lo Green, Carlos Santana, 50 Cent, Ziggy Marley, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, "American Idol," "So You Think You Can Dance," the Super Bowl, the Alvin Ailey Company and the Martha Graham Company, among others.

For additional information and to learn more about this World Premiere showcase event, please visit (www.GottaDance.us, Facebook @GottaDanceATributeToLife and Twitter @GottaDance2014). Performances are July 2nd at 7pm and, July 3rd at 4pm and 7pm, and will include VIP receptions one hour prior to the showcase performances.

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