RELEASE: Rhythm in Fusion Festival Debuts at Majestic Theatre - 1/16 to 1/19

RHYTHM IN FUSION FESTIVAL (RIFF) BRINGS TAP DANCE AND MORE
TO THE MAJESTIC THEATRE

January 16-19, 2015

 
DALLAS: Rhythm In Fusion Festival (RIFF) is the first rhythm tap festival to be held in the city of Dallas. The festival brings top local, national and international tap dancers and teachers in rhythmic dance forms including Body Percussion, Flamenco, Irish Step, Swing, Kathak, and Folklorico. The Festival takes place Friday, January 16 to Monday, January 19, 2015 at The Majestic Theatre, 1925 Elm Street in downtown Dallas.

RIFF will finally give the dance community of Dallas a juicy, sweet taste of the tap festival phenomenon that has been exploding in popularity all over the world in places like Brazil, Japan, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Russia, Australia, and the United States! RIFF’s goal is to help put Dallas on the map as a national and international arts and culture icon and to create a positive, non-competitive, and innovative learning atmosphere for DFW’s youth, teachers, mentors and the public at large. The Festival offers beginner, intermediate, advanced and teacher/adult classes from fourteen (14) faculty members, each of whom are “masters” in their area of rhythmic dance. The lineup includes:

Chloe Arnold (www.chloearnold.com) is founder of Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies, and founder of DC TapFest (www.dctapfestival.com). She has been a guest performer on NBC’s America’s Got Talent, and ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, and Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. Her video Beyonce Tap Salute went viral and was endorsed by Beyonce herself (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWa-MDA2rYM).

Sarah Reich is a member of Chloe Arnold’s Syncopated Ladies and founder of the Tap Music Project (www.sarahreich.com, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ANgjicAV8).

Justin Lewis is a Washington D.C. native. Lewis is also currently relocated to Los Angeles, performing in a new tap dance element at Universal Studios, where he is the foreman of the show named “Tap Worx.” He has trained Luke Spring (Ellen DeGeneres Show, So You Think You Can Dance).

Keith Terry is a pioneer of the body percussion movement and founder of Crosspulse

(www.crosspulse.com) a non-profit arts organization dedicated to the creation, performance and recording of rhythm-based intercultural music and dance. He is also founder of the International Body Music Festival (www.internationalbodymusicfestival.com).

C.K. Edwards is from Dallas, TX and is a graduate of Booker T. Washington School of Visual and Performing Arts. He is currently in the national tour of the hit Broadway musical, The Book of Mormon.

Katelyn Harris is a native of Dallas. She was a principle dancer with Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, TX (www.tapestry.org), is founder of, and Artistic Director & choreographer for Rhythmic Souls Tap Company and Youth Residency Program (www.rhythmicsouls.org), founder of the Virtuoso Project (a new 501c3 nonprofit organization) and co-founder of Rhythm in Fusion Festival.

Matt Shields is a native of Canada and currently lives in Austin, TX. He was a principle dancer with Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, TX (www.tapestry.org). He is currently Artist in Residence for Rhythmic Souls Tap Company and Artistic Director for Rhythmic Souls Youth Residency in Dallas, TX. He is the Artistic Director for

RIFF Presents: “IN GOOD TIME” – Sunday, January 18 at 8:00 p.m.

IN GOOD TIME is an exciting, upbeat evening of dance featuring tap, body percussion, Flamenco, Irish Step Dance, Swing Dance & more! It's a once in a lifetime opportunity to see masters of these unique rhythmic art forms perform on the same stage! Performances by Rhythm in Fusion Festival's teaching faculty and the Rhythmic Souls Tap Company in collaboration with Abbey Magill (Irish Step Dance) and Antonio Arrebola (Flamenco)
performing original choreography by co-founder Katelyn Harris. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online at http://www.rhythminfusion.com/riff-presents-in-good-time/

Official Hashtags: #RIFFDallas #COUNTDOWNTORIFF #RIFFSelfie Facebook: /RIFFDallas Twitter: @RIFFDallas Instagram: @Rhythm_In_Fusion_Festival

For more information about RIFF, contact Kristin Colaneri / Producing Associate at 469-569-0132 or by email at RhythminFusion@gmail.com.

ABOUT RHYTHM IN FUSION
RIFF, DFW’s first annual Rhythm In Fusion Festival will host world-renowned tap dance artists, one body percussionist, local rhythm dance artists, four days of classes and workshops, a tap jam, a cutting contest, and a Q&A, bringing the best of the best right to your doorstep. To top it off, RIFF is presenting community showcases by local studios in the North Texas area, a solo competition giving dancers the opportunity to show off their style and technical ability, and a faculty concert featuring RIFF’s world-class staff.  Performances and classes are open to festival participants and the general public. RIFF desires to be a catalyst for collaboration between tap dance artists and other local North Texas performing and visual arts companies, foster learning, inspiration, creativity, and innovation among DFW’s youth, teachers, mentors and the community at large. For more information, visit www.rhythminfusion.com/