Since retiring her company in 2003, all of those creative energies have been funneled into Celebrate Dance — the massive one-night production she single-handedly wrangles at Glendale’s Alex Theatre each year.
This year, the show’s fifth anniversary will include nine companies and a range of challenging, contemporary offerings — all woven through what Nichols describes as an “organic” theme surrounding relationships, love and loss.
With a finger on the pulse of the local dance community, Nichols said she felt compelled to create this event based on the necessity for really top-notch companies to have an opportunity to perform in a venue like the Alex — especially now with the funding cuts and people not donating.
Participants often go on to bigger venues or awards. A few return, but Nichols is constantly on the lookout for the next big thing — or the next small company ready to spread its wings.
“I think she invites us when she thinks the show is ready for us — or we’re ready for the show,” said Paula Present, whose Ptero Dance Theatre will explore themes of joy and sorrow “in very clear but abstract ways” in a performance based on a Khalil Gibran poem.
The great thing about the show, Present said, is that it’s at the Alex.
“The companies have an opportunity to dance on a huge proscenium stage,” she said. “We’re usually in a black box theater, so this gives us an opportunity to make dance for a bigger stage and a bigger venue — that’s pretty amazing for local dance companies.”
