11th Annual Emerson SPRING TO DANCE Festival Returns To The Touhill

Dance St. Louis closes its 2017-18 season with the 11th Annual Emerson SPRING TO DANCE Festival. Noted as one of the region's must-see festivals, the vibrant extravaganza brings together more than 25 professional dance companies from across the country and beyond for two unique, exhilarating nights of nonstop dance on Memorial Day weekend.

This year's participating companies come from as far as Havana, Cuba, Toronto, Canada, Los Angeles and New York City and as near as Chicago, Memphis and St. Louis. Premier companies include Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater, Wewolf, Project 44 and more! Ballet highlights include performances by principal dancers from Joffrey Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, National Ballet of Cuba, Houston Ballet and The National Ballet of Canada.

From ballet, modern and contemporary to flamenco, hip-hop and more, the festival offers something for everyone with a distinct, dynamic program each night. Tickets are $10-$20 per night, and are available for purchase at touhill.org or dancestlouis.org. The Touhill Performing Arts Center is the collaborative partner of SPRING TO DANCE.

The festival begins at 5:30 p.m. each night in the Touhill's Terrace Lobby with St. Louis-area community dance groups leading interactive demonstrations and performing various dance styles. This year's local community groups include Kari James Dance Network, Convergence, Collective Motion and Wei Dance Arts on Friday, and Alma de Mexico St. Louis, Hui Hula 'O Punahele Hula Halau, and Ballroom Dance Academy of St. Louis on Saturday. At 6 p.m. performances by the festival's featured professional companies begin in the Lee Theater, followed by the 7:30 p.m. main stage performances in the Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall.

The festival's program order is as follows:

Friday, MAY 25

Terrace Lobby, 5:30 p.m.
Performances by local dance troupes

Lee Theater, 6 p.m.
Clinard Dance (Chicago, IL)
MOMENTA (Oak Park, IL)
LaneCoArts (New York, NY)
DAMAGEDANCE (Denver, CO)
Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (Dayton, OH)
Chicago Dance Crash (Chicago, IL)

Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall, 7:30 p.m.
Owen/Cox Dance Group (Kansas City, MO)
MADCO (St. Louis, MO)
The Big Muddy Dance Company (St. Louis, MO)
- Intermission-
Wewolf (Los Angeles, CA)
Joffrey Ballet (Chicago, IL)
Chicago Human Rhythm Project (Chicago, IL)
Ballet Memphis (Memphis, TN)

Saturday, MAY 26

Terrace Lobby, 5:30 p.m.
Performances by local dance troupes

Lee Theater, 6 p.m.
Kristi Faulkner Dance (Detroit, MI)
DanceWorks Chicago (Chicago, IL)
Pas de Monkéy Dance Project (Akron, OH)
Flying Foot Forum (Minneapolis, MN)
Kambré Contemporary Dance Company (St. Louis, MO)

Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall, 7:30 p.m.
DanceWorks Chicago (Chicago, IL)
The Seldoms (Chicago, IL)
Houston Ballet / The National Ballet of Canada (Houston, TX) / (Toronto, Ontario)
Project 44 (New York, NY)
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (Chicago, IL)
- Intermission -
Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (Chicago, IL)
San Francisco Ballet / National Ballet of Cuba (Ballet Nacional de Cuba) (San Francisco, CA) / (Havana, Cuba)
Ensemble Español Spanish Dance Theater (Chicago, IL)

Covered by the New York Times and Dance Magazine, the festival has gained national and regional attention for thrilling audiences with a smorgasbord of dance styles from the country's premier and emerging professional dance companies for a ticket price under $20. "Arguably the best dance buffet in the Midwest," hails the Chicago Tribune. "In a difficult economic climate, Dance St. Louis has just the ticket," states Dance Magazine. Time Out Chicago says, "Audiences flock to the performances-the price is right and the offerings are generous." The St. Louis Post-Dispatch says, "Of all the local Memorial Day weekend events, perhaps the most consistently exciting is... Spring to Dance Festival presented by Dance St. Louis."

Tickets are $10-$20. Save $5 when selecting a Lee Theater ticket and main stage Anheuser-Busch Performance Hall ticket for the same night. Tickets are available at the Touhill Ticket Office at One University Boulevard (on the campus of UMSL), St. Louis, MO 63121, or by calling 314-516-4949 or visiting http://touhill.org.

Dance St. Louis is grateful for sponsor support to continue its mission to present world-class dance. Emerson is the title sponsor of the 11th Annual Emerson SPRING TO DANCE Festival. The Whitaker Foundation, Wells Fargo Advisors, and Centene Charitable Foundation are presenting sponsors. Edward Jones is the underwriting sponsor. The Touhill Performing Arts Center is the collaborative partner of SPRING TO DANCE.

The 2017-2018 season sponsors include local and regional funders: Ameren, Arts and Education Council, Missouri Arts Council and the Regional Arts Commission. National funders include National Endowment for the Arts and The Shubert Foundation.

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