Palm Desert, CA – The McCallum Theatre is excited to share the names of Palm Desert Choreography Festival‘s Finalists and Lifetime Achievement Award Recipients for the Coachella Valley’s signature annual event.
The Palm Desert Choreography Festival is a one-of-a-kind festival which promotes dance as an art form by creating a venue for emerging and established choreographers and developing new dance audiences. For more than two decades, the Festival has been dedicated to the advancement of dance as an art form through the support and promotion of quality choreography. A dynamic live platform for dancemakers and dancers to showcase their work, Palm Desert Choreography Festival powerfully engages audiences around dance in the Coachella Valley.
The Festival features a choreography competition in two divisions, offers education opportunities including workshops and residencies, and honors those who have made outstanding contributions to dance through the Lifetime Achievement Award. The City of Palm Desert is the Presenting Sponsor.
Audiences really adore their experience attending the Festival. One person who attended last year’s Festival reached out to rave, “The Choreography Festival is one of my favorite events of the year. Audiences are treated to exceptional talent, originality and diversity of styles. As a spectator, I experience the full range of emotions – from joy to tears. We’re so lucky to have the event locally! The fact that the education department works with local kids, many of whom have no prior dance experience, is the icing. It’s such a joy to see them on stage.“
Tickets for the Palm Desert Choreography Festival are available now at McCallumTheatre.org, or by calling the Box Office at (760) 340-2787. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Box Office (73000 Fred Waring Drive, Palm Desert CA 92260). Accepted payment methods are cash, personal check, VISA, MasterCard, Discover, and American Express. Tickets for the Saturday evening Division I performance are priced at $58, $43, and $33, and tickets for the Sunday afternoon Division II performance are at priced at $48, $38, and $28.
The McCallum Box Office is currently open Monday-Friday from 12:00noon-5:00pm. The Box Office is closed on all major holidays, and hours vary on show days.
Sponsorships ranging from $250 to $10,000 are available, and any financial support makes it possible to bring this Festival to our community. All sponsors receive tickets to the Festival, along with recognition and invitations to Festival events, based on giving level. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact Tom Head, Associate VP – Development, at thead@mccallum-theatre.org or by calling (760) 776-6164.
This year’s Finalists, selected by a distinguished Festival screening panel from over 100 submissions, come from across the nation and will perform before an audience and a panel of judges. Over $50,000.00 in cash awards are up for grabs and winners are announced at the conclusion of each performance. Finalists include festival favorites as well as a large number of choreographers new to the Festival whose works promise to engage, provoke and entertain. Now in its 27th year, Festival has attracted over 40,000 audience members, has placed 754 choreographers in the limelight, and has granted over $800,000 in cash awards.
“For over a quarter of a century, the McCallum Theatre has provided a unique platform for choreographers and dancers to showcase their work, push artistic boundaries, and propel their careers through the Palm Desert Choreography Festival,” says Kajsa Thuresson-Frary, McCallum’s Vice President–Education and longtime Festival Producer. “Thanks to our incredible donors and a supportive community, we continue to celebrate and support innovative choreography, inspiring both emerging and established artists to pursue their dreams and become brilliant, courageous creators. The Festival not only nurtures artistic talent but also shines an international spotlight on Palm Desert as a vibrant arts and cultural hub.”
“With the historic debut of breakdancing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, it is only fitting that we honor Nappytabs this year, and we are really excited about them joining us,” says Festival Founder and Artistic Director, Shea New. “The award will be presented by Kyle Hanagami, a renowned Los Angeles-based Choreographer & Creative Director, recognized as one of the industry’s most sought-after talents.”
Last years Grand Prize Award winner, Arthur Bernard-Bazin (HURyCAN), shares, “It has been enormously emotional to travel from Spain to this unknown place and be able to connect deeply with such a warm audience. We really loved performing for them. Their generous response made us feel at home and allowed us to relax and have fun. Winning the Grand Prize award at such a prestigious event is a strong validation for the commitment we made. We are grateful to Palm Desert Choreography Festival for trusting and supporting us in bringing Te odiero back to life and on stage.”
