The capital city’s largest dance extravaganza will return to the Concord City Auditorium this weekend.
The 75th anniversary of Concord’s first dance recital will be the 29th Rhythm of the Night on Saturday at 7 p.m.
Dancers from eight Concord-area studios come together for one great performance. See members of Concord Dance Academy, Creative Dance Workshop of Bow, Dancesteps Etc in Epsom, Eastern Ballet Institute, Gen’s Dance Studio, McKenna Dance Center, N.H. School of Ballet, and Turning Pointe Center of Dance.
These studios are among the 21 dance schools that perform at the Audi each year, some 2,000 dancers, who help boost the city’s creative capital. The eight studios all appear at the Audi during the regular season in programs ranging from the GALA season opener to special holiday performances and year-end recitals.
In all, there will be more than 150 dancers and 20 crew to pull off The Rhythm of the Night show. Many will be showcasing acts they plan to bring to competitions in upcoming months.
Rhythm of the Night will be directed by Jamie Tisbert, the owner and director of Dancesteps Etc. Tisbert has been a part of Dancesteps for 31 years, 17 as an instructor. She also spent 10 years at the Pembroke Academy Dance Team advisor and coach.
The show is being produced by David Murdo.
The family-friendly show is expected to run about 90 minutes with 22 acts and an intermission when refreshments will be available.
“Perhaps we should call it ‘Rhythms of the Night,’ ” said producer David Murdo, for the acts in the showcase range from classical ballet and jazz to tap, hip hop, and production numbers.
The night kicks off with “Fiddle Faddle Yodel” by Concord Dance Academy, followed by “Wedding Bells” by McKenna Dance Center and “Colors of the Wind” by the N.H. School of Ballet.
Next on the program are “You’ll Never Stand Alone” by Gen’s Dance Studio, “Itty Bitty Pretty One” by Creative Dance Workshop, “This is My Wish” by Dancesteps, “Stand By Me” by Turning Pointe Center of Dance, and “A Song for You” by the N.H. School of Ballet.
Wrapping up the first half are “Rescue” by Concord Dance Academy, “Forces” by Eastern Ballet Institute, “Confident” by Turning Pointe Center for Dance and “Music of the Night” by Dancesteps.
After intermission, the dancing resumes with “Never Enough” by the N.H. School of Ballet, “Wild Party” by Concord Dance Academy, “Footprints in the Sand” by Turning Pointe Center of Dance and “Dancin’ Fool” by Gen’s Studio.
Moving right on the through the night, next up are “Wish that You Were Here” by Dancesteps, and “The Nutcracker Party” by N.H. School of Ballet.
Then, there will be “Palladio” by Concord Dance Academy, one of the largest numbers of the night with 25 dancers, including Derek Taylor, who recently competed in an international tap dance competition in Germany with the American Tap Company.
The last number before a brief pause in the music to announce the winners of the 50/50 raffle will be “Ashes” by McKenna Dance Center.
The Rhythm of the Night will conclude with “The Flames of Paris” by Eastern Ballet Institute and “Zombies” by Dancesteps.
This show is the 75th anniversary of the first dance recital by the late, great and celebrated dance teacher Tommie Demers in her 1944-45 season.
That show, the city’s first dance recital, was the start of Concord’s special place as New Hampshire’s “dancing town.”
This is also the 51st season for Gen Woodward, founder and principal of Gen’s Dance Studio. This year, her granddaughters will be in the show, too. Woodward began dancing at 5 years old as part of Demers’s studio.
From lessons in a waiting room when she first opened her studio, “Miss Gen” achieved national success in 1998, when she led a junior competition team all the way to New Jersey, where they won a title in their age division.
“This is not my last year,” she told the Monitor last year at her 50th season. “As long as I stay healthy, I’m there. I’m there and looking forward to getting in my car and driving to my studio and teaching.”
This year’s production is sponsored by the MollyB Scholarship Fund in memory and honor of Molly Banzoff. Her family said in a release, “Molly loved dancing here at the Audi. She was very proud of her dance school and loved meeting dancers from other schools. She would want the community to see all the amazing dancers who learn and perform in Concord.” Her sister, Gracie, will dance with Concord Dance Academy in “Palladio.”
Since the Friends formed in 1991, the schools have danced together one night a year in one thrilling performance to benefit the Fund for the Audi, established on the theatre’s 100th anniversary to celebrate its past and assure its future. All proceeds are earmarked for the next upgrade: completing the stage curtain project and renovating the gilded proscenium arch.
Tickets to the show are $12 and can be purchased at the various dance studios, the UPS store or at the door.
For more information, contact Mundo at 344-4747 or nhdm40@comcast.net.
