Get Your Groove On

The second annual Charleston Dance Festival kicked off Monday, with area dancers immersing themselves in master classes with pros such as Kathleen Jewett, education director of New York’s lauded Shen Wei Dance Arts, and choreographer and dancer Sean Bankhead, who’s worked with celebs like Beyoncé and Britney Spears.

But the event also has some pretty cool moves in store for general audiences, beginning Thursday, December 12 with an interactive dance installation at Redux Contemporary Art Center called “Find the Moment.” Centered around an exhibit by James Brendan Williams and inviting audience interaction using Richard Serra’s famed verb list, it features dancers from various companies along with live music by Jack Burg, Bill Carson, and Nick Jenkins.

The next night, movers and shakers from around the region face off in a high-energy Hip-Hop Battle at Memminger Auditorium presided over by Bankhead. And December 14 brings a pair of Performance Showcases (one at 6 p.m. and one at 8 p.m.) spotlighting some 20 companies including local groups such as the Afro-Latin Buen Ache and modern dance troupe Annex. “It’s probably the only time you’ll get to see almost every dance company in Charleston at one time,” says festival co-founder and director Sara Bennett.

For full details on all the events, click here.

For more events coming up this fun and festive weekend, click here.