Ballet Hartford Announces 2024 Awakening Festival in Bushnell Park

Ballet Hartford is excited to announce the return of its annual Awakening Festival, a free performance in Bushnell Park, scheduled for Friday, August 30, 2024, at 6:30 PM. This year’s festival promises a vibrant showcase of diverse dance styles and innovative choreography.

Started in the summer of 2021, the Awakening Festival has become a cherished tradition, bringing together the community to enjoy the artistry of dancers and other creative professionals. This year’s festival will not only feature diverse dance performances but also live on-site art from Ballet Hartford Resident Visual Artist Aubrey Feliciano and original poetry, to accompany two of the evening’s performances, by local poet Heather Bachman.

The Awakening Festival got underway this week with the start of a ten-day intensive, designed for both students and professionals to work with choreographers to prepare for the performance. This provides an opportunity for dancers – local and from out-of-state – to rehearse new repertoire created specifically for the festival. The dancers will perform the new works on the tenth day (August 30) in the open-air festival hosted by Hartford’s historic Bushnell Park.

"We invite our audience to come once again and join us for an evening of refreshment and beauty through the arts," said Leyna Doran, the founder of Awakening Festival and current Executive Director of Ballet Hartford. "Each year we are thrilled by the increasing number of out-of-state participants joining the program, a testament to the festival's growing reputation and reach."

The festival will highlight the work of choreographers including:

• Claire Kretzschmar, Artistic Director of Ballet Hartford and former soloist with New York City Ballet
• Steve Rooks, Former Principal dancer with Martha Graham Dance Company, and current Chair of Dance at Vassar College
• Ashley Taylor, Freelance Choreographer from New York City
• Paiter van Yperen, Freelance Choreographer
• Michela Poynter, Ballet Hartford dancer
• Felicia Isotti, Ballet Hartford dancer
• Alisa Nipp, Ballet Hartford dancer
• Hope Blackburn-Shoup, Ekklesia, Contemporary Ballet dancer
• Leyna Doran, Executive Director of Ballet Hartford
• Hannah Bush, Company Manager of Ballet Hartford

The evening will also feature a dance class onstage for young audience members to participate in at 6:00 PM, highlighting the family-friendly nature of the event.

The Awakening Festival is the launch of an exhilarating season for Ballet Hartford, which will feature the highly anticipated “Nutcracker Short & Suite,” an enchanting adaptation of the classic holiday ballet (November 24), Ballet Harford en Plein Air (October 5), Behind the Ballet at the Hill-Stead (November 16) and A Ceremony of Carols (November 30). In addition, following the success of last year’s debut of “A Ceremony of Carols,” Ballet Hartford will embark on a multi-state tour, the most extensive in its history, for this year’s holiday season.

For updates on the Awakening Festival, fall performances, ticket information and additional details, please visit Ballet Hartford’s website, www.ballethartford.com.

About Ballet Hartford

Ballet Hartford, a leading ballet company located in the heart of Connecticut, pursues excellence in ballet by presenting performances rooted in truth, infused with beauty, and propelled by the common good. Established as Vivid Ballet in 2016, the company rebranded as Ballet Hartford to better reflect its mission of being “art for the city.” With professional dancers from across the United States,

Ballet Hartford produces programs that uphold tradition and celebrate innovation. The company has a professional partnership with The University of Hartford’s The Hartt School Dance Division and shares a thriving exchange of resources and opportunities. Accompanied by its affiliate school, the School of Ballet Hartford, the company strives for excellence with joy in all of its performances and offerings to the public.