Press Release

In honor of Boulder's Fifth Annual "Celebrate Dance Month," the Dance Bridge of the Boulder Arts Commission and the Boulder Public Library will host a major national touring exhibit that celebrates the movements, institutions, and artists who shaped American dance since the mid-19th century.

The exhibit, which includes 52 mounted panels, an interactive audio-visual kiosk, and 50 moving images of performance excerpts on DVD, comes from the Dance Heritage Coalition in Washington D.C.

Fred Astaire, Katherine Dunham, José Greco, Bob Fosse, Twyla Tharp, Savion Glover, Trisha Brown and Mark Morris are all represented, along with images of Native American social and ceremonial traditions, the Charleston, and other popular dances.

Bringing this exhibit to Boulder is an exciting accomplishment, one whose seeds began in 2004 when news of the exhibit first came to the attention of Dance Bridge Coordinator Mary Wohl Haan. One of Haan's first projects had been "Celebrate Dance Month" of 2004. That inaugural year included a small exhibit featuring work from local collectors and artists. From that first exhibit grew the idea of pursuing something truly special for the Boulder community.

While the show is in the library Canyon Gallery, additional Dance Bridge and library programs will include dance displays in the cases on the Bridge and the annual "Celebrate Dance Month" brochure schedule which lists dance activities, performances, classes, workshops and events produced by local dance artists in April. The brochure is available to download from www.artsresource.org/dance.

In addition to bringing the national exhibit to Boulder, the Dance Bridge has worked with local collectors, artists and their families, Boulder's Carnegie Branch Library for Local History, and the Carson-Brierly Dance Library housed in the Penrose Library of the University of Denver to assemble a Boulder component which will hang in the Canyon Corridors of the library gallery alongside the national exhibit in April. Though not covering every aspect of dance in the area, memorabilia and representations of both the social and artistic aspects of the field have been tapped and highlight a variety of organizations that began years ago, many of which continue to effect the community today.

When the national exhibit leaves Boulder, it will move to the Denver Public Library during June and July. This coincides with the gathering of more than 5,000 artists and arts administrators, trustees, volunteers, and arts industry leaders expected to convene in Denver for the June 10-14 National Performing Arts Convention at the downtown Convention Center.

Contact the Denver Public Library for exhibit location and hours at 720-865-1111 or www.denverlibrary.org, or the Carson-Brierly Dance Library at 303-871-3428 or library.du.edu/about/collections/specialcollections/dance.cfm.

For more information on this and other projects of the Dance Bridge, contact coordinator Mary Wohl Haan at 303-441-4391, haanm@boulder.lib.co.us or check www.artsresource.org/dance.

For more information on the Americas Irreplaceable Dance Treasures: The First 100 exhibit contact the Dance Heritage Coalition, 1111 16th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036, 202-223-8393 or www.danceheritage.org.

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