Festival:20

Polaris Dance Theatre & Livestream

November 14 & 15, 2020

push/FOLD presents Union PDX - Festival:20, the second year of push/FOLD's Union PDX - Festival of Contemporary Dance.

Featuring a modified festival program in light of the COVID-19 global health emergency, on November 14 & 15, Union PDX - Festival:20 hosts six in-person masterclasses taught by select Oregon artists and one facilitated artist panel discussion at the spacious Polaris Dance Center in Portland, OR.

Throughout the day on November 14 & 15, advanced to professional level dancers (ages 16 to adult) may enjoy socially-distanced in-person masterclasses from this year’s artists:

With the vision of connecting audiences to artists, join us Saturday, November 14 @ 5:00pm our livestreamed town hall and facilitated artist-in-person panel discussion below.

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A heartfelt "Thank you" to everyone at the Regional Arts & Culture Council who continue to work tirelessly on behalf of the artists of Multnomah County.

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Social Media Links

Livestream

November 14 @ 5:00pm PST

Join six Oregon artists, with Artistic Director Samuel Hobbs (push/FOLD) in this unique town hall-style artist panel discussion. We hold an in-depth conversation about the importance and impact of art during times of adversity, protest, and the resiliency of dance as art presently in Portland.

Discussion features a live Q & A with our embedded player below and Facebook Live. Ask questions, indulge your curiosities, and help us dive-deep into the needs of Dance in Portland.

Livestream: Union PDX - Festival:20 Panel

Festival:20 Panelists

Click on the names of the artists above to learn more and support their work.

Masterclasses

Polaris Dance Center

November 14 & 15

Advanced to Professional Level (Ages 16 to Adult)

** Classes follow all CDC and State guidelines for the safety and well-being of all participants and artists. Class sizes are held at an intimate ten student maximum per class, with 8' x 8' personal spaces for movement. **

Samuel Hobbs

Visceral Movement Theory™—Movement & Power

Athletic Contemporary

November 14 @ 10:30am - 12:00pm

Fusing athletic and dance forms, participants dive into the internal fluid dynamics of the body to exact power in movement through the persistence of momentum and release.

Oluyinka Akinjiola

Chakras and Orishas

Afro-Contemporary, Afro-Cuban, Afro-Brazilian

November 14 @ 12:30pm - 2:00pm

Participants unearth the relationship of the heart chakra and Ogun, the Yoruba Orisha (Spirit). In true Rejoice Diaspora Dance Theater fashion, we bring these ancient studies into the context of Contemporary Dance.

Barbara Lima

Hip Hop Contemporary Fusion

Hip Hop, Krump, Contemporary

November 14 @ 2:30pm - 4:00pm

Through foundational Hip Hop and contemporary dance techniques, participants reconnect with movement, breath, body, mobility and functionality in response to gravity, force and motion, myth-to-movement, writing, interpretation, spatial acuity, and musicality.

Andrea Parson

Contemporary Forms

Improvisation, Composition

November 15 @ 9:30am - 11:00am

Through guided meditations and movement tasks, participants probe into various energetic qualities and physical image making to deconstruct form and movement.

Conrad "Icon Sleepy Tut" Kaczor

Tutting in Every Dimension

Popping, Tutting

November 15 @ 11:30am - 1:00pm

A street dance class within the sub-genre of Popping called “Tutting,” participants integrate Tutting and corporeal storytelling into their personal dance practices, playing with the limitless potential of this geometric form of movement.

Sweta Ravisankar

The Hidden Rhythms

Bharatanatyam

November 15 @ 1:30pm - 3:00pm

Adapting rhythm in dance to transform into any character. Participants will engage in the pure expression-based nuances, compositions, and abstract thoughts of Bharatanataym—the oldest classical dance tradition in India.

Polar Dance Theater & Livestream
November 14 & 15, 2020