Second Dance Accelerator to be Presented by Orlando Ballet, Apples and Oranges and Juilliard

Orlando Ballet's Dance Accelerator 2 mock audition for choreographers will stream next week offering a real-time, behind-the-scenes look via Zoom as choreographers practice pitching their creative works before potential investors. The program will livestream on Zoom beginning at 7:00pm ET on Saturday, May 1, 2021.

Five participants, all graduates of The Juilliard School in New York City, compete with their choreographed pieces performed by Orlando Ballet dancers before a panel of industry experts who have volunteered to serve as mock investors. DA2 is intended to replicate the difficult but necessary side of the performing arts.

The prestigious panel of judges for DA2 includes Broadway producers Deborah Barrera and Brian Moreland, choreographers Abdur Rahim Jackson and Jessica Lang, Juilliard Dance Division Director Alicia Graf Mack, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre Artistic Director Susan Jaffe, Orlando Ballet Board President Jonathan Ledden, and Orlando Ballet Artistic Director Robert Hill.

The live event streams on YouTube at the link below on Saturday, May 1st at 7:00 pm ET (4:00pm PT): https://youtu.be/dc9BDnKIPrk

Dance Accelerator 2 includes work from the following choreographers listed below:

• Natrea Blake - "Exultation"
• Ethan Colangelo - "Is It You"
• Daphne Fernberger - "In Relation To"
• Maddie Hanson - "Of Mind"
• Caitlin Javech - "Listen Carefully"

The program is modeled after THEatre ACCELERATOR, created by Pamela and Tim Kashani, founders of Apples and Oranges Arts. THEatre Accelerator encourages musical theatre writers to explore their work through the lens of entrepreneurs using start-up development strategies to help shows realize their full potential. Tim Kashani, co-founder of Apples and Oranges Arts, serves on the Orlando Ballet Board of Directors.

Orlando Ballet and Apples and Oranges Arts hosted its first program in June 2020 where three members of the dance company created brief programs that were performed live by Orlando Ballet company dancers during a Zoom livestream broadcast. Due to the self-isolation associated with the COVID-19 virus, the choreographers were forced to work with their dance teams remotely. Performances were accomplished remotely as well, watched by a panel of judges all through Zoom.

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