Iowa Dance Festival returns to Iowa City April 28-30

IOWA CITY - Dance has been part of Nora Garda's life since age 5, when she began taking classes in her native Argentina. But with no prospects of leaping from stages in her smaller town to those in a larger city, she eventually embarked on a career path in science.

Now a pharmaceuticals senior chemist at the University of Iowa, dance remains part of her soul.

'I've never stopped dancing. It's always been part of my life,” said Garda, 58, of Iowa City. She's also the executive director of InterDance, a nonprofit organization she founded in 2009 to promote dance in community settings and schools.

She and festival co-founder Mark McCusker brought the idea to Iowa City in 2007 after participating in a similar event in Spain.

'We came back and started working on it right away,” she said.

It's her mission to show that dance is for everybody, at any age.

The public is invited to revel in its many forms, from classical ballet to ethnic styles, during the 11th annual Iowa Dance Festival staged in various downtown Iowa City sites Friday through Sunday, April 28-30.

'I want people to understand that dance is a very physical and fun activity, and that everybody can do it,” she said. 'You don't have to be a trained dancer to go, get up and move in a class. Also, sometimes you're not going to be creating as a dancer or performer, but you can create an audience who likes to go and watch and has a kind of understanding of the art form.”

Through master classes, demonstrations, discussions, films and dances, Garda sees the festival as a way to facilitate a conversation among the performers, choreographers and viewers.

Over the festival's history, she's discovered audience members enjoy speaking with the performers and asking about the creative process from idea to dance.

'People like to be part of the creative process,” she said. 'It's something that's possible in this festival, because the audience and the performers are very close all the time.”

Highlights include master classes, where participants study with artists who have international dance backgrounds.

A'Keitha Carey, a native of the Bahamas, who holds several degrees from universities in Florida and Texas, leads a free CaribeFunk workshop from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Friday in the UI's Schaeffer Hall. Her style fuses Afro-Caribbean, ballet, modern and fitness principles. Afterward, the public is invited to join her as she leads a Carnival-style parade through downtown Iowa City.

Saturday's $10 workshops at hotelVetro, 201 S. Linn St., focus on modern dance with Autumn Eckman, and musical theater with Ramon Flowers. Both are professional performers and choreographers working on advanced degrees at UI.

'They have an amazing trajectory that has been all over the world,” Garda said. 'We are very lucky to have those people here in Iowa City, even for a limited time.”

The Iowa International ScreenDance Festival is returning, as well, founded and directed by UI dance professor Eloy Barragan. The event showcases a dozen short dance films, selected from 274 entries from around the globe. They will be shown at noon Saturday and Sunday at FilmScene, 118 E. College St. Saturday's screening also features keynote speaker Ellen Bromberg, an award-winning choreographer, filmmaker, educator and founding director of the University of Utah International ScreenDance Festival.

Saturday's centerpiece is a 7 p.m. dance concert at hotelVetro, showcasing ballet, Middle Eastern, hip-hop, Caribbean funk and African styles, as well as dances created for different abilities. Suggested donation is $5 at the door.

The festival has been on the move throughout its history, presenting dance in atypical venues like Old Capitol Town Center and the Iowa City Public Library, as well as via flash mobs in the Ped Mall.

'Having dance go to different community spaces has been very rewarding for everybody,” Garda said. 'People moving from venue to venue is something we all like. It's a way to say we're not asking audiences to come see us, we're going where you are.”

IF YOU GO

What: Iowa Dance: celebrating the movement arts

When: Friday through Sunday

Where: Downtown Iowa City sites: Schaeffer Hall, 20 E. Washington St.; Park@201, 201 E. Washington St.; hotelVetro, 201 S. Linn St.; FilmScene, 118 E. College St.

Friday: CaribeFunk workshop, 4 to 5:50 p.m., UI Schaeffer Hall Room 30, followed by pop-up Carnival parade, free; kickoff party, 7 p.m., Park@201 - The Penthouse Suites, $30.

Saturday: Modern dance master class, 10 a.m., hotelVetro, $10; Iowa International ScreenDance Festival with keynote speaker Ellen Bromberg, noon, FilmScene; musical theater dance master class, 3 p.m., hotelVetro, $10; dance concert, 7 p.m., hotelVetro, $5 suggested donation.

Sunday: Brown bag lunch, 10 a.m., TBD; Iowa International ScreenDance Festival second showing, noon, FilmScene.

Registration: Party, modern dance and musical theater workshops, go to Iowadance.org; CaribeFunk workshop, email loyce-arthur@uiowa.edu.

Details: Iowadance.org

l Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com