Since its inception in 1983, the Bates Dance Festival has succeeded in introducing many to the freedom of movement embodied in newer forms of dance. Audiences, perhaps including those who are a little less inclined toward focusing on the refined steps and turns of classic ballet, have found something they like in contemporary dance.

Shoshona Currier, director of the upcoming festival, which runs July 10-31 at various venues in Lewiston, believes that ballet and the types of contemporary dance that the festival features “share the same DNA, but they have different goals.” With contemporary approaches, she maintains, “many styles are…(often)…being melded together to make something that feels very fresh and current.”

She offers the example of choreographer Kyle Marshall’s “Femenine,” to be performed at the festival on July 17 and 18. In this work, “the audience will see movement that occasionally looks like ballet but is being used in a different way. The technique is there but the physical vocabulary is being used as one of many tools in a toolbox.”

Currier wants audiences to not get hung up on formally “getting it,” but rather to “open… [themselves]…up to transformation” by appreciating what the works make you “feel.”

“We built BDF to be a welcoming environment,” she writes, where you can “lean into your own curiosity” to experience ‘the “sense of magic” that a dance festival can provide. 

The director highlights this year’s presentation of “Drag…(as)…a contemporary dance form.”  Choreographer Jesse Factor will present “Marthaodyssey” on July 30 and 31. It’s a piece “blending the movement of Martha Graham and the music of Madonna,” that will likely introduce a new element or two to the dance festival.

Currier also notes an emphasis on film at this year’s festival. She hopes that it will show that “you can do more with a dance film than make a TikTok dance.” A short film called “The Oath” by Annie-B Parson will be running at the Bates College Museum of Art throughout the summer. And, in partnership with Flatlands Dance, the festival will present an evening of short dance films on July 19 at the main performance venue, the Schaeffer Theatre on the Bates campus.   

Still more, Leslie Cuyjet will present her solo “For All Your Life” on July 24. The work includes a 15-minute film. It’s “funny and slippery” says Currier in praise of the piece that “questions the value of a human life — monetary and otherwise.”

More finished pieces as well as works-in-progress will fill out a busy schedule that also includes celebrations, ceremonies and concerts.

Currier’s enthusiasm also extends to the educational component of the dance festival. She notes, “We are expecting around 300 students this year, with an age range spanning from 7 to 72 years old.” She’s very pleased that enrollment this summer “is the highest it has been in the last three years.” 

With Maine faculty and dancers involved, she hopes it all “creates a beautiful bridge between the international dance world and our local arts scene.”

Steve Feeney is a freelance writer who lives in Portland.

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IF YOU GO

Bates Dance Festival 2026 Performance Series, July 10-31. Various venues in Lewiston. Admission $5-$40. For details, go to batesdancefestival.org