Dance on the Lawn Outdoor Dance Festival Calls for Applicants for 2018

In anticipation of the fifth anniversary of Montclair, NJ's Dance on the Lawn outdoor dance festival, a call for applicants has been announced for DOTL '18. The free, outdoor dance festival takes place each year on the second Saturday in September, on the front lawn of St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 73 South Fullerton Avenue. The Festival this year is on Saturday, September 8 from 3-5pm.

A premiere showcase and mentoring Launchpad for NJ and NY's finest choreographic talent, Dance on the Lawn offers Montclair residents and neighboring communities a sneak peek at emerging and established artists from NJ and the NY area.

The festival, founded by Montclair resident Charmaine Warren in 2014, hopes to increase New Jersey's exposure to dance by bringing professional and emerging companies, plus students of dance from around the state, together to perform in a community setting. In addition to offering presentation opportunities, Dance on the Lawn has created an "Emerging Commissioned New Jersey Choreographer" and mentor program to help support young, emerging artists.

About the DOTL Emerging Choreographer application:

Each "Emerging Commissioned NJ Choreographer" (ECNJC) applicant must be a resident of NJ and a professional choreographer with at least two years experience presenting work in a public venue - online application. The ECNJC will be announced Jan. 19, 2018.

The winner of DOTL's ECNJC competition will also participate in an Open Rehearsal in April 2018, exhibiting their DOTL commissioned "work in process." The Open Rehearsal will be open to the public and include a question and answer session with the choreographer and dancers. The recipient (s) will show a finished version of their new work at the Dance on the Lawn Festival, Sept. 8, 2018.

About the DOTL Performance application:

Festival participating companies will include NJ Dance Schools and performing groups, NJ professional companies and NY professional companies. New Jersey applicants must be residents of New Jersey; New York applicants must be residents of New York. Each applicant must have presented choreography for at least two years at a public venue. Online applications must be received no later than Dec. 15, 2017.

All selected artists will participate in the Dance on the Lawn Festival event on Saturday, Sept 8 at 3pm, in Montclair, NJ.

Charmaine Warren is winner of the Dance NJ's JETÉ AWARD, in honor of founding the Dance on the Lawn Festival. Dance NJ is the service organization committed to advocating the excellence of dance and dance education in the state. Ms. Warren, together with Laura Marchese, DOTL Managing Director, are the guiding force behind "Dance on the Lawn: Montclair's Dance Festival." Ms. Marchese is a recipient of a NJ Governor's Arts in Education Distinguished Teaching Artist Award.

The New Jersey State Arts Council has given four awards to Dance on the Lawn artists: Nancy Turano, Artistic Director, NJ Dance Theatre Ensemble, DOTL artist since 2014; Kyle Marshall, DOTL 2016 "Emerging Commissioned New Jersey Choreographer" recipient; Lauren Connolly, DOTL 2017 "Emerging Commissioned New Jersey Choreographer" recipient; and Hillary-Marie, Choreographer/Director FutureSTEP Tap Company, who participated in DOTL 2017 for the first time.

Dance on the Lawn Outdoor Dance Festival
Saturday, September 8, 2018 from 3-5pm.
73 South Fullerton Avenue - St. Luke's Episcopal Church
Montclair, NJ 07042

Find out more here. See video excerpt of Dance On The Lawn 2017 here.