Photo by Steve Vaccariello

(SOUTH ORANGE, NJ) -- The South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) is thrilled to partner with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (Arts Council) to present Moving into the Future: New Jersey Choreographers' Festival celebrating the dynamic and diverse artistic visions of 14 of the 2023 Arts Council's Individual Choreography Fellows.  This festival will take place Tuesday, April 2 through Thursday, April 4 on SOPAC’s Mainstage.

The 2023 Arts Council Individual Choreography Fellows featured in this festival include: Eun Hee Ahn of Korean Traditional Dance of Choomnoori, Heidi Cruz-Austin of DanceSpora, morgaine ann de leonardis, Loretta Fois, Cleo Mack, Gomathi Manoj, Kevin McEwan, Sameena Mitta of MeenMoves, Samuel Pott of Nimbus Dance Works, Ramya Ramnarayan Tirumalai, Ariel Grossman of Ariel Rivka Dance, Charly of mignolo dance, Amber Sloan, and Estrell x Supernova. SOPAC’s 2023 Paul Bartick Emerging Artist Award winner, high school senior Simone McCrear, will also perform.

Tickets for each day start at $20 and are available for purchase online. Click here for Day One tickets, click here for Day Two tickets, and click here for Day Three tickets. South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) is located at One SOPAC Way in South Orange, New Jersey.

These award-winning choreographers are talented artists whose work highlights the diversity of human experiences and the simultaneous grace and athleticism of the human body.

“We are excited to celebrate this impressive group of 2023 Choreography Fellows at SOPAC,” said Allison Tratner, Executive Director at the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. “It is a longstanding priority of the Council’s to not only support New Jersey artists, but to help ensure their work is experienced by communities and audiences across the state.”

Choreographers in this showcase will work in dance styles that include the traditional Indian styles of Bharatanatyam, Mohiniattam, Kuchipudi, and Kalaimamani; Korean Traditional Dance; Modern; Lyrical; and others.

“SOPAC is proud to be selected by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts to host its choreography showcase. The 14 Individual Choreography Fellows presenting their work at SOPAC represent the impressive creativity, breadth, and diversity of New Jersey’s choreographers,” commented SOPAC Board Chair Douglas Newman.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts’ Individual Artist Fellowship program awards choreographers every two years. Choreographers must submit samples of their work to an independent peer panel, who selects fellows based solely on artistic quality.  Recent fellowship winners have received awards between $12,000 - $32,000 to be used towards furthering their artistic goals.  To learn more about the Arts Council’s Individual Artist Fellowship program, conducted in partnership with Mid Atlantic Arts, please visit the Mid Atlantic Arts website. 

Moving into the Future: New Jersey Choreographers’ Festival will take place on Tuesday, April 2 at 6:00pm, Wednesday, April 3 at 6:00pm, and Thursday, April 4 at 6:00pm, with five performers on each evening.  Moving Into the Future: New Jersey Choreographers’ Festival is a co-sponsored project of SOPAC and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.

To learn more about the festival, the choreographers, and their new works, click here.

Since 2006, South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) has served as a premier performing arts center in northern New Jersey. SOPAC offers innovative artistic and cultural experiences for diverse audiences in an intimate, inviting environment. The arts center hosts a variety of live performances, community events and education programs for all ages. SOPAC programs are made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, created in 1966, is a division of the New Jersey Department of State and a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Council was established to encourage and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. The Council believes the arts are central to every element we value most in a modern society including: human understanding; cultural and civic pride; strong communities; excellent schools; lifelong learning; creative expression; and economic opportunity.