Welcome to the second annual SpARC Dance Festival!

 

If this is your first time at SpARC, welcome! For those of you who were here last year, welcome back. It has been a whirlwind journey since SpARC's inaugural year last September. I couldn't be more excited for this year's performance.

 

Growing up in the San José and Silicon Valley area instilled in me a strong love of this area and its potential. My hometown’s spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation is a fantastic place to develop one's values, albeit a challenging place for the performing arts. Your support by being here today is deeply felt and appreciated.

 

When I had the, ahem... spark... for this event a few years ago, I could only imagine the love and support from the dance community. Reality has proven to be better than dreams. Since last year we have nearly doubled in size with new choreographers, performers, and dance genres. It is fantastic to see so much enthusiastic talent take the stage this year. Thanks to a grant from the city of San Jose, we have been able to lengthen this year's show.

 

I’m not going to lie... this past year had some very high highs, and very low lows. Throughout all the peaks and valleys, dancing and creating dance kept me anchored to sanity, while simultaneously coping with life’s curveballs. The process of dancing together, creating works of moving art, and witnessing live performance, is what tethers us to our humanity.

 

My sincerest gratitude to the talented guest performers this evening. All of you are part of the rich tapestry that is our dance community, A big thank you to all of you - the audience. Your presence in this beautiful theater is what makes this possible.

 

Take a break from your screens and the outside world, and enjoy the performance!

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With Gratitude,

Arielle Cole

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Artistic Director of ArcTangent Dance

Executive Producer of SpARC Dance Festival