Leaps and Bounds for Steamboat Dance Theatre
Story by Madison Mohn
Steamboat Dance Theatre is leaping into a showcase unlike any dance event Steamboat Springs has seen before. On Friday, Sept. 27 and Saturday, Sept. 28 “A Local Dance Collective” will feature over 60 cast members from across the Steamboat dance community. It’s the first fundraiser/dance event of its kind, allowing the community to witness the joyful collaboration of all of Steamboat’s dance outlets brought together by the Steamboat Dance Theatre. Participants include Elevation Dance Studio, Goodhart’s Dancin’, Bella Movement, Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School, Steamboat Academy of Music And Dance, Forty106 Dance Project, and more.
Never before have all instructors, choreographers and dancers within Steamboat come together to dance under the same roof. Lori Biagi, executive director of Steamboat Dance Theatre, got the idea for the collective when someone remarked to her, “we kind of are all on individual islands, and wouldn't it be great if we could cultivate a space where we're all connected and we're all supporting each other?” It was through Lori’s conversations with members of the dance community that she realized a collaborative effort must be made in order to unite all of its members and Steamboat’s countless dance studios. “To be able to help support those studios by providing a space and providing an avenue for them to perform is really a part of our mission, and that's a part of what we exist for in the community,” Lori says, “to help be a resource and a network for the studios.” The event is also a fundraiser, benefitting Steamboat Dance Theatre’s scholarships and community programs. “Our community outreach program is trying to bring dance into underserved demographics,” Lori says. “Steamboat Dance Theatre is in the process of also creating programming to help bridge the gap between the high cost of living and accessibility to dance.”
This showcase will directly benefit the community’s young aspiring dancers by providing scholarships to ensure that they can continue their dance training at local studios such as Elevation Dance Studio.
“I think this event is important because it could potentially provide a substantial fundraiser for both the scholarships and programming Steamboat Dance Theatre puts on,” says Renée Fleischer, owner of Elevation Dance Studio. “Specifically the scholarships directly benefit our students, and it’s a very rare thing to have an organization like this in a community that can provide scholarships for families in need so that there’s no reason somebody wouldn’t be able to dance because of financial reasons.”
In a small town that is interconnected through its love of the arts, this fundraiser will ensure that those who want to pursue their passion for dance will have the financial support to do so. It will also shine a spotlight on Steamboat’s dance community for the weekend. “The dance culture is these little hidden pockets that I love to see come to the surface a little bit more,” says Elivra Stewart, production coordinator for Steamboat Dance Theatre. “I'd love to see the same level of appreciation that the community has for music be applied to dance.”
For more information and tickets, visit www.steamboatdancetheatre.org.