MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – Northern Michigan University Theater and Dance’s North Coast Dance Festival is back for its second year. The NMU CO-LAB Company, Ballet Project Orange County, and dancers from the Sacramento Ballet will be taking the stage starting Thursday night.
This year’s show is 45 minutes long and features contemporary and ballet choreography from NMU students and dance professionals. The show’s Artistic Director, Jill Grundstrom, says the company is excited to be back for a second year to bring Marquette an even bigger show.
“We couldn’t be more grateful to be bringing back some of the artists that we had here last year for the first North Coast Dance Festival, which rounded out last season,” Grundstrom said. “so it’s great to kind of have the group back in action this year.”
Tickets are available for this weekend’s shows online through NMU ticketing. The shows start at 7:30pm on both Thursday and Friday at The Forest Roberts Theater.
The festival will kick off tomorrow night with a chance to observe a ballet master class taught by a member of the Sacramento ballet. The class is just a glimpse into how dancers train leading up to a performance.
Ally Helman, Artistic Director for Ballet Project Orange County, is returning for her second year at the festival, she said it’s great to be back performing for the Marquette community.
“It’s really fun to introduce that to an audience who may not know super classical ballet all that well,” Helman said. “It’s a fun read for the audience to dive into this world that is rooted in classical ballet but feels a little more relatable”
Following the class will be a talk back session moderated by Grundstrom. The class starts at 6:30pm on Wednesday, July 26th, at the Forest Roberts Theater, observation is free to the public.
