Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre to Kick Off 2015 Dance for World Community Festival This Weekend

José Mateo Ballet Theatre presents the 7th Annual Dance for World Community Festival, Saturday June 13, 12-6:00 pm, FREE and open to the public, a celebration in Harvard Square, Cambridge showcasing dance as a positive force to better our world. With an expected attendance of over 20,000 people, the Festival offers something for everyone with free performances and classes in all dance forms, from Ballet to Hip Hop and beyond.

All festivities will take place at José Mateo Ballet Theatre's home at 1151 Massachusetts Avenue, Harvard Square, Cambridge (traffic closed on Mass. Ave. between Bow and Remington streets) For more information, call (617) 354-7467 or visit www.danceforworldcommunity.org.

"The power of dance that unites us for artistic performance, fitness training or fun parties also has a vastly underutilized potential to bring people together over the social issues we must all care about if we are going to better our world for our children and generations to follow," says Artistic Director José Mateo.

The 7th Annual Dance for World Community Festival offers FREE dance performances and introductory classes in a variety of dance forms plus the opportunity to connect with local nonprofits bettering our world. This year's event has grown to include four outdoor stages plus one indoor stage with performances by 80+ local dance troupes in dance forms including African, Ballet, Folk, Hip Hop, Irish Step, Modern, Salsa, and many more.

Performers include: José Mateo Ballet Theatre, BoSoma Dance Company, FlamencoBoston, Benkadi Drum & Dance and Triveni Ensemble. The Festival features Advocacy Way, providing the opportunity to connect with the important work being accomplished by local non profits including the Moving Steps Foundation, Homeless Empowerment Project, and Save our Streets Boston. Festive food, raffles, and children's activities make it the perfect outing for the whole family. Then all are invited for a free Parking Lot Dance Party celebration from 6-8:00 pm.

Additional Dance for World Community Festival Events

FREE Talk About Dance on Sunday, June 7, 3:00-5:00 pm

The kick-off event for Festival, this year's panel and discussion focuses on Dance and Racism. Through personal stories and conversation, TAD will deal with the various cultural stereotypes and access to all to quality dance education.

FREE Dance on Film Festival Nightly Screenings, June 8-11, 8:00pm

featuring recent dance-focused films by local and international filmmakers.

All events take place at Jose Mateo Ballet Theatre, 1151 Massachusetts Avenue, Harvard Square, Cambridge. For more information, call (617) 354-7467 or visit www.danceforworldcommunity.org

Festival Spotlight: The Moving Steps Foundation

The Moving Steps Foundation is a new non-profit prison dance project located at the South Middlesex Correctional Center, the state women's minimum security/ pre-release facility in Framingham. Dance, and most especially performance, has proven to be a powerful tool in personal transformation and successful community re-entry. The Moving Steps Dance Collaborative is comprised of former inmates, all of whom were members of the resident dance company during their time at South Middlesex Correctional Center. Their love of dance continues to foster a positive social, spiritual and creative connection to each other and to the goals of the Moving Steps experience as they achieve community reintegration. www.movingstepsfoundation.org

See the Moving Steps Foundation at the Festival where they will:

- Host an informational table along Advocacy Way

- Teach a class in Global Dance/Expressive Movement

- Perform on stage

Click here to see more about this year's Festival: www.danceforworldcommunity.org.

Founded in 1986, José Mateo Ballet Theatre is one of America's leading producers of new ballets, the area's most innovative ballet school, and the originator of Dance for World Community, a project that builds local and global networks to expand the role of dance in our culture. Over the past 25 years Cuban-born Artistic Director and Founder, José Mateo has developed his unique vision of using the power of dance to inspire and engage today's diverse audiences.

Hailed by Boston Magazine as "Best of Boston 2011 Dance Performance", the Company regularly presents Mateo's highly acclaimed concerts at its stunning Sanctuary Theatre in its home at Old Cambridge Baptist Church in Harvard Square. The School offers an innovative model for a high-quality academy with a humanistic approach to ballet training that fosters diversity and inclusion at both its Cambridge campus and Duxbury satellite program. Dance for World Community makes dance accessible to thousands of children, families, and new audiences, and produces the annual Dance for World Community Festival, an event that features performances by over 80 local dance groups, workshops, classes, and advocacy that celebrates the role of dance to create social change. Learn more about José Mateo Ballet Theatre at www.ballettheatre.org.