NJ Emerging Choreographers Take to the Stage at NJPAC Friday, June 14th

Jersey NEW Moves!, a joint program of the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) and Dance New Jersey, has returned for its fifth year, giving six young Garden State choreographers the opportunity to create and present new work while they are mentored by established artists.

In addition, the long-running program now includes a season-long series of roundtables at which participating young choreographers can have in-depth discussions with professional arts marketers, stage lighting and sound designers, fundraisers and grant writers, offering them detailed insight into the business of running a nonprofit dance company.

A performance at which the participants will premiere their newly created works, produced under the guidance of their mentors, will be staged June 14 at NJPAC's Victoria Theater, as a part of the M&T Bank Dance Series.

Young New Jersey choreographers are annually invited to apply to the program via an online entry; each year, independent dance professionals select a handful of new talents to join the two-year mentorship and performance program. During each year that they participate, these novice dancemakers are partnered with a veteran choreographer to hone their work and make it performance-ready, thanks to their mentor's expert advice not only on choreography, but also on music selection and design elements. To ensure that each young artist benefits from multiple points of view, they are paired with a different established artist each year of the program.

Mentors of this year's fellows - each of whom will take part in the creation of their apprentice's new dances, and the rehearsal process that will bring them to NJPAC's stage - include Nai-Ni Chen, artistic director of the Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company of Fort Lee;Carolyn Dorfman, artistic director of Carolyn Dorfman Dance of Union, and Randy James, artistic director of 10 Hairy Legs of Highland Park.

"As we continue to expand this program, we're making a deeper connection with these talented young artists - and offering them more and more of the skills that they'll need to bring their work to fruition," said David Rodriguez, NJPAC's Executive Producer and Executive Vice President.

"We're so proud of the work that has already been created through Jersey NEW Moves!, and we're thrilled that, as we bring ambitious young dancers from an ever-wider circle of New Jersey communities into this program, we're expanding the Arts Center's reach and bringing new genres to our audience of dance enthusiasts."

This program not only fulfills NJPAC's mission of making dance accessible to New Jersey audiences, it also answers Dance New Jersey's longstanding commitment to furthering dance education.

"Dance New Jersey is proud to be a partner in this wonderful program to bring emerging choreographers together with established choreographers to bring their work to the stage at NJPAC," said Lisa Grimes, Executive Director of Dance New Jersey.

"The New Jersey dance community is very excited to see this group premiere a new work for the 2019 Jersey NEW Moves! We look forward to continuing this partnership with NJPAC and are grateful for their impact on the New Jersey dance scene."

The program's current fellows, now in their second year with the program, are Daniel Padierna of Wallington, the Artistic Director of the Padierna Dance Project and a graduate student at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, who is paired with Carolyn Dorfman; dancer, choreographer and musician Joe Monteleone of Hazlet, founder of Monteleone Dance, who is paired with Randy James; and classical Indian Kathak dancerBarkha Patel of Tenafly, who is paired with Nai-Ni Chen.

Joining the program this season are three new fellows: Sameena Mitta of Jersey City, founder and Artistic Director of MeenMoves, who will be partnered with Carolyn Dorfman;Hillary-Marie Atkinson of Livingston, founder and director of the New Jersey Tap Fest, who will be partnered with Randy James; and Katelyn Halpern of Jersey City, founder of the Kate Halpern & Dancers company and of the Jersey City art space, SMUSH Gallery, who will be partnered with Nai-Ni Chen.

Each choreographer will premiere a modern dance piece in the fifth annual Jersey NEW Moves! showcase on Friday, June 14 at 7pm in NJPAC's Victoria Theater. Tickets are $33 through njpac.org, by calling 1-888-GO-NJPAC (466-5722) or visiting the box office at One Center St. in downtown Newark. For groups of nine or more, call (973) 297-5804.

Jersey NEW Moves! is an initiative of Jersey Moves! Festival of Dance, now in its ninth year. Support for Jersey NEW Moves! is provided by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

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