Access to Art, Inc.

4l7 E. Pacific Ave.

Cape May Court House, NJ 08210

Your Key to the Arts in Southern New Jersey

Press Release/for immediate release

From:  Barbara J. Beitel

Telephone: (609) 465-3963

                                          April is the Cruelest Month—but not for Dance

Philadanco! a.k.a. Philadelphia Dance Company

To offer Lecture/Demonstrations and Masterclasses

For Access to Art, Inc. on April l5th

Cape May Court House.  On April l5th, Access to Art, Inc., a N.J. not for profit that presents the visual and performing arts in the area, will offer lecture/demonstrations for area students and and masterclasses with Philadanco! the Philadelphia based, but world renowned dance company, who, this year was chosen by the National Endowment for the Arts as one of the Mid-Atlantic Region’s “American Masters,.” designs a class for school children tied to curriculum. They shared the honor of American Masters awardees with Sweet Honey and the Rock, from Washington, and Martha Graham Dance Company.

On April l5th, from l0 a.m. to 11 a.m., Philadanco! will offer a lecture/demonstration at the Middle Township PAC at l Penketheman Way, off Bayberry Rd., (exit l0E from the Garden State Parkway)  in Cape May Court House. It is open to area school children, and is a performance designed for school age children introducing children to modern dance, hip hop, ballet, and Afro-inspired dance.  Philadanco! dances to rave reviews across the country and across the world.  They are in residence at the Kimmel in Philadelphia, and they sell out their performances there both Spring and Fall.  The rest of the year, they are touring, and they have performed on three continents. Last year they performed at the Kennedy Center, the Joyce Theatre, NY, B.A.M. in Brooklyn and at the Travis Center in West Palm Beach.  They spent a month in Europe wowing audiences there.

Currently in excess of 500 children are attending, the event at the Middle Township PAC, and there is room for more. Superintendants were invited to invite their teachers and principals in November to the event.  The event is open to all school children and their chaperones. Tickets for the lecture demonstration are $5. per pupil, and the cost defrays the cost of Philadanco’s performance scheduled for May l7th at 7:30 p.m. at the Middle Township PAC. Checks may be made out to Access to Art, Inc., 4l7 E. Pacific Ave., Cape May Court House, N.J. 08210.  Call (609) 465-3963.

There is a second performance from l2:30 to l:30 p.m. sponsored by Atlantic Cape Community College for students in Atlantic County which is open to the public and schools in the region.  Atlantic Cape Community College’s campus is located in May’s Landing and the event is being held in the Walter Edge Theatre on campus.

Masterclass combos are being offered for area dance students wishing to take a class with Philadanco.  Classes are offered at Charter Tech High School for the Performing Arts in

Somers Point on New Road from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. and at Joanne Reagan Dance Studios in Cold Spring from 8-9 p.m.  Combo tickets to both the performance and a dance class are $40. Individual classes are $25.   Checks may be sent to Access to Art, Inc., 4l7 E. Pacific Ave., Cape May Court House, N.J. 08210.  Please call for reservations since class size is limited to 30 students.  We also need to know the ages and capabilities of the students, so that we design a class to their competency levels.  Call Access to Art, Inc. at (609) 465-3963 for further information.

This tour engagement of the Philadelphia Dance Company is funded through the American Masterpieces program of Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces:  Three Centuries of Artistic Genius, a major initiative to acquaint Americans with the best of their cultural and artistic legacy.

These programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts.  The funds were administered by the Cape May County Culture & Heritage Commission under the authority of the County Library Commission for the Board of Chosen Freeholders.

The event is also sponsored by Sturdy Savings Bank, The Sheller Family Foundation, Kindle Ford and Cape Savings Bank and other generous corporate and private sponsors.

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