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About
The Sedona Dance Project seeks to educate the community of the importance dance as art has on our culture by offering opportunities through collaborative work with local dancers, musicians, drummers, make-up artist, costume designers, choreographers, photographers and videographers to enhance and highlight the art of dance and create an artistic experience to be enjoyed by the community.
Vision
The vision for the Sedona Dance Project is to use education to help the community gain an artistic appreciation of dance through collaborative performance experiences, choreography workshops, and dance workshops. Creating an opportunity for "dance as art" to be more accessible to the community and to celebrate authentic movement by showcasing dances created on the eccentric beings of the Sedona dance community who flow and dance with open hearts. The focus is to create a performance platform (live & video) that highlights the strength, allure and grace that lies within all movers ( with or without classical training). Providing an opportunity for people of the community to participate in and learn how impactful dance can be when exhibited as art.
Misson
The Sedona Dance Project was not created for profit. The desire is to create an opportunity to exchange services, providing an opportunity to give an offering to the community with our gifts and time. Proceeds from performances will be used for future expenses (costumes, make-up, performance venues, lighting, rehearsal rental, scholarships for dance training & workshops, advertisements, etc.) Performances will be affordable so all can come to enjoy the art we create.
Danielle McNeal , Visionary / Artistic Director/ Choreographer/dancer, has a well-established background in dance, beginning with her training in New York where she was the recipient of scholarships to study at the Alvin Ailey School of Dance and Nanette Bearden Contemporary Dance Theater. While in New York, Danielle had the honor to train under Jazz dance master Luigi. Danielle also received a scholarship to study dance at ASU and received her BA in dance.
Danielle's works have been showcased in New York, Arizona, Las Vegas, and New Mexico. Using various genres of dance, modern, jazz, contemporary, and musical theater, Danielle enjoys creating works that evoke emotion, thought, as well as entertain.
Danielle was a company member of Desert Dance Theatre (modern dance) for over 20 years where she had the opportunity to work with choreographers from all over the country. Artists such as H.T. Chen, Neta Pulvamacher, Cliff Keuter, Elina Mooney, Billbob Brown, Candy Jimenez, Virginia Nicolas, and Marion Kirk Jones.
Besides her involvement with Sedona Dance Project, Danielle is currently involved with Candy Jimenez's Rooted in Movement series (Phoenix, AZ 2021 - present) as a choreographer, performer, and co-director. There is hope for a collaboration to bring Rooted in Movement to Sedona in the near future.
