
Audio By Carbonatix
Frequent Flyers Productions is presenting its twelfth annual Aerial Dance Festival in Boulder this weekend, and this year it’s attracting a more dizzying array of aerial acrobats than ever before: Franco Dragone’s production company will be in town for the festival, auditioning new performers for his Le Rêve Show at the Wynn Las Vegas.
“It’s bringing a different caliber of performers to the festival,” says Frequent Flyers director Nancy Smith. “Dragone was one of the early creators with Cirque, and his show at the Wynn is just fabulous. It’s been astounding to see everybody who has been registering for the festival this year.”
Dancers from around the world will have their work cut out for them: Thanks to Smith’s new studio, which opened in January, Colorado is now home to some serious competition. Locals to watch for at the festival include bungee dancer Danielle Hendricks, ropes-and-harness expert Valerie Morris and low-flying trapeze artist Catherine Bedell. Frequent Flyers Productions now offers 21 classes a week: Smith could have you swinging from the rafters in time for next year’s festival.
Showcase performances run August 6 through 8, at 2 and 8 p.m. daily, at the Dairy Center Performance Space, 2590 Walnut Street in Boulder; they’ll feature work choreographed on the trapeze, aerial stilts, German wheels and — Smith’s specialty — “invented apparatus.” Tickets are $25 at www.thedairy.org or 303-444-7328. For more information, visit www.frequentflyers.org.
Fri., Aug. 6, 8 p.m.; Sat., Aug. 7, 2 & 8 p.m.; Sun., Aug. 8, 2 p.m., 2010