Now entering its premier season, Palm Springs Dance Project is a month-long event with
dance performances, education and community programming from February 5 to March 8, 2020 in Palm Springs, CA.
Founder and Executive Director, Darcy Carozza, a 40 year local, is a former performing arts theater director and events producer with over 25 years of experience, and was the co-founder and Executive Director of the Palm Springs Dance Festival, which concluded in May of 2019 after three successive years of growth. Building on these experiences, and the support of community members and local collaborators, the exciting, high energy, home grown Palm Springs Dance Project is born with a purpose to enrich, uplift, and connect the greater Palm Springs Community through dance. PSDP programming is promoting the natural Palm Springs/Los Angeles connection with our 2020 LA-based Artistic Director, the award-winning Deborah will be presenting critically acclaimed LA-based dance talent as well as providing local pre-professional students opportunities to perform in LA.
Deborah, labeled ‘the single most important person in Southland dance’ an “impresario”, “the mother superior of LA dance” and ”tireless” by the LA Times for her involvement in establishing the local LA dance scene has curated a truly unique and high energy concert dance program that delivers an exciting first-time-ever experience in the Annenberg Theater.
THE MAIN EVENT
Professional Concert Dance, Saturday, March 7, 2020, 7:30 PM Annenberg Theater, Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs
This stunning professional concert dance program provides full-company works by three distinctly different and highly acclaimed Los Angeles-based dance companies. Expect superb choreography and exquisite dance in a high-energy program. Tickets will be priced at $55.00, $80.00, & $125.00 and will be available beginning December 6, 2019.
THE MAIN EVENT POST-PERFORMANCE VIP RECEPTION
Guests are invited to join the performers and choreographers on the stage to toast, mix and enjoy a photo opportunity. Enjoy a hosted wine bar, share conversation, and nibble on delectable treats from our gourmet dessert buffet in an environment of music and subtle stage lighting.
SCHOLARSHIP-BASED DANCE EDUCATION PROGRAM
Exposure to the arts improves a student’s lifelong economic and social outcomes: arts education increases school success, raises high school and college graduation rates, and fosters greater community participation.
In lending towards the positive development of local youth, and in ensuring inclusivity of the underserved in our community, PSDP’s Education Program is fully underwritten and has made 70 dance education scholarship awards available for 2020.
AWARDS & ORIENTATION EVENING
Wednesday, February 5, 2020, 6:00PM
The Education Program kicks off with an awards and orientation night. Students, parents, dance directors, and underwriters are invited to attend this exciting and informative evening that lays out the roadmap for participation.
INTENSIVE DANCE TRAINING
Saturday/Sunday, February 8/9, 22/23, 29/March 1 2020 70 Local Scholarship Students
24 Hours of Intensive Dance Training
Intensive Dance Training will be provided by the Artist in Residence and includes four hours of training each day: two hours of intensive dance training and two hours of dance education, totaling 24 hours prepping students for the March performances.
ATTENDING THE MAIN EVENT FULL DRESS REHEARSAL
Student training reaches its crescendo at the conclusion of the Education Program where they will attend the entire dress rehearsal for The Main Event. The dress rehearsal provides students with a behind-the-scenes view into a professional production: the technical aspects of sound, lighting, and special effects. Here students will also experience a special connection to the professional performance as their training mentors, BrockusRed, takes the stage. At the conclusion, students will be invited to discuss their experience of the Program and complete a survey.
DANCIN’ IN THE STREETS
FREE “Flash-mob Performances” on Thursday, March 5, 2020, 6:30 – 9:00PM VillageFest, Palm Canyon Drive, Palm Springs
Joyous dance happenings will pop up throughout the evening at a favorite community event, VillageFest. Professional dancers and students from Palm Springs Dance Project’s Education Program will astonish, surprise, entertain, and delight the thousands of attendees.
COMMUNITY’S FINEST SHOWCASE
A pre-professional variety show on Friday, March 6, 2020, 7:30 PM Annenberg Theater, Palm Springs Art Museum, Palm Springs
This program celebrates and showcases our advanced education students in performance with top talent from local dance schools, academies, and from cultural dance groups. This program provides advanced students the opportunity to perform in a professional production, in a theater of stature, while showcasing the studios and dance groups that make up our local dance community. We invite the community to come support these vibrant and fresh pre-professional dancers honing their craft by attending the fun and lively performance. Tickets will be priced at $25.00 and will be available December 6, 2019.
As an exciting benefit, two of the performing groups will be chosen to represent Palm Springs at the So Cal Youth Invitational Showcase, produced by the Los Angeles Dance Festival in mid-April 2020 and will be given 20 free-admission tickets to that Showcase, encouraging
the melding of dance communities in the southland.
As an additional benefit to the participating community dance studios and groups a free master class produced by the Artist in Residence will be offered on Sunday, March 8, 2020.