Montclair, NJ – Dance on the Lawn will return this year with a virtual event in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Festival, celebrating its seventh year, will present “best of” Dance on the Lawn archival footage via its website, YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo on Sunday, September 13 from 4:30-6:30pm.
The 2020 virtual Dance on the Lawn Festival will highlight compilation performance video dating from the Festival’s inception in 2014. (full lineup below.) The Dance on the Lawn Festival traditionally takes place every September on the front lawn of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 73 South Fullerton Avenue in Montclair.
In addition to compilation highlights, the Sept. 13 DOTL streaming event will include panel discussions by NJ School, NJ Professional and NJ Emerging Artistic Directors, as well as an additional panel discussion with Artistic Directors now rescheduled for DOTL 2021. The 2021 Artistic Director/Choreographer panel will include Amber Sloan, Dance on the Lawn’s 2020 NJ Emerging Commissioned Choreographer, Rekha Srinivasan (Bhaarat Nritya Academy), Jessica Totaro (Movement Arts Project/Dance for Joy), Nai-Ni Chen (Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company), Megan Chu (Inimois Dance) and Nicole Philippidis (277dance project).
Dance on the Lawn was founded by Montclair resident Charmaine Warren in 2014, hoping to increase New Jersey’s exposure to dance by bringing professional and emerging companies, plus students of dance from around the state, together to perform in a community setting. In addition to offering presentation opportunities, Dance on the Lawn created an “Emerging Commissioned New Jersey Choreographer” and mentor program to help support young, emerging artists.
“Like the rest of the world, especially in the arts, we knew that we needed to prepare for the repercussions of COVID-19. We had hoped that because our Festival falls in September and is outdoors that we could welcome our audience to the beautiful lawn of St. Luke’s as usual. We stayed in touch with our DOTL artists, and shared updates in our monthly newsletter.
In July we planned for three possible iterations and the final one, online, is where we landed. A virtual DOTL 2020 will happen on Sunday, September 13. We are happy to announce that DOTL artists and directors, since our inception in 2014, will join us as we share video and talk about dance in New Jersey since moving to the online platform and more. We hope you will join us.” – CHARMAINE WARREN, DOTL FOUNDER AND LAURA MARCHESE, DOTL MANAGING DIRECTOR
THE 2020 DANCE ON THE LAWN VIRTUAL LINEUP:*
NEW JERSEY SCHOOLS
Sharron Miller’s Academy for the Performing Arts
DanceWorks & Co.
New Jersey Dance Theatre Ensemble
Grooves Unlimited Dance Studio
NEW JERSEY COMPANIES
Alborada Dance
Freespace Dance Company
10 Hairy Legs
Carolyn Dorfman Dance Company
MeenMoves
Mignolo Dance
Maurice Chestnut
DOTL’S EMERGING COMMISSIONED NEW JERSEY CHOREOGRAPHERS
Robert Mark Burke
Kyle Marshall
Lauren Connolly
Javier Padilla
Oluwadamilare “Dare” Ayorinde
2021 LINE UP ~ ARTISTS NEW TO DOTL
Bhaarat Nritya Academy
Movement Arts Project/Dance for Joy
Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company
Inimois Dance
New Jersey Ballet
277dance project
*Program subject to change.
The 2021 Dance on the Lawn outdoor dance festival is currently scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11 on the front lawn of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Montclair, NJ.