WHITE RIVER JUNCTION — Since 2024, The Junction Dance Festival has hosted a winter fundraiser in the Briggs Opera House as part of the nonprofit’s annual programming.
Billed as a showcase of modern and experimental dance, the event helps TJDF provide financial support to area artists and those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to travel to Vermont to make work.
This year’s fundraiser, slated for Valentine’s Day, has come about under the leadership of TDJF’s new executive director, Calvin Walker, who began in the position last fall after founder Elizabeth Kurylo took a step back from running the organization.
Taking on the role of executive director has been a big learning process, said Walker, a trained dancer.
“I see it as a way of trying something new,” he said.
A while back, he snapped his Achilles tendon during rehearsal for a piece he was developing with Kurylo. Unable to perform, he transitioned to facilitating dance, rather than participating in it.
It’s been “super valuable seeing how me putting effort into working in the background can make a huge difference for performers,” Walker, who lives in Barre, Vt., said in an interview.
Saturday’s showcase, as well as TJDF’s annual summer festival, is a rare opportunity in Vermont to see a slew of dance genres and ensembles in one place, Walker noted.
“I hope someone in the audience will go in not really knowing what to expect and then leave with a new favorite dance style,” he said.
The upcoming event includes a performance from Rhythm Riderz, a breakdance group Walker helped found in 2004.
Other troupes on the docket include Bosse DeBelina Dance, a Montepelier-based project from choreographers Ann Bosse and MC DeBelina.
Kurylo also makes an appearance on the lineup, as does trained dancer Chloe Schafer; New York-based artist and movement director Liz Westbrook; and Vermont dancer Willow Wonder.
Providing financial and creative support for area artists has always been a tenet of TJDF, which held its first festival in 2022, but that effort feels more necessary than ever as federal funding for the arts is harder to come by, Walker said.
TDJF, for its part, has yet to face major hits to its funding, Walker said, though he expects that might change in the coming year as the nonprofit receives a significant portion of its grant money through the Vermont Arts Council, which is funded through the National Endowment for the Arts.
For now, his focus is on supporting other artists and drawing a crowd to the upcoming showcase.
“I hope that people see it as a fun winter night out and a great alternative to the usual Valentine’s Day routine,” Walker said.
The Junction Dance Festival’s “Midwinter Motion” showcase is slated for 7 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14 at the Briggs Opera House in White River Junction. To purchase tickets ($15-$40) and learn more, go to thejunctiondancefestival.org
Woodstock rhythm
Singer-songwriter and Vermont native Myra Flynn is slated to perform at Pentangle Arts in Woodstock at 7 p.m. this Friday. Flynn, host of Vermont Public’s “Homegoings” segment, infuses her music with soulful rhythms and detailed storytelling. To learn more and purchase tickets ($30 at the door; $25 when pre-ordered before 4 p.m. on Friday; $20 for seniors; $15 for students) go to pentanglearts.org or call 802-457-3981.
African soul in Randolph
There are still tickets available to see South African soul singer Nomfusi perform at Chandler Center for the Arts this Friday. For tickets (pay-what-you-can $10-$40) and to learn more, go to chandler-arts.org or call 802-728-9878.
Harp and hip-hop
Also on Friday, Anonymous Coffee House will host Küf Knotz & Christine Elise, a Philadelphia-based project that marries hip-hop with harp instrumentals for a smooth, lo-fi sound, at the First Congregational Church in Lebanon. Other artists on the bill include traditional American and Celtic musician Skip Gorman, who will be joined by blues performer Mark Burds, and the band Never Too Late, whose music takes notes from the harmonies of 1960s folk.
The show, set for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, is free and open to the public. Donations are encouraged. Learn more at anoncoffee.org.
Time after time
Elisapie, a Canadian folk musician, will perform at Dartmouth College’s Hopkins Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday. A member of the Inuit, the Indigenous group that inhabits Canada’s arctic regions, Elisapie’s 2023 album “Inuktitut” includes covers of Western pop songs like Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” in her native language, which the artist relates to loved ones and people from her community back home. To purchase tickets to the Wednesday concert ($35; $21 for youth and students), go to hop.dartmouth.edu or call 603-646-2422.
Mud season music
For fans of Noah Kahan’s 2022 LP “Stick Season,” the Strafford native recently announced that his forthcoming album “The Great Divide” will be released on April 24. The album’s first single, of the same name, came out late last month. The singer-songwriter is also the subject of a new documentary, “Noah Kahan: Out of Body,” coming to Netflix later this year.
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