Swish, swish, thump. Listen carefully, and you might hear the feverish sounds of Santa Barbara dancers tapping and leaping in studios across the city as they put the final touches on their entries for this year’s HH11 Dance Festival. Now in its fifth year, this lively celebration of “art in motion” will once again offer dance audiences the opportunity to take in a sweeping variety of genres and approaches, and area dance companies are busily prepping for the occasion.
“At the end of every festival, I wonder how we could possibly make it better,” said festival director Devyn Duex, “and then every year the level of new talent just blows us away once again.”
From Thursday, February 28, through Sunday, March 3, dancers throughout California — and from as far away as Hungary — will flex and hinge their bodies around disciplines that include modern dance, contemporary ballet, East Indian classical dance, and tap, as well as dance film and performance art. Center Stage Theater (751 Paseo Nuevo), will provide the intimate setting for the four-day event and, at just over 125 seats, will give the audience an up close and personal look into the intricacies of the kinetic arts.
