WITH FEATURED PERFORMANCES BY WORLD-RENOWNED GUEST DANCERS AND CHOREOGRAPHERS, DANCE AND CELEBRATION IS ALWAYS A FAVORITE EVENT WITH DDCF AUDIENCES. A MAJOR HIGHLIGHT OF OUR FESTIVAL’S WEEKEND LONG CELEBRATION TAKING PLACE AT THE DETROIT FILM THEATRE, THIS IS A PERFORMANCE YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS.
READ ABOUT OUR 2024 Dance and Celebration Artists!
ArtLab J I
At the core, ArtLab J explores humanity’s fundamental nature through honest observations and natural reactions, leading to artistic movement and performance. Through dance and culture, ArtLab J seeks the diversity of individuals, focuses on personal and community growth, and strives to discover the positives of our society’s behavior and emotions.
ArtLab J I is a professional dance company made up of advanced, technical dancers who perform across Metro-Detroit. Artists in the company will take class and rehearse new and historic work to maintain technique and explore new creative outlets. Under the ArtLab J family, this company of dancers includes the highest caliber of talent and experience in contemporary, ballet, and other dance styles.
WHITE WAVE Young Soon Kim Dance Company
Young Soon Kim, Artistic Director of WHITE WAVE Dance, is a recipient of the
2023 Bessies Angel Honoree Award, and is a nationally and internationally acclaimed
choreographer, whose work has been hailed for its exhilarating, visually stunning, and
emotionally rich phrases and textures.
Her ongoing 40-year career began as a brilliant performer, traversing the globe
performing with Jennifer Muller and the Works and her repertory of original works in
Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong, as well as a 60-day tour in Korea. In addition, she
frequently appeared at major venues & festivals such as Theatre de la Ville in Paris,
Maison de la Culture in Le Havre, France; Teatro Nazionale in Milan, Teatro Tendu
Striscie in Rome, Italy; Schauspielhaus in Cologne, Germany; as well as the Festival
d’Avignon in Avignon, France, among others.
In addition to her role as a performer and Artistic Director, Ms. Kim created a series of dance festivals soon after
inaugurating the WHITE WAVE John Ryan Theater in DUMBO, Brooklyn, in 2001. She has since become one of the
most recognized producers/curators in New York City. Ms. Kim has also served as a juror for New York City Department
of Cultural Affairs in 2006 and for the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in 2014.
After the World première at the 2017 La MaMa Moves! Dance Festival, WHITE WAVE Dance’s Canadian première of
"iyouuswe" (read as I-You-Us-We-two) at the 2018 Vancouver International Dance Festival was a resounding success!
WHITE WAVE presented “Eternal NOW” at our enormously successful 2019 tour to Ko-rea and China. In Gwangju,
Korea, we performed at a special event at the Asian Cultural Center, one of the most prestigious arts complexes in all of
Asia. There we participated at the Opening Celebration of the 2019 FINA World Championship Masters' Games, a
sporting event that rivals the Olympics. Following that, we flew to China to perform at the Ningbo Cultural Plaza, as part
of a China-US Cultural Exchange program. Dazzled sold-out audiences greeted us at every performance!
The company was selected for the 2013/2014 BAM Professional Development Program (PDP), a collaborative program
provided by BAM & the DeVos Institute of Arts Management (Kennedy Center), which increased WHITE WAVE's
institutional capacity and built the necessary foundation for long-term success. The program culminated in the world
premiere of "Eternal NOW" presented at BAM Fisher in June 2014. The New York Public Library for the Performing
Arts at Lincoln Center documented Eternal NOW on its Opening Night. The video has been catalogued and added to
NYPL Dance Division’s permanent collection. Not much later, Ms. Kim was nominated for a second time for the 18th
Annual KBS Global Korean Award.
Highlights include the documentary film, "Arirang:" featuring Kim's artistic achievements, premièred at the Smithsonian
Institution & aired nationwide on PBS; the CNN feature, "Inside Asia," aired internationally. In 2021, Kim became the
first artist in any genre actively working outside Korea, chosen to be the subject of a documentary film series by the
governmental Arts Council Korea.
During the Summer/Fall 2021, Young Soon Kim continually created “iyouuswe II, A Dance Film” and a stage version
of the production. In October 2021, WHITE WAVE Dance presented three free performances of their newest
production, iyouuswe II (I-You-Us-We-Two), on October 9 and 30, 2021 at DUMBO Archway, and two shows at the
Home of WHITE WAVE Dance at 5pm as part of the City Artist Corps Grant Initiative.