Those attending the Saturday event will witness the work of 11 choreographer finalists performed by professional dancers age 18 and up who possess seasoned artistry and fully mature technique, competing for the $10,000 Grand Prize and $5,000 Second Place awards, as well as the Lifetime Achievement presentation to Nappytabs.
On Sunday, the audience will see the work of nine choreographer finalists performed by dancers of all ages from aspiring and emerging companies, colleges, and studios as they compete for the $3,000 Grand Prize and $1,500 Second Place Award, as well as East Valley Dance Project, an outreach project serving local students from Coachella Valley and Desert Mirage High Schools in Thermal.
Choreographers/companies featured in the Professional Division on Saturday, November 9 are: Natasha Adorlee/Concept o4 (San Francisco, CA),m Jaime Carabetta/Pony Box Dance Theatre (New York, NY); Aidan Carberry, Jordan Johnson/JA Collective (Los Angeles, CA); Sean Aaron Carmon/Vitacca Ballet (Houston, TX); Joe Davis, Haley Heckethorn/HD Theatre (Los Angeles, CA); Christina Ghiardi (Las Vegas, NV); Ruben Graciani/RG Dance Projects (Harrisonburg, VA); Jennifer Hart (Austin, TX); Madison Hicks/Moving Forward (New York, NY); Megan Lawson, Jillian Meyers, Dana Wilson/The Seaweed Sisters (Los Angeles, CA); and Carly Topazio/The Rosin Box Project (San Diego, CA).
Choreographers/companies featured in the Pre-professional Division on Sunday, November 10 are Nicole Berger/Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana, CA); Gianna Burright (Ojai, CA); Zachary Groenweld/Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, CA); Adam Hartley/Steps PDX (Portland, OR); Marco Laudani, Claudio Scalia/The Premier Youth Dance Company (Tustin, CA); Gunta Liepina-Miller/The Premier Youth Dance Company (Tustin, CA); Rochelle Mapes/Mater Dei Dance Conservatory (Santa Ana, CA); Michelle Shear/Mt. San Antonio College Repertory Dance Company (Walnut, CA); and Stella Sing Yiun Ng/Stellar Dance (Los Angeles, CA).
This year’s Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented to married director/choreographer duo Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo, better known as Nappytabs, for elevating the genre of break dance, creating a new style known as lyrical hip hop, and for their overall contributions to the world of dance. Two-time Emmy Award-winners (2011 & 2014) for Outstanding Choreography for their work on FOX-TV’s So You Think You Can Dance, they have a total of four Emmy nominatrions, The World of Dance Lifetime Achievemenet Award, the 2014 Industry Innovator’s Award, and two MTV VMA Awards.
Celebrating dance as an art form, this unique event delivers an exciting variety of new work created by inventive choreographers and performed by extraordinary dancers, including original work of local students from East Valley Dance Project, an outreach program which gives student dancers from Desert Mirage and Coachella Valley High Schools in Thermal an opportunity to explore and create with professional choreographers.
About Nappytabs
Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo grew up on opposite coasts and met as students at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. In 2008, they became familiar to mainstream audiences as innovative choreographers on Fox’s, So You Think You Can Dance, where they were responsible for creating a new dance style known as “Lyrical Hip Hop.”
Over the last two decades, Napoleon and Tabitha expanded to wear many hats in the field of entertainment lending their talents as producers, directors, and creatives to several television and live events. They most recently earned 2 Emmy nominations for Outstanding Variety Special as a part of the producing team for the 2022 & 2024 GRAMMY Awards.
Throughout their career they have passionately supported the dance community as supervising choreographers and co-executive producers for some of television’s biggest dance shows like MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew, NBC’s World of Dance and Dancing with Myself, and FOX’s Mobbed.
As creative directors, they have proudly crafted memorable performances for a variety of a-list artists on some of television’s biggest stages: Super Bowl, VMAs, GRAMMYs, Billboