FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For press information:
Paige Wolf
(215) 413-3790
paige@paigewolf.com

THE 2007 nEW FESTIVAL PRESENTS EVOLUTION OF WORKS FROM PHILADELPHIA’S DANCE THEATER COMMUNITY
Winter Festival to Runs From January 25-28, 2007

(PHILADELPHIA) — Get over those “Nutcracker blues” — the January nEW festival fills in the gap between the Fringe Festival and DanceBoom, where the New Year calls for new inspiration. As a follow up to the successful 2005 debut of the nEW Festival and the 2006 “project development” phase, curator Melanie Stewart presents the 2007 nEW Festival. Featured full-scale production participants in January 2007 include Cie Herve-Gil, Melanie Stewart Dance Theatre, and PLUCK.

In keeping with the nEW continuum, there also will be a DanceHouse Program featuring work shown in its initial stages, which will then be developed over the year and shown in completion in 2008. The DanceHouse program will feature: Megan Mazarick, Meghan Durham/Merge Dance, and the newly reformed SCRAP Performance Group, including Silvana Cardell, Myra Bazell, Kate Watson-Wallace, Madison Cario, and Joe'l Ludovich.

Performances Thursday, Jan. 25 through Sunday, Jan. 28 will be shown at University of the Arts School of Dance at the Drake Theatre, 1512 Spruce St. Tickets will be on sale for $10.

nEW has been established to craft and present dance theater works over the course of a year, from their inception, throughout their feedback and progress, and at their final completion. Through this evolution, the festival will include complete works developed in 2006, while works in progress presented this year will be seen in full-scale production at the 2008 nEW Festival. The artist-driven, dance-fueled festival continues to include an emphasis on the “new” and emerging in dance theater, for which Philadelphia has become renowned.

nEW will continue in June with the three-week “behind the scenes” program focusing on professional education and project mentorship. From September through December 2007, master classes and symposiums are offered to track the projects as they develop.

nEW also exists to create a bridge between students and the professional dance community. The sponsorship from UArts will help to facilitate that bridge by providing a home for the festival in the UArts School of Dance.

The nEW Festival is made possible by a generous grant from the William Penn Foundation, as well as support from Independence Foundation, The Greater Philadelphia Cultural Fund, The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, Philadelphia Weekly, and Samuel S. Fels Fund. The William Penn Foundation, founded in 1945 by Otto and Phoebe Haas, is dedicated to improving the quality of life in the Greater Philadelphia region through efforts that foster rich cultural expression, strengthen children’s futures, and deepen connections to nature and community. In partnership with others, the Foundation works to advance a vital, just, and caring community. Learn more about the Foundation by visiting www.williampennfoundation.org.

Tickets for all scheduled events go on sale January 2, 2006 and can be purchased at www.nEWfestival.net or by calling (215) 359-7775.