- Internationally acclaimed guest artist Norbert Nirewicz will perform with Dance Theatre Northwest. The non-profit group’s series includes free performances and workshops at fairs, festivals, area residential facilities and the
Museum of
Glass . This year’s season will include new creations and an appearance by Nirewicz at the Museum of Glass performance in August.
Art can be inspired – and it can inspire. The drama and passion exuded by creations in the
Museum of
Glass have leapt from crystalline forms into the lithe and graceful bodies of dancers.
Internationally acclaimed guest artist Norbert Nirewicz will join Dance Theatre Northwest dancers in expressing that impact through several new dance pieces at the museum this summer. The museum event is one of several in the regional dance group’s Celebrate Summer series. “My choreography at
Museum of
Glass will focus on a personal interpretation of the glass installations and art pieces at the museum,” said DTN Artistic Director Melanie Kirk-Stauffer.
“Pieces that will be performed include ‘Bleeding Heart,’ ‘Shadows & Light,’ ‘Vases & Vessels’ and ‘Of Times Gone By,’ along with a new surprise piece that is being created with Norbert in mind,” she said.
Nirewicz, a native of Poland, is an award-winning performer who has danced with companies around Europe, South America and the
United States . He has worked extensively as a freelance performer, teacher and choreographer and has presented master classes, company classes and intensive workshops around the
United States .
He presented a master training workshop for DTN last year and participated in a public performance with the group last year, but a portion of that event was rained out. The
Museum of
Glass production will give people who missed out that day another chance to see the visiting master, Kirk-Stauffer said.
DTN’s “Celebrate Summer” project presents a series of interactive workshops, free dance performances and educational lectures from April through August at area festivals, senior communities and assisted-living facilities. The museum performance in August will be a culmination of the series.
The project is intended to increase the visibility of the cultural arts in the community and reach out to residents, families and the economically and mobility challenged. The non-profit organization works year-round, relying on grants, donations and volunteers to present professional productions for local audiences at venues ranging from fully equipped theaters to made-to-fit stages in care home dining rooms.
The summer events include scenes from various productions performed by company members, students, guest performers and staff. All performances in the region’s care homes and senior communities are free and open to the public.
Incorporated in 1986, Dance Theatre Northwest includes an award-winning Regional Performing Dance Company, a Junior Dance Ensemble, guest performers, the Dance Theatre Northwest Music Ensemble, guest vocalists, and an extensive support network of professional artists and volunteers serving in various capacities.
The group provides training in ballet, classical ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical dance, musical theater and dance fitness at the Dance Theatre Northwest studio in
University Place and participates in several educational collaborations in the region. The group’s principal trainer is Kirk-Stauffer, who studied and performed at internationally acclaimed institutions prior to bringing her art home to the
Tacoma area.
Along with formal winter and spring productions, DTN makes up to 18 trips to assisted-living and senior residential facilities each year with a complete cast of company and student dancers. Free and open to the public, these programs include a full complement of dancers, audio equipment and costumes. Kirk-Stauffer gives audiences educational narratives on the history of particular stories, choreography or music. The “Celebrate Summer” project, which is in its third season, is supported by contributions from the Pierce County Arts Commission and many small businesses in the area. The series will include lectures, demonstrations and performances on portable stages at various facilities and venues. DTN company members and guest dancers will perform parts of classics, scenes from Broadway favorites, excerpts from contemporary ballets, musical theater numbers and DTN Repertory works.
Some venues will include live music performances by the Dance Theatre Northwest Music Ensemble. Workshops will vary, covering a range of dance styles, such as tap, ballet movement, theatre dance, Disco, Latin and swing dances. At the festivals, the Dance Theatre Northwest Ballet Guild will staff an educational booth with arts educational materials for youngsters, including coloring pages for them to take home.
More information on how to support or participate in classes, performances or outreach programs provided by Dance Theatre Northwest, a registered 501c(3) non-profit, is available at (253) 565-5149 or online at www.dancetheatrenorthwest.org.
The “Celebrate Summer” project calendar currently includes the following events:
July 19: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., Dance Arts Stage, Proctor Farmer’s Market,
Tacoma
Aug. 2: 11a.m. - 1 p.m., Proctor Arts Festival, Tacoma
Aug. 9: 1 p.m.,
Museum of
Glass , 1801 Dock Street, Tacoma
3 p.m.,
Museum of
Glass , 1801 Dock Street, Tacoma
For information on how to support or participate in classes, performances or outreach programs provided by Dance Theatre Northwest, a registered 501c(3) non-profit, is available at (253) 565-5149 or online at www.dancetheatrenorthwest.org.
Our Mission is to provide quality, ballet-based, American contemporary and classical dance performance and ballet-based dance education, and to offer communities In the Pacific Northwest the opportunity to experience dance as an important art form. DANCE THEATRE NORTHWEST now offers Year Round Performing Opportunities and Dance Training.
