The Lila Dance Festival will return to Rochester Common Park in Rochester, New Hampshire on Saturday, August 24 at 1:00 p.m. A nonprofit founded by Nathan and Elyssa Moyer in 2022 and a Fellow of New Hampshire Dance Collaborative (NHDC), Lila Productions is organizing the festival.

Free to the public, the event will include live music, food and drink vendors, and multiple dance shows throughout the afternoon and evening. “Our lineup features an exciting array of performances to suit every taste,” said Elyssa.

Featured guest artists at this year’s Lila Dance Festival are choreographer Alejandro Figliolo and Philadelphia Ballet’s Yuval Cohen and Emily Wilson. All other dancers are local to New Hampshire and surrounding areas.

“Our mission is to foster genuine appreciation for dance among diverse communities in New Hampshire through community outreach, educational initiatives, and live performances,” said Nathan. “It’s important for people in the area to know that there are many talented dancers and choreographers here and that they don’t need to go far to enjoy excellent dance performances.”

Selected as a 2024 Fellow in NHDC’s NH Dance Accelerator program, Lila Productions has received support and guidance, including mentorship from founder Joan Brodsky. “Joan is a champion of New Hampshire dance, and her mission aligns perfectly with ours,” added Nathan.

Dance performances at the Lila Dance Festival will take place at 2:00 p.m., 3:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., and 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 24 at Rochester Common Park, with a rain date of Sunday, August 25. A preview performance, “Milonga!,” will take place at The Music Hall Lounge in Portsmouth, New Hampshire on Sunday, August 18 at 12:00 p.m. 

Founded in 2017, NHDC’s mission is to make dance and expressive movements more well-understood and accessible to the public. Lila Productions is a Fellow in NHDC’s NH Dance Accelerator Program. Click here to learn more about Lila Productions and the Lila Dance Festival.

On Thursday, June 27 at 7:00 p.m. at The Rex Theatre in Manchester, nonprofit NSquared Dance Company will present The Lavender Scare. A little-known period in United States history, The Lavender Scare refers to the mass firing of federal government employees in the 1950s, which coincided with the era of McCarthyism.

According to Zack Betty, Co-Founder of NSquared Dance, The Lavender Scare will metaphorically express what it feels like to be hidden, found, interrogated, and persecuted based on sexual orientation.

“This message will be communicated both through dance movements and video elements,” he explained.

The Lavender Scare is sponsored by New Hampshire Dance Collaborative (NHDC) whose mission is to make dance and expressive movements more well-understood and accessible to the public.

“This performance contributes to advancing the NHDC mission by showcasing how dance can serve as an accessible platform that allows for political and historical expression,” said Betty.

NHDC Founder Joan Brodsky said she hopes the performance will encourage those unfamiliar with dance to reconsider “what they think they might know about it.”

“Dance can communicate what words cannot,” she said. “This is more than entertainment. This is truth expressed through the body and the lived-in experiences of people who continue to be marginalized.”

The Lavender Scare will be performed at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, June 27 at The Rex Theatre in Manchester, New Hampshire. To purchase tickets, click here or the button below.

Founded in 2014, NSquared Dance performs throughout New England and offers educational classes and workshops for all ages. NSquared Dance is a Fellow of the NH Dance Accelerator with the New Hampshire Dance Collaborative (NHDC).

The company of theatre KAPOW’s Paradise Now! by Margaret Perry from June 7 through 9 at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage in Concord, NH. Photo by Matthew Lomanno.

The desire for—and vulnerability in— connection are central themes in nonprofit theatre KAPOW’s upcoming Paradise Now!, which will take place June 7 – June 9 at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage in Concord. Ticket prices range from $26.75 to $33.75.

Written by Margaret Perry, the play brings together a group of women who join a pyramid scheme where they sell a range of essential oils that soothe “a myriad of life’s stresses.” “What the play is really about is the desire for connection, something I think every woman longs for,” explained KAPOW’s Carey Cahoon.

Paradise Now!, however, rhetorically questions the ways in which modern society frames such “connections.” “Are women really lifting each other up in these scenarios, or are they about money?” Cahoon stated.

While the subject matter is serious, Paradise Now! presents it in various comedic ways. “You’ll laugh at the show, but you will also walk away with some questions,” Cahoon added.

Paradise Now! will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 7, and Saturday, June 8, and at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 9 at the Bank of New Hampshire Stage at the Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord, NH. Click the button below to purchase tickets, 

On Wednesday, May 22, 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Kimball Jenkins School of Art in Concord, New Hampshire Dance Collaborative (NHDC) will host Excerpts and Investigations: Paradise Now!.

Free to the public, the event will offer an inside look at theatre KAPOW’s upcoming June production, “Paradise Now!” with select excerpts and the opportunity to engage with the actors, designers, and director. A play about a group of women in a multi-level marketing company promoting essential oils, “Paradise Now!” will premiere in June at the Bank of NH State at Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord.

According to NHDC Founder Joan Brodsky, Excerpts and Investigations (E&I) is an immersive, multi-disciplinary experience that supports our belief that expressive movement can provoke discussion and understanding.”

“E&I was created to enhance the audience’s understanding of the process of creating a play, or originally, creating a dance,” she said. “Understanding the process deepens appreciation for the product.”

tKAPOW’s Carey Cahoon agreed and said the purpose behind the product, “Paradise Now!,” is to encourage the public to ask questions (of each other and themselves).

“The play is about ambition, exploitation, and the search for connection in a fractured world,” she said. “The play is also humorous, so the hope is that people can find connections through some laughter.”

On Wednesday, May 22, Excerpts and Investigations: Paradise Now! begins at 5.30 p.m. with wine and conversation followed by a presentation and facilitated discussion at 6:00 p.m. Registration is free.

“We believe by creating and producing professional work in our communities, we can foster a deeper connection and a genuine appreciation for dance,” said Nathan Moyer, who co-founded Lila Productions with wife Elyssa. “Through our productions, we strive to create a space for community building through dance.”

It is this sense of community building that attracted NHDC Founder Joan Brodsky to select Lila Productions as NH Dance Accelerator Fellow. “Their mission is entirely aligned with our mission to make dance a more well-understood, accessible, and utilized art form,” she said. “Accelerating Nathan and Elyssa’s organization will exponentially spread the joy and experience of dance to New Hampshire citizens who otherwise  wouldn’t have access to it.” 

Expressing appreciation for NHDC’s support, which will include mentoring, coaching, and financial assistance, Elyssa Moyer said they believe Lila Productions can help foster empathy and compassion. “Like all art, live dance is a unifier and a common language for all,” she said. “If people from different walks of life can come to enjoy a live dance performance with their neighbors, friends, and families, we help form a common bond within that audience and community.”