The Main Event: CounterPointe: A Graduation Gala

Paula Nunez said she is filling a bit of a void in the Tampa Bay region.

“There’s not a lot of places for this, and not of this caliber,” said Nunez, founder of DanzAmericas Project Inc. By “this,” Nunez meant contemporary dance.

A new, nonprofit dance company, DanzAmericas is putting on a special summer performance to help promote the art of contemporary dance and to raise funds to help provide scholarships to young dancers trying to fulfill their professional aspirations.

CounterPointe: A Graduation Gala performance will be held 5:30 p.m. Saturday (June 18⁾ at the University of South Florida’s Theatre One, 4202 E Fowler Ave., TAR 230. The performance will feature local and international dancers at the pre-professional level. The gala features dancers from the University of South Florida, professional dancers from Latin America and students of America’s Ballet School in New Tampa.

“We are so proud of our local students who are devoting themselves to their art and finding great success,” Nunez said. “As the DanzAmericas Project grows, we look forward to providing more opportunities for young dancers to pursue their dreams.

“I love giving them the love of the arts,” she added.

Dancers will not only be performing contemporary pieces, but classical ballets from Black Swan, Flower Festival, Romeo & Juliet and Swan Lake, too.

IF YOU GO

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at America’s Ballet School, 15365 Amberly Drive. For more information, call (813) 558-0800, e-mail info@americasballet.com or visit www.danzamericasproject.org on the Web.