In its ninth year, F.A.B. Winter Dance Showcase expands roster, stylistic reach

“This year’s lineup in the ninth annual F.A.B. Winter Dance Showcase is a testament to the health and diversity of Maine’s contemporary dance community,” says Carol Dilley, an organizer of the event and director of the Bates College dance program.

F.A.B. takes place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 1, at the Franco Center, 46 Cedar St. The event is produced in association with Bates by the Franco Center, formerly known as the Franco-American Heritage Center. (“F.A.B.” stands for Franco-American and Bates.)

Admission is $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $5 in cash for students. Tickets are available at the box office from noon to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday; by telephone at 207-689-2000; or online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/484808.

Please note that tickets purchased online or over the phone with a credit card or debit card are subject to a convenience fee of 99 cents plus 3.5 percent of the ticket price. This reflects the exact cost to the Franco Center of providing this service. There is no added fee for tickets purchased in person at the box office by cash or check.

For more information about F.A.B, please visit www.francocenter.org/events/76/f-a-b-winter-dance-showcase/.

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See a Lewiston Sun Journal photo essay from a F.A.B. rehearsal at Bates.

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F.A.B. aims to bring the mid-Maine dance audience together with artists from around the region. Visually stunning and kinetically mesmerizing, this event energizes Lewiston’s most beautiful auditorium with a kaleidoscope of dance styles.

Performers from as far away as Connecticut and as close as Bates are taking part in the event. With eight new names on the roster joining six F.A.B. veterans, “it seems that the word is out that F.A.B. is a good place to show work,” Dilley notes. “Many of the new artists found us before we could find them.”

Also new this year is a project near and dear to the mission of the Franco Center. “We’re very excited to finally have an homage to the traditional Franco-American dance of this area,” Dilley says.

Cindy Larock, well-known in the Twin Cities and beyond as a folk dance advocate, is working with Bates jazz dance teacher Debi Irons to create a piece integrating jazz and Franco-American. “Through this collaboration we have discovered shared interests, favorite musicians and generations of dancers all enjoying dancing together,” Dilley says.

The evening concludes with a traditional Franco-American “kitchen party,” a celebration with food, dance and music. All are welcome to come downstairs after the show for refreshments and dancing to the live music by members of the Great Falls Community Folk Orchestra.

Here’s the complete list of dance presenters for F.A.B. 2014:

• Amanda Hamp and Annie Kloppenberg, Colby College;
• Dirigo Dance, Indidancworks, Meredith Lyons, the Maine Dance Project and Collective Motion, all of Portland;
• Cindy Larock, members of the Great Falls Community Folk Orchestra and members of the Bates College Dance Company, all of Lewiston;
• Shawn Hove, Connecticut College;
• Debi Irons and Charlaine Katsuyoshi, Norway, Maine;
• Neveah Company, Oxford Hills;
• Stripwrecked Burlesque, Westbrook;
• Hio Ridge Dance Collective, Denmark, Maine.