World-class dancers from some of the nation’s most acclaimed companies will once again take the stage at Morgan Memorial Park as the Gold Coast Dance Festival returns, bringing together professional performers and emerging artists for a free evening celebrating dance from across genres and cultures.
The festival, presented by New York Dance Theatre at 6 p.m. on Aug. 1, at Morgan Memorial Park, has a rain date of Aug. 8. The lineup includes performers representing Broadway, New York City Ballet, Dance Theatre of Harlem, the Martha Graham Dance Company, Ballet Nepantla, MorDance, the Jon Lehrer Dance Company and other organizations, alongside students from Long Island High School for the Arts.
Although the festival has grown into one of Long Island’s premier outdoor cultural events, Nicole Loizides Albruzzese, artistic director and executive producer of New York Dance Theatre, said it began as a one-time effort to help professional dancers return to the stage after the coronavirus pandemic while giving the community an opportunity to come together through the arts.
“When we created the first Gold Coast Dance Festival six years ago, it was never intended to become an annual event,” Albruzzese said. “It was simply our way of bringing professional artists back to the stage after the pandemic and giving our community a reason to gather, heal and celebrate through dance.”
Since then, she said, community support has allowed the festival to grow, enabling New York Dance Theatre to present internationally recognized artists alongside emerging performers, commission new works and expand its Développé outreach program.
Albruzzese said she believes the festival is entering “another wave of growth” as it continues to evolve.
This year’s programming places a special emphasis on American-born music and dance traditions, in recognition of the nation’s 250th anniversary, while continuing the festival’s tradition of presenting a wide variety of cultural and dance styles.
“We are still, and will always, present our diverse programming, whether it be culturally or dance genre,” Albruzzese said. “But there is an emphasis on American-born music and American dance styles this year.”
Among the highlights will be excerpts from George Balanchine’s “Who Cares?” presented with permission from the George Balanchine Trust and set to music by George Gershwin. Albruzzese said that the lively, jazz-inspired ballet challenges audiences’ perceptions of classical dance and encourages viewers to connect with the performance in a personal way.
“I think it’s really important for people to take in dance and the celebration of dance and the classical art form of dance to stir up feelings or emotions or memories of their own,” she said.
The festival will also continue its partnership with Long Island High School for the Arts. This year marks the first time students in the school’s dance department will perform a collaboratively choreographed piece at the festival.
“We’re really strengthening that partnership with Long Island High School for the Arts,” Albruzzese said, adding that the collaboration is one of several performance opportunities New York Dance Theatre provides for young artists.
For Jaileen Vargas, of Melville, this year marks her first appearance at Gold Coast. After training in classical ballet before transitioning to American rhythm ballroom, Vargas said she looked forward to sharing the stage with dancers from a variety of disciplines.
“They have so many different types of genres of dance,” she said. “No matter how many times you do a dance festival, I feel every time is almost the first time because it’s different every year.”
Sandy Cieslak, a former Bayport resident who now lives in Manhattan, is also making her festival debut. A freelance dancer with New York Dance Theatre and Chevalier Ballet, she said that performing excerpts from “Who Cares?” is a special opportunity.
“We were able to get permission from the trust to do stuff from “Who Cares?” Cieslak said. “I’m so excited.”
She added that she was also looking forward to performing alongside dancers from nationally recognized companies for the first time.
The festival is free and open to the public. Before the evening performance, members of New York Dance Theatre will offer a free introductory swing dance class at 4:30 p.m. on the beach in Morgan Memorial Park. Donations will support the company’s Développé outreach program, which provides arts education, performances and scholarships for at-risk youth, foster families and English-language-learning families. Festival organizers are also partnering with the Arbor Day Foundation, with donors contributing $50 or more receiving a native tree sapling.
