Contact:  Jim Zieliński, Communications Director

Panoply’s 28th Annual Choreography Competition Deadline Approaches!

Huntsville, AL—It’s still not too late to join in the annual Panoply Arts Festival Choreography Competition, but the Entry Deadline is rapidly approaching!  Applications are due by Thursday, 19 February 2009 and are available by contacting jbroad@panoply.org or telephoning (256) 519-2787 (ARTS), ext. 205.
 
The competition will be held Friday (Elimination Rounds) and Saturday (Finals), April 25 and 26, in the Von Braun Center Concert Hall during the Panoply Arts Festival, presented by Boeing.  The festival takes place across from the VBC in downtown Huntsville’s Big Spring International Park, April 24-26.
 
This exciting competition highlights the creation of new dance works by choreographers aged 18 and over, giving festival audiences the opportunity to fully experience the true art of expressive movement! The entry fee—$50 per event—allows applicants to enter up to TWO original works with a choice of FIVE categories:  Ballet, Jazz, Hip-hop, Modern Dance, and Tap!  It’s a great opportunity to display your work, compete against choreographers from all over the country, increase your dancers’ experience, participate in master classes, and be candidly critiqued by a panel of judges with their own unique perspectives.
 
Prizes totaling $3,500 ($500 per category and $1,000 for “Best Overall Choreography”) will be awarded.  Competitors from all across the nation make this a very exciting dance event—previous winners have come from such diverse areas as Charleston, Montgomery, Tarpon Springs, Chicago, Atlanta, Tampa, Birmingham, Greenwich, CT, and New Orleans!
 
Judges for the Panoply 2009 competition are:  Peter G. Kalivas (San Diego, CA); Brian T. Vernon (Orlando, FL); and Celia Mae Tortelli (Sarasota, FL)—bios available on the Panoply website.

Master Classes will be taught on Saturday morning of the competition in the Von Braun Center Ballet Room; visit http://www.panoply.org , call (256) 519-2787, ext. 205, or e-mail jbroad@panoply.org for further competition info and to pre-register for these classes, which have limited seating!