The Dance Foundation presents FREEFORM, a dance performance by Dance Foundation students and guest artists + a virtual silent auction
Featuring dance works by select classes in The Dance Foundation’s Dance Artist Program as well as Guest Artists Natyananda Dance of India, Sanspointe Dance Company, Jenna Graham and Nathanael Edwards. Program is approximately 55 minutes.
Fri, Dec 9, 2022 / 7:30PM
Sat, Dec 10, 2022 / 5:30PM
Sat, Dec 10, 2022 / 7:30PM
The online silent auction benefits The Dance Foundation. Bidding ends December 10; winners will be announced at the 7:30PM show.
Tickets, $7, will be held at “will call” to pick up immediately before the performance; doors open 20 min before curtain.
The performance is supported, in part, by The Alabama State Council on the Arts and National Endowment for the Arts.
GUEST ARTIST Natyananda, directed by Sheila Rubin, performs both traditional and original choreographic works in the classical Bharata Natyam style of South India. Using innovative performance techniques, the company presents this ancient and exquisite dance form in a manner accessible to audiences unfamiliar with Asian art and culture. Natyananda will host a celebratory 45th anniversary performance summer 2023.
GUEST ARTIST Jenna Graham, originally from Oklahoma City, grew up dancing at a local ballet school. In 2012, she moved to New York City to further her ballet training at SLK ballet under the direction of Sara Knight. A contract with the Alabama Ballet brought Jenna to Birmingham in 2014. Some of her favorite roles with the company include Dew Drop and Demi Flower in Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Flower Girl in Don Quixote, Temperament Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Russian Corps in Balanchine’s Serenade, Brown Couple in Fredrick Ashton’s Les Patinuers, and Woman in Nadine Barton’s Watts. Jenna holds a comprehensive pilates certification through Peak Pilates, and she has taught classes and private lessons at Aero Joe Pilates since 2016. She is also a dance instructor at Briarwood Ballet. Outside of work, Jenna enjoys reading, writing, swimming, and spending time with her husband, Nathan, and her dog, Teddy.
GUEST ARTIST Nathanael Edwards is from Spokane, Washington where he began his ballet training under Dodie Askegard and continued with Sara Donally at Spokane Ballet Studio. He has accepted scholarships to summer intensives with American Ballet Theatre, The Joffrey Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Ballet West. In 2018, he was accepted as a trainee at Ballet West on full scholarship. While a trainee, he performed in Gerald Arpino’s Viva Vivaldi, Ballet West Family Classics, Beauty and the Beast, and Snow White, as well as guesting in Alaska with North Star Ballet. Upon completion of the two-year trainee program at Ballet West, he joined Alabama Ballet as an apprentice in 2020. In 2021, he was promoted to Company Dancer with Alabama Ballet and has since enjoyed performing in Rodeo, Statuesque, and George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker.
GUEST ARTIST Sanspointe is a Birmingham-based contemporary dance company composed of a group of artists with various backgrounds, values, and approaches to working in the field of dance. Together we challenge and inspire each other to create work beyond what we would make on our own. Founded in 2003 by Michelle Hamff, Sanspointe has been dedicated to the art of modern dance and the impact the arts can have on our community. We provide professional performances, community classes, workshops for pre-professional students, and much more. We are a 501(c)3 organization, working to make modern dance accessible for one and all. Our mission is to create, collaborate, and connect – with our artform, our fellow artists, and our community.
