Lehigh Valley Teen Dances Her Way To The Philly Fringe

Drexel Hill, PA (PRWEB) August 31, 2006

In just two weeks, Ashley Klemmer, age fifteen of Whitehall, PA will be dancing in the upcoming Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe.

The combined festivals now present sixteen days of performing arts events each year beginning on the Labor Day holiday weekend - this year from September 1-16, 2006. The creative works of more than 1,000 artists are presented annually, with 1,693 participating artists in 2005. The wide spectrum of artistic expression includes avant-garde adaptations, ballet, cabaret, clowning, experimental theater, contemporary dance, new music, performance art, site-specific work, street theater, visual art installations, and many others.

Ashley is one of the newest members of a youth based, pre-professional dance company called Music & Motion Dance Productions. This will be the third year that this group has participated in the Philly Fringe. They are amongst the youngest of the performance groups, with ages ranging from fifteen to nineteen years old. The teens are from a community of over five regional counties, Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery, Lehigh and Philadelphia, often traveling up to an hour on the road each way to attend rehearsals. They come together from various backgrounds out of a love of dance and a desire to express themselves through performance. Together, with the assistance of Artistic Director Steven Weisz, who incidentally also coordinates the Lehigh Valley Mall Teen Board, they have formed this non-profit company and contributed in every aspect of its operation - from marketing to production and from dance concept to choreography.

Their upcoming performance, To A Different Beat, explores a cultural fusion of expressive rhythm and dance set to modern global music. Consisting of nineteen new pieces, this is by far the most challenging program the group has undertaken to date. The music itself, which is predominantly from the Asian, Australian and African continents, has been infused with electronica and sophisticated rhythms, which pose unique challenges to choreography. The intricate and continually changing rhythms make the pieces both interesting and challenging.

For Ashley, who has studied dance for the past 8 years at Pennsylvania Performing Arts Center located in Whitehall, PA, this is a chance to put her skills to the test in a professional venue. Her training has included Jazz, Modern, Lyrical, Hip Hop, Tap, Ballet and Pointe. But Music & Motion Dance and the Philly Fringe offer a whole new set of challenges as well as opportunities.

Ashley has performed and won numerous accolades in a variety of annual dance competitions in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in connection with her studio where she is also an assistant instructor. But as she says, "this is very different...there is a blending of all dance styles and as a group we are also responsible for creating the choreography." She goes on to add, "I have never participated in a Fringe Festival but from the excitement expressed by the rest of the dancers who have, I can tell that this is going to be an incredible experience."

For Ashley, Music & Motion has not only provided an opportunity to perform but also a chance to truly create and express oneself in a very tight knit company of youth dancers who are very a much a second family to each other. The creativity in the dance pieces they will be offering at Fringe only parallels their energy and excitement.

Catch Music & Motion Dance on September 16th at the Philadelphia Cathedral, 3723 Chestnut Street. There will be three performances at 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 7:30 p.m. For additional information and tickets - on line at http://www.music-and-motion.com or by calling 610-394-9182; or through the Fringe box office.

Print Quality Photograph

Ashley Klemmer, 15, Whitehall, PA

http://www.music-and-motion.com/8x10/klemmer.jpg
Photo Credit: Joe Platia

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