Palm Springs Dance Project partners with Palm Springs Cultural Center for latest showcase

Niki Kottmann, Palm Springs Desert Sun
·3 min read
The mission of Palm Springs Dance Project is to nurture the development of a progressive, collaborative and thriving dance community within the greater Palm Springs area.
The mission of Palm Springs Dance Project is to nurture the development of a progressive, collaborative and thriving dance community within the greater Palm Springs area.

Still looking for something to do this weekend? The snowbirds who love dance might be wishing they'd "flown" north later to catch this performing arts event.

The Palm Springs Dance Project, in collaboration with the Palm Springs Cultural Center, is staging its 2024 Communities’ Finest Dance Showcase on Saturday, and it promises to be "an evening of live dance with a diverse range of groups and dance styles," as the press release states.

“My motivation is to utilize dance’s transformative power as a tool for improving young lives,” Palm Springs Dance Project Executive Director Darcy Carozza said in a statement.

The Palm Springs Dance Project is a grassroots, collaborative nonprofit that aims to foster a thriving dance community in the Coachella Valley and beyond, both through education and live performance. The organization's leadership believes in dance's ability to enhance the quality of life of all those who embrace it.

The philanthropy-based Palm Springs Dance Project offers scholarships and grant programs for underserved youth.
The philanthropy-based Palm Springs Dance Project offers scholarships and grant programs for underserved youth.

Audiences will get a taste of various dance styles at this show, including everything from local contemporary and musical theater groups to regional Chinese, Mexican and Persian dance groups.

A colorful video will serve as the backdrop to each performance to help transport audiences to foreign landscapes or set the mood of each number. The show’s design, including the backdrops, are the creation of Artistic Director Stephen Agisilaou.

Agisilaou is an experienced dance educator and director, hailing from Australia, who currently lives in New York. He loves the Palm Springs area, and has spent a lot of time here to help grow the local dance community through performances, educational experiences, community events and other special projects.

Artistic Director-Choreographer Stephen Agisilaou rehearses with local dancer German Gomez for the community dance film project "The Anniversary."
Artistic Director-Choreographer Stephen Agisilaou rehearses with local dancer German Gomez for the community dance film project "The Anniversary."

Agisilaou and Carozza aim to make every experience with the Palm Springs Dance Project exciting and unique.

"As part of our community commitment, we have granted in performance participation of cultural groups to bolster inclusion, and we have offered free and/or group discount tickets to many local groups, including local senior centers, boys and girls clubs, youth organizations and LGBT groups," Carozza said. "We want to entertain the maximum audience we can in the space, to rejoice in dance together, along with our featured dancers. That’s where the magic happens,  so we make our tickets accessible."

This year's showcase performers are as follows:

CK Dance Company performs during a dress rehearsal for the Open Call Talent Project at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Calif. The company's next performances are on May 25 and May 26, 2024 at the Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum.
CK Dance Company performs during a dress rehearsal for the Open Call Talent Project at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, Calif. The company's next performances are on May 25 and May 26, 2024 at the Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum.

  • InMovement Dance – Palm Desert – Musical Theater

  • CK Dance – Palm Springs- Contemporary

  • Jazz Spectrum Dance  - Lake Forrest – Classic Jazz Swing

  • Reteños De Mexico – Cathderal City – Ballet Folklorico

  • GoonForce- Indio-Street Dance

  • Christine Baltes – Lake Forrest - Modern

  • BlueMing Asian Artists – San Diego – Traditional Chinese

  • Beyond The Beat – Palm Desert- Lyrical

  • Jazz Spectrum Dance – Lake Forrest- Latin

  • Nika Imani Dance Company – Lake Forrest- Traditional Persian

If you go

What: Palm Springs Dance Project presents "Communities' Finest Dance Showcase 2024"

When: Doors open at 5 p.m., show starts at 5:30 p.m. Saturday, May 18

Where: Palm Springs Cultural Center, 2300 E. Baristo Road, Palm Springs

Cost: $20 for adults, $17 for seniors 65+, $9 for youth 7-18, and children 6 and under are free (proceeds, in part, help support the development of local youth and community dance and music programs).

More info: Purchase tickets online at Palmspringsdance.org/2024-season or by visiting the Cultural Center box office at 3200 Baristo Road, Palm Springs

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs Dance Project showcase to feature 50+ local and regional dancers