“iyouuswe II, A Dance Film” was selected as finalist for the 2022 Cannes International Film Festival, Paris International
Short Festival, Vancouver Independent Film Festival and an OFFICIAL SELECTION at the 2021 London International
Short Film Festival, Espoo Digi-Dance International Film Festival (Finland) and Experimental, Dance, Music Film
Festival (Canada).
NA2 Dance Theater
Norberto Collazo Ortiz– Aibonito, Puerto Rico. His interest in dance began at age 10 when he joined Ballet Jatibonuko in his hometown. Five years later he joined the Ballet Juvenil Puertorriqueño, receiving training in folk dance. His training includes various genres such as: street jazz, hip-hop, contemporary, modern, Afro-Caribbean, contact improvisation, fighting monkey, and improvisation. By 2003 Collazo joined Hincapié, being both dancer and choreographer directed by Petra Bravo. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Individualized Studies in Contemporary Dance and Body Expression in Pedagogy, from the University of Puerto Rico. Collazo joined the cast of Andanza Contemporary Dance Company in August 2009 where he also choreographed. In 2014 Collazo was the first resident artist of the Arts Residency Program of the Center Of Fine Arts Luis A. Ferré. He also worked as a guest soloist for Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico in productions like Carmina Burana (2014), Giselle (2008) and El Festival de Coreógrafos (2012). Norberto Collazo also has imparted workshops in various communities in Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Guatemala. Collazo have staged his work in international venues like Costa Rica, Guatemala, Chile, New Jersey, Orlando, New York, Spain, and Prague. Among the independent dance events he has directed and produced are: Inventario (2010), Físico Relativo (2011), Disparejas (2011), Físico Relativo 100 x 35 (2012) Warning on the move (Quadrennial in Prague), SóloDos en Danza Rumbo a Costa Rica (2015), Conocidos Pasajeros (2016). He completed a Dance MFA at Tisch School for the Performing Arts at NYU. Collazo is co-director and choreographer of NA2, where he works with contemporary dance and movement related arts.
DDCF Dance and Celebration Memories
DANCE AND CELEBRATION PERFORMERS ARCHIVE
DDCF 2024
ArtLab J I
NA2 Dance Theater Corp (P.R)
White Wave Young Soon Kim Dance Company (New York)
DDCF 2021
FENG DANCE COMPANY (TAIWAN)
JEONGHONG CHOI (SOUTH KOREA)
MURATA MASAKI (JAPAN)
DDCF 2017
AMY DIANE MORROW (TX)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohh8tYL-AG8&list
CIA DANZA ZIOMARA HORMAETXE (BASQUE COUNTRY)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPWwnoKrMKA&list
ARTLAB J(MI)
DDCF 2014
CAROLYN DORFMAN DANCE (NY)
DDCF 2023
SeongJeong Kim (South Korea)
Kelsey Lewinski (MI)
Grand Rapids Ballet (MI)
Xing Dance Theater Student Company (MA)
ArtLab J I (MI)
ArtLab J II (MI)
ArtLab J for Grown-Ups (MI)
DDCF 2019
CARMELO SEGURA COMPANHIA (SPAIN) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3eOiDstzN4&list
ONE DANCE PROJECT GROUP (SOUTH KOREA)
ALEXANDER QUETELL (MI)
ARTLAB J (MI)
BYOUNG SUG KIM (IL) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgHWCt2foHk&list
DDCF 2016
FERENC FEHER (HUNGARY)
KWANGMIN KIM (SOUTH KOREA)
ARTLAB J (MI)
WHITE WAVE DANCE YOUNG SOON KIM COMPANY (NY)
DDCF 2013
SIDRA BELL DANCE (NY)
DDCF 2022
Kyunghwa Hong (South Korea)
Lee Jung In Creation (Austria/South Korea)
Smutek Dance (MI)
DDCF 2018
MODERN TABLE (SOUTH KOREA)
MARCAT DANCE (SPAIN)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XcXbEZYgaoU&list
CONTEMPUS (MI)
DDCF 2015
CAMILLE A. BROWN AND DANCERS (NY)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ut28l95AR9c&list
EISENHOWER DANCE (MI)
R.SE DANCE COMPANY (SOUTH KOREA)