CHOP SHOP Announces 2021 Online Dance Festival

CHOP SHOP: Bodies of Work Contemporary Dance Festival returns in January and February 2021 in a new and expanded online format, co-designed with the festival artists, offering audiences in Seattle and beyond the opportunity to engage with contemporary dance from their homes. All programming during CHOP SHOP 2021 is offered online and on a free or pay-what-you-can sliding scale basis.

The centerpiece of the 2021 festival is a series of seven world premiere dance films created by leading local and national contemporary dance artists. CHOP SHOP 2021 proudly features dance films by:

• Daniel Costa / Daniel Costa Dance (Seattle, WA)

• Eva Stone & Simone Elliott / Root Collective (Seattle, WA & Germany)

• Javier Padilla and The Movement Playground (New York City, NY)

• Lauren Horn//Subira Vs. Movement (Windsor, CT)

• Mark Haim (Seattle, WA)

• Nicole von Arx / NVA & Guests (Brooklyn, NY & Switzerland)

• Omar Román De Jesús / Boca Tuya (New York City, NY)

"The recent dramatic shift caused by the pandemic in the performing arts landscape, though devastating for so many of us in the dance community, offered up an incredible opportunity to collaborate with some of the brightest minds in dance in a whole new way," says CHOP SHOP producer, founder, and co-curator Eva Stone. "All festival participants will have a rare opportunity to engage directly with these groundbreaking dance artists and connect with their creative processes. Through master classes, original dance films, and stimulating conversations with each of these dancemakers, we are staying true to our mission of the past 14 years in connecting audiences to dance through education, experience, and performance."

CHOP SHOP will premiere dance films created by the participating artists each Thursday in February, with a live Q&A with the week's artists following each Sunday. All the films will remain accessible online until 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on Wednesday, March 31, 2021, allowing viewers to revisit the films as often as they'd like during that time.

In addition to the dance films, CHOP SHOP offers fun classes and events designed to bring artists and audiences closer together, even during this time of social distancing. This additional programming includes:

The Experience Dance Program invites everyone to explore modern and contemporary dance through two no experience necessary classes. Reading Dance offers the opportunity to engage directly with festival artists as they discuss the craft of choreography, while Intro to Modern Dance is a fun dance technique class for those interested in learning basic modern dance vocabulary. Both classes are open to participants of all ages and abilities.

New this year, the Arts Journalism Intensive, offered in partnership with TeenTix, engages teens ages 13-19. During the four-week series, participants will be mentored by a professional arts journalist, interview contemporary dance artists, and write an article about one of the artists featured in the 2021 CHOP SHOP Contemporary Dance Festival. All participants will have their writing published on both the TeenTix Blog and CHOP SHOP's website and receive a modest stipend for their work. The series runs each Sunday from January 10 - January 31. More information and registration details are available at chopshopdance.org/dance-journalism-workshop.

The CHOP SHOP Master Class Series offers intermediate/advanced level classes highlighting diverse approaches to modern and contemporary dance. Taught by the festival artists, each class is open to dancers ages 12+ with a minimum of three years of dance training.

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