“Gotta Dance: A Tribute To…Life!” is set for its World Premiere showcase July 2 and 3 at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts in the Troesh Studio Theatre. The show is presented by The HAND Company, directed and choreographed by Giulio Scatola, and produced by Steve Hand.
The showcase will consist of a variety of dance styles and music and will take the audience on a journey through iconic and historical dance moments and figures from Hollywood to Broadway, to concerts and classic music videos. Styles range from Jazz/Fosse, Tap, Modern, Hip Hop, Ballet, Latin, Ballroom, Acrobatics, Pole and Hand-To-Hand. The numbers will be performed by a cast of dancers from Las Vegas and around the world.
“Gotta Dance: A Tribute To…Life!” is about the uncontrollable urge to move and freely express yourself as you find rhythm and music in everything that surrounds you,” says director/choreographer Giulio Scatola. “It could be a song or an unexpected beat pulsing from ordinary, every day sounds – from a machine engine hum to the sound of raindrops on the roof. As you liberate yourself through movement, you find connections with the vibrations of life and the people you come in contact with in a timeless celebration of who you are and who we all are!”
The production will incorporate an eclectic array of music featuring dance in the title from all genres and eras including “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” (show's title track—by Whitney Houston), “I Hope You Dance” (Lee Ann Womack), “Dance My Pain Away” (Wye Oak), among many others.
Additional key production personnel include production design by Emmy Award-winner Andy Walmsley and music produced by Josh Connolly.