Seattle International Dance Festival To Last Seventeen Days With 50 Performances, 6/9-25

This year's highly anticipated Seattle International Dance Festival (SIDF) and Art on the Fly is bigger than ever with extra days and a larger venue for all indoor performances. For 12 years, SIDF has continued to grow while consistently offering a bold mix of global and local artists. This year the festival runs for 17 days from June 9-25; the popular Art on the Fly kicks things off one week prior, Saturday June 3, 2017. SIDF's astonishing array of 50+ performances dazzles with more than 100 artists from China, Portugal, Switzerland, Russia, India, the West Coast and Seattle. The popular Spotlight on Seattle Series returns with Spotlight: Artist's Perspective, Spotlight on Seattle Now and a two-night program for Spotlight on Contemporary Ballet. Curators for the Spotlight events include: Donald Byrd, Cyrus Khambatta, Marlo Ariz, Eva Stone, Deb Wolf, Constanze Villines and Erin Boyt. The festival's popular Sanity Cafe returns for a 4th year on June 12. SIDF has added a special interactive two-part performance event titled [FRAGILE] on June 19 and 21. The Threshold Institute, a workshop for aspiring dancers, runs from June 19-24 and registered dancers study with guest teachers from the festival's roster.

Tickets to paid performances are $23 in advance, $27 at the door (Students are $18 in advance, $22 at the door). A 2-Show pass is $38, the All Festival Pass (12 unique shows, 16 in all) is $75 and the Premium Pass ($125, includes priority seating, complimentary beverages and entrance to the closing night VIP party.) All details, including performance times, locations and ticketing information are available at www.SeattleIDF.org. Most performances are at Broadway Performance Hall. [FRAGILE] is at Velocity Dance Center, and Sanity Café will be at The Rendezvous in Belltown.

ART ON THE FLY - June 3; 12 noon - 3pm

SIDF partners with the SLU Saturday Market to bring dozens of FREE all-ages dance events, food trucks and crafts to South Lake Union. Art on the Fly takes over the outside spaces on 9th Avenue and Denny Ave at Denny Park. Contemporary dance springs to life in everyday environments with surprise/ roving performances, impromptu dance classes, flash mobs, arts & crafts vendors, music and food.

INTER|NATIONAL ARTISTS SERIES WEEKEND 1 - June 9-11 (Fri & Sat @ 8pm. Sun@7:30 pm)

Gu Jiani (Beijing, China)

Khambatta Dance Company (Seattle)

Tabea Martin (Basel, Switzerland)

Rachel Barker (Charlotte, NC)

INTER|NATIONAL ARTISTS SERIES WEEKEND 2 - June 16-18 (Fri & Sat @ 8pm. Sun@7:30 pm)

Quorum Ballet (Lisbon, Portugal)

Bruce McCormick (Seattle, WA)

Invertigo Dance Theater (Los Angeles, CA)

Modern Line Dance Theater (Russia/Seattle)

INTER|NATIONAL ARTISTS SERIES WEEKEND 3 - June 23 - 25 (Thur. @ 7:30. Fri & Sat @ 8pm)

Sapphire Dance Creative (Kolkata, India)

Rachel Lincoln (Seattle, WA)

Peter & Co (San Francisco, CA)

Marlo Ariz Dance (Seattle, WA)

SPOTLIGHT ON SEATTLE SERIES - June 13, 15, 20, 21 at 7:30pm

June 13 - Spotlight on Seattle Now

Curated by Cyrus Khambatta, Deb Wolf and Marlo Ariz. Includes artists Erica Badgeley, Corr de Rose, Delashmette Dance Projects, Ka.nei.see Collective, and Maya Soto + Nico Tower

June 15 - Spotlight: Artist's Perspective

Curated by Erin Boyt, Cyrus Khambatta and Constanze Villines. Includes artists Forthun Rome Dance, Kimberly Holloway, Samsara, Tesselations Dance Project and Amber Willett

June 21 & 22 - Spotlight on Contemporary Ballet

Curated by Donald Byrd, Cyrus Khambatta and Eva Stone. Presenting Daniel Costa Dance, Christopher D'Ariano Company, Emilee Hope Putsche. Includes a commissioned work by Miles Pertl (PNB) with a special feature by Donald Byrd (Spectrum)

SANITY CAFE - June 12 at The Rendezvous in Belltown - more details available online after May 1.

At this cabaret-style performance event drinks are served and conversation is encouraged. Dance artists create a new work based on a random John Cage-inspired theme. A random drawing of audience member and social media suggestions sparks artistic innovation and magic.

SPECIAL EVENT [FRAGILE] - June 19 at 7:30pm - Velocity Dance Center; June 22 at 7:30 - location TBD.

An interactive performance by Serial Paradise (Italy, Norway, Romania) where dancers play with different layers of distance between artist and audience; part performance, part installation, and part game, the audience gets involved in the risk and fragility of our multiple identities.

THE THRESHOLD INSTITUTE - June 19-24 (Performance June 24, 2pm)

At this week-long intensive intermediate and advanced dancers study with Seattle-based Kirsten Cooper, Jovon Miller, Cyrus Khambatta and Inter|National Series artists Sergei Burlak (Russia), Sudarshan Chakravorty (India) and Laura Karlin (Los Angeles). The final performance is with Khambatta Dance and Jovon Miller Productions.

The festival is produced by Khambatta Dance Company and provided to Seattle residents to enrich the local community through the availability and diversity of high caliber contemporary dance.

(Picture Credit: Seattle Dance Festival Brochure)