BRATTLEBORO — Brenda Siegel, founder and executive artistic director of the Southern Vermont Dance Festival (SVDF), looks for ways to inspire the community through movement.
“For some, they are inspired by moving themselves. For others, it is being a spectator of the art of dance and, for others, it is the image of dance or movement that inspires,” says Siegel. “Showing the multi-venue exhibit is a way to show dance and movement as it is captured by the visual artist. It is just another way to inspire people through movement. Another way to show that dance is for absolutely everyone.”
From Thursday, July 16, through Sunday, July 19, the third annual Southern Vermont Dance Festival will transform downtown Brattleboro into a campus for a celebration of movement. The four-day festival, which features 32 dance faculty and 35 choreographers, will be filled with lectures, workshops, performance, live music and free community events.
“SVDF is special in a lot of ways,” says Siegel. “Our mission is to make dance fun and part of the community. Other dance festivals say 'Hey, we know you're not a dancer, but you can watch us.' Here we say, 'Hey, we know you're not a dancer, but come on and join us dancing anyway.'”
The festival opens with a reception that includes live music, performance and a guest lecture. SVDF also will present three gala concerts with celebrated dance artists, as well as one informal concert, a dance performance that turns into a dance party, and a closing concert.
In addition, the festival touts dozens of completely free community events and public art installations.
Classes include Ballet, Luigi Technique, Jazz, Modern Dance, Cedar Lake Rep, Isadora Duncan Technique, Contemporary, Swing, Salsa, Tango, Pilates and Yoga. The festival is also offering bonus styles, including Belly Dance, Afro Jazz, Tap, Moving with your chi, Samba, and more.
As in other years, more than 100 classes will be offered to participants ranging from the beginner to the well-advanced.
“This year, we have developed a more sophisticated scale, ranging from 1 to 5 to indicate the skill level of each class,” says Siegel.
At least one or two slots at every time will be open for beginners as well as the most advanced dancers.
SVDF offers various ticket choices. One can choose to attend the festival for the full four days, or sample the festival offerings by purchasing tickets for one day, three days, or all four days taking only one class per day.
Tickets are available for just the performances that take place throughout the weekend. Classes will be filled on a first come first serve basis. Online registration is available once a ticket has been purchased.
As in its earlier festivals, SVDF remains committed also to providing free community events, which this year will take place at Pliny Park and River Garden.
“One thing new about the festival this year is the addition of an art exhibit,” says Siegel.
Movement 2015 is a multi-venue installation featuring the art of movement. Eleven venues are showing work by 14 artists who celebrate the beauty of movement and dance in paintings, prints, photographs, scrolls and sculpture. Some work will be available for sale.
“While the submissions this year were mainly through word-of-mouth and were jury chosen, next year we plan to have on-line submission to make the process more inclusive and smoother to operate,” Siegel says.
Siegel believes that this exhibit demonstrates how SVDF believes artists are an integral part of society, both socially and economically.
“The more people we have involved and the more artists we promote, both visual and performing, and the more we support each other as artists, the more we can spread the message that art is something we need and want in our society, not something to dismiss or take for granted.”
People often ask Siegel if there is anything at the festival for kids.
“In the past, I would point them to community events, but they often meant performances,” she says. “This year, a lot of dance performances are lively and are quite family-appropriate. You can check at the details on the performance schedules, which will be posted all over town, and at our website.”
Siegel promises that the opening reception of SVDF will include a “fun” dance performance for the whole family, as well as live music and a guest speaker, Billbob Brown, chair of the Performing Arts Academy in Hong Kong.
Brown will be speaking about the importance of the arts in society “as a medium for social issues and cultural fabric, as well as the importance of the arts to the local economy and in education,” says Siegel. “He will also discuss the importance of supporting the arts so that artists can make a living creating their work.”
Unlike the SVDF keynote address last year, this year's talk addresses problems facing, not just those in the world of dance, but ones that all artists in America are now confronting.
“His talk emphasizes the importance of supporting the arts in the United States,” says Siegel. “Believe it or not, there are cultures which understand that the arts are vital to communities, like Brattleboro, where the arts bring in tourist money to help vitalize the economy. In other countries, specifically Hong Kong, the arts are well supported by both the government and the public. You do not find struggling artists in Hong Kong. The workshops and schools are always full.”
The subject of Billbob Brown's talk originated in Siegel's own postings online about art sustainability.
“I have been writing on this subject a lot lately,” Siegel says. “Billbob saw what I wrote and developed his talk from it.
“I would not say I am having a midlife crisis, because I don't want to consider myself that old yet. But I have been having a serious inner-battle over whether I wanted to continue what I do.
“With not enough community support, I ask myself, 'Does the struggle outweigh the art?' I know others feel as I do, but they are afraid to speak out because they feel, incorrectly I think, that it exposes them as unsuccessful.”
Siegel admits that putting on SVDF each year is very difficult. “Often I feel like I have been run over by a truck -repeatedly,” she says.
For the festival to continue, Siegel says she needs to see more community support.
“By that, I mean financial support, because the community enthusiasm is there,” she says. “To onlookers, we seem extremely successful. Our performances and classes are all full. And artists are very enthusiastic about coming here.
“Ted Thomas, co-founder of New York City's Thomas/Ortiz Dance, said many believe Brattleboro is the perfect place for a dance festival, and that SVDF will be the next big thing, like Jacob's Pillow and the American Dance Festival.”
Nonetheless, Siegel feels she needs help if she decides to continue with the festival next year.
“In the future, SVDF must get to a position where it can pay artists who participate, as well as its employees who behind-the-scenes work tirelessly to make the festival happen each year,” Siegel explains.
Siegel wants to propose to the community a simple question - do you want the festival?
“Sometimes, I feel it is just something that I and a few other dancers desire,” she says. “I need to find out that is not true. Brattleboro has an incredible thriving arts community and I am reaching out for its support.
“Art needs collaboration. We in the arts must help out each other. That does not merely mean showing up at performances. It also means doing things like liking us on Facebook, here and there, giving $5 (or more if you can afford it) and, rather than bad-mouthing the competition, telling people the good work each of us in the arts community in southern Vermont is doing.”
Siegel has started an online campaign to fund SVDF.
“There are various levels at which one can support us, which includes varying benefits,” says Siegel. “People don't have to contribute a lot. Any donation can help. Like the way people support VPR, you give what you can.”