(Frenchtown, NJ 2023): Roxey Ballet will host the second annual River Dance Festival on August 18-20 at Mill Ballet in New Hope, PA featuring more than 20 choreographers and 80 dancers from across the nation. The mission of the festival is to give artists a platform to present their work showcasing a variety of talent featuring BIPOC artists and select works based on social justice. The company is proud to be hosting artists of diverse backgrounds, providing the opportunity to influence cultural or racial change in society, speak their truth, and advance efforts to create equity in the arts. Says Artistic Director Mark Roxey, “I’m delighted to be able to offer this opportunity to both choreographers and the viewing public. A festival of this scale is a unique experience, with three days of performances featuring over 20 choreographers. We are thrilled to welcome these talented artists to our Delaware River towns to share their voices through dance on topics of racial equality, social justice, and cultural diversity.”

A featured choreographer at the River Dance Festival is Seyong Kim, an Associate Professor of Dance at Western Michigan University and a former Roxey Ballet Company member. His piece, "A Poem Written at the Golgotha Hill", is inspired by J.S. Bach's beautiful aria “Erbarme dich, mein Gott" and the Gospel of Matthew and is made as a contemporary ballet performed by female artists using symbolic gestural movements and cultural themes. "A Poem Written at the Golgotha Hill" is presented within an aesthetic atmosphere filled with sadness. The piece can be diversely interpreted to express trans-cultural perspectives beyond religious aspects in our current globalized world. Seyong's choreography can be seen at the River Dance Festival on Saturday, August 19th, and Sunday, August 20th. 

Dancer and choreographer Grace Marguerite Sellinger, who is interested in exploring the challenging parts of daily life through the choreographic process, will also be performing a piece at the River Dance Festival. Sellinger believes that to conquer adversity, exploration of one’s own emotions is necessary. Her creative process includes choosing from her own experiences, processing her emotions, and prescribing movement to the narrative. Through the choreographic experience, Sellinger aims to confront and address difficult topics, using art to overcome adversity. She is enamored with music and its unique ability to inflict visceral feelings and creates pieces that tell stories through a combination of music and movement. When watching one of her pieces, Sellinger hopes audiences feel a personal connection with her work. Though her choreography is personal to her, she chooses topics relatable to all people and aims to tell others’ stories through the telling of her own. Sellinger's creation, "For Our Viewing Pleasure”, can be seen at the River Dance Festival on Friday, August 18th, and Saturday, August 19th.

Choreographer, dancer, and singer Lisa Botalico will perform at the River Dance Festival with her piece entitled, “Al Ritmo de las Piedras” (To the Rhythm of the Rocks) accompanied by visual artist Libby Ramage and a group of dancers. Ramage’s work Water on Zen Paper stands at the center of the performance while the dancers perform Botalico’s choreography around it.  There is no recorded music, only Botalico’s live acapella vocals, rock sounds, and live footwork. Without the constraints of musical accompaniment, Botalico was free to simultaneously create both choreography and a percussive musical composition. The powerful sounds of Flamenco footwork in counterpoint to the sounds of rocks striking together are juxtaposed with the quiet, but powerful brushstrokes of Ramage. “Al Ritmo de las Piedras” can be seen at the River Dance Festival on Sunday, August 20th.

Tickets to see the works of these and other talented artists are available now. Students from the Mill Ballet School’s three-week Choreographic Workshop will also be performing new choreography created specifically for the festival. The River Dance Festival takes place on Friday, August 18 at 7 pm, Saturday, August 19 at 4 pm, and Sunday, August 20 at 3 pm at roxeyballet.org/riverdancetickets. Mill Ballet is located at 46 N Sugan Rd, New Hope, PA. 

Roxey Ballet is a non-profit organization and was incorporated in 1995 as a New Jersey non-profit organization whose mission is to deliver artistic and cultural excellence through professional dance performances, residencies, educational programs, workshops, and master classes. Roxey Ballet makes every effort to be fully accessible physically and programmatically, welcoming and educating artists with disabilities, who are culturally diverse, and of varying genders while promoting equality for their greater fulfillment and experience. Roxey Ballet is rooted in diversity and is proud of its commitment to anti-racism, equity, and inclusion and provides a safe space for learning, creating, sharing, and collaborating. Through their unique and diverse works audiences and artists find inspiration, education, and access to high-quality dance performances.

Roxey Ballet’s programs are made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, The New Jersey Cultural Trust, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, VSA Kennedy Center The International Organization on Arts & Disabilities, Church and Dwight, Hunterdon County Cultural & Heritage Commission, Dance NJ, The Princeton Area Community Foundation, and by private donations from individuals and businesses.