Photography by Carly Vanderheyden
This month, Grand Center will be teeming with dance. The inaugural Big Muddy Dance Fest, November 9 and 10, will fill five of the arts district’s spaces with a veritable feast of activities for all ages and levels.
Hosted by The Big Muddy Dance Company, the fest was originally intended to welcome new faces to the company’s studios and promote a new line of classes.
“This is an attempt to bring bodies into the studio, let people know this is a great space, and give them a sampling of our classes,” says executive director Erin Warner Prange.
But as Big Muddy partnered with other organizations, the two-day festival’s scope quickly grew to much more than an open house. “The reaction has just been astounding,” says Warner Prange. “It proves this is really needed in our community.”
Festivalgoers can tailor the experience to their interests, choosing from activities for both the pro and the beginner. There are career-building workshops and an opportunity for a joint audition for eight regional university dance programs. Dance fans can step into the studio and experience a variety of classes, and there’ll be workshops and roundtables for industry professionals. The Marcelle will also host a dance-related expo with such businesses as 314 Pilates, Athletico Physical Therapy, The Dance Bag, and Dance St. Louis.
“A lot of the local dance companies and studios overlap because of the size of our city—it’s a very tight network of people, and that lends itself to a collaborative event like this,” says Warner Prange.
The festival culminates on Sunday evening with Big Muddy performing alongside other local companies at the Kranzberg Arts Center. The event also serves as the unofficial kickoff to the company’s ninth season.
“What we’re hoping to accomplish now,” says Warner Prange, “is to broaden the dance audience to a point where dance lovers who have attended shows will be willing to step out of their comfort zones and try a class.”
