Come Together Dance Festival Returns for Third Year

Kun Yang Lin Dancers are among the companies performing in the third annual Come Together Festival. | Photo by Bill Hebert

Koresh Dance Company presents their third annual Come Together Dance Festival, featuring 33 national dance artists at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre in Philadelphia.

Beginning in 2013, Artistic Director Roni Koresh wanted to give young and upcoming artists in the Philadelphia area a chance to showcase their talents before wider audiences. Koresh says he aims to celebrate diversity, creativity and the excellent technical skills of Philly dancers through the festival, held on July 22-26 this year.

Roni and his brother, Executive Director Alon Koresh, have been prominent in the Philadelphia dance scene for nearly 25 years. They opened Koresh Dance Company and Koresh School of Dance in the early 199os, and the company has continued to grow ever since. Just last year they moved into their new headquarters at 2002 Rittenhouse, making them the first contemporary dance company in Philadelphia to own a building.Through the Come Together Dance Festival, the brothers want to provide a platform for networking and support among Philly artists. Roni is often recognized for his support of emerging artists and collaboration between artists.

Over the course of the five-day festival, artists will come together to stage a fusion of dance styles, including hip-hop, tap, jazz, ballet, modern, contemporary, acrobatic, and traditional African and Indian dance. For the first time this year, the event welcomes three national guests: New Jersey’s 10 Hairy Legs, New York City’s Ballet Inc. and Seattle’s Spectrum Dance Theatre led by internationally recognized choreographer Donald Byrd.

More than 70 local and national dance companies were invited or applied to participate this year, but the festival selection committee narrowed down the options to 33. Included in the participating groups are world-renown, Philadelphia-based companies PHILADANCO!, Kùlú Mèlé African Dance & Drum Ensemble, Rennie Harris Puremovement, Raphael Xavier, Brian Sanders’ JUNK and Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers. The festival will also showcase skilled youth dancers from the Koresh Youth Ensemble, the Rock School for Dance Education and the University of the Arts.

Special events open to the public include a complimentary opening-night toast, four dance workshops with festival choreographers held at the Koresh School of Dance, three audience talk-backs with festival artistic directors and a closing-night happy hour.

Fifteen-hundred guests are expected to attend the festival this year. General admission tickets are $35, but discounts are available for students, groups and guests attending more than one night. To view a complete schedule of the performances and special events, and to purchase tickets, visit the Koresh Dance Company website. To save you a click, we’ve also posted the full festival schedule below:

Wednesday, July 22, 7:30pm

7 pm: Opening Night Toast with Roni Koresh
Performing: Brian Sanders’ JUNK, Chisena Danza, Koresh Dance Company, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, PHILADANCO!, Raphael Xavier, Spectrum Dance Theatre by Donald Byrd

Thursday, July 23, 7:30pm

6:30 pm: Happy Hour
Performing: AJ Garcia Rameau, Alchemy Dance Company, The Clutch Collective, Connolly and Co., Evalina (Wally) Carbonell, Face Da Phlave Entertainment/Theatre, Koresh Dance Company, Kùlú Mèlé African Dance & Drum Ensemble, Rennie Harris PureMovement, Sakshi Productions
Post-Show Talk-Back: Artistic Directors moderated by dance and culture scholar Brenda Dixon Gottschild

Friday, July 24, 8pm

7 pm: Happy Hour
Performing: Anne-Marie Mulgrew Dancers & Co, Just Sole Street Dance Theatre, Matthew Soojian, Koresh Dance Company, Putty Dance Project, Rennie Harris PureMovement, Sanbrooka Productions, SHARP Dance Company, Tara Madsen Dance
Post-Show Talk-Back: Artistic Directors

Saturday, July 25, 8pm

7 pm: Happy Hour
Performing: 10 Hairy Legs, Koresh Dance Company, Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers, PHILADANCO!, Raphael Xavier, The Rock School
Post-Show Talk-Back: Artistic Directors

Sunday, July 26, 7pm

6 pm: Closing Night Happy Hour
Performing: Ballet Inc., Brian Sanders’ JUNK, idiosynCrazy productions, Kareem Goodwin, Kat J. Sullivan, Katrina Atkin, Koresh Dance Company, Koresh Youth Ensemble, Project Moshen