5x5 Dance Festival returns live for 20th anniversary show
The 5x5 Dance Festival is turning 5x4. It’s the 20th anniversary of this singular gathering of Connecticut-based dancers, held at the University of St. Joseph’s Autorino Center Nov. 4-6.
Typically the festival brings five professional dance companies from Connecticut together with five student dance companies from Connecticut colleges and universities, hence the name “5 [by] 5.” Beyond seeing each other perform, there are networking and mentorship opportunities.
As part of the anniversary celebration, there are 12 dance companies in the festival’s Saturday night showcase performance this year instead of the usual 10. There’s also a free anniversary event on Friday at 7 p.m., with a video montage of highlights from previous festivals, as well as a live site-specific performance by Laska Dance in the Autorino Center’s art gallery, where the current exhibit is “Let’s Dance” by Jill Henderson Pasanen.
Another reason to celebrate: “We’re back in person,” says the festival’s founder and director Susan Murphy, who leads the dance program at the University of St. Joseph and is also president of the Connecticut Dance Alliance. “Dancers adapted really well to virtual and outdoor performances, but we were definitely missing being indoors.”
This year, the professional companies performing live are Ballet Hartford, Dimensional Dance (performing a section of a new local history-based piece, “Prudence Crandall and Sarah Harris: Whole Souled Women”), Ekklesia Contemporary Ballet, Immix Dance Project, Moxie Dance Company, New England Ballet Theatre of Connecticut, MBDance and the Berkshires-based dancer Fiona Scruggs. The student troupes include Central Connecticut State University, Eastern Connecticut State University, Sacred Heart University (with 11 students
performing “Imbroglio,” choreographed by Shane Farrell) as well as the University of Saint Joseph, plus high school dancers from the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts.
For the dancers, performing may not even be the biggest part of the weekend. On Saturday from noon to 3 p.m. there are master classes led by some of the professional dancers and choreographers. Some of the classes are specifically for the student participants but others are open to the public, as $20 per class.”
One of the student master classes doubles as an audition for three local dance companies who are looking for new members. The students will be coached to do specific routines for the audition. “A big part of ‘5x5 is the opportunity for the collegiate dancers to network,” Murphy says.
On Oct. 22, the town of West Hartford lifted its mask mandate, so the university lifted theirs as well. Until last week, the school required everyone indoors, including performers, to wear masks. With the mandate gone, the dancers will now dance unmasked.
The 5x5 Dance Festival runs Nov. 4-6 at the University of St. Joseph, 1678 Asylum Ave, West Hartford. Tickets and registration are at usj.edu/ arts/autorino-center-forthe-arts/.