Dance Creates New Community Out of Thin Air, Again

NEW YORK - March 28, 2013 - PRLog -- 55 people of all creeds, shapes & ages have come together to form the Shakedown Dance Collective. Brainchild of professional dancers Deborah Lohse http://www.deborahlohse.com/ & Jamie Benson http://www.jamiebenson.com/ , the Shakedown consists of a weekly 2 hour dance class / rehearsal session wherein dance enthusiasts train & prepare for performances throughout New York City. Benson deems it to be, “a relentless dare to the masses to dance, sweat & laugh more.” With just under 2 months since it's inception, the highly inclusive dance group is already slated for 2 performances with the Dance Parade New York.

Title: International Dance Day Gala
Date: Sunday, April 28, 2013
Where: Dixon Place, 161A Chrystie Street, NY
When: 7pm
Cost: $10 - $100
Tickets: http://7thannualinternationaldanceday.eventbrite.com/#

Title: Dance Parade New York
Date: May 18, 2013
Where: Broadway / Tompkins Square Park
When: 1pm – 7pm
Cost: FREE (General Public) $50 (Grandstand)
Tickets / RSVP: Barbara@DanceParade.org

Many Shakedown dancers first met as part of last year’s Le Grand Continental, an ambitious, 30-minute contemporary line dance by Montreal-based choreographer Sylvain Emard. A joint presentation of Lower Manhattan Cultural Council & the Joyce Theater, Le Grand Continental, was performed at the South Street Seaport last Summer & was a sensation; being deemed one of the “Best Moments in Dance of 2012” by New Yorker Magazine. Dance Instructors Deborah Lohse & Jamie Benson, who led the teaching of the event, saw a need for a continuing dance happening for the general public & formed the Shakedown to that end. The Joyce Theater, believing this to be a worthy mission, awarded the Shakedown an 8 week residency (note: the residency is almost up so they are looking for a new home).

Deborah Lohse has been creating live performance since 2007. Her work has been presented at The Clark Theater at Lincoln Center, Dance Theater Workshop, Joyce SoHo, Joe’s Pub, Dixon Place and Dance New Amsterdam. Born and raised in California, Lohse received degrees in dance and theater from the University of California, San Diego. She performed in the work of the Sacramento Ballet, the San Diego Ballet, and Monica Bill Barnes & Company, and currently performs with Doug Elkins. As an educator, Lohse has worked closely with the Lincoln Center Institute, Dance New Amsterdam and Eliot Feld’s Ballet Tech and has been a guest artist at universities and schools including North Carolina School of the Arts, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Purdue University, Milwaukee Ballet and Tahoe Youth Ballet.

Jamie Benson, proclaimed as “one of the strongest, hottest contemporary dancers of his generation" by L.A. Times dance critic Lewis Segal, is a dancer, choreographer & Alumnus of Cornish College of Art. Heralded as "Chaplin-like” by Back Stage West, Benson first garnered critical attention originating the role of “Eldon” in LATC’s Ovation award winning production of Shag with a Twist. Benson has performed in the film Rent, McDonald's Mario Art commercial, Rei Aoo's Dance Planet, on the T.V. series Dance360 & as a member of the Rudy Perez Ensemble. In L.A., Jamie Benson instructed at Gold's Gym, Fancy Feet Studio, the Pasadena Academy & an after-school program at Los Feliz Elementary. Benson recently led over 300 dancers in both NYC & Portland, Oregon in the international line dance event Le Grand Continental.

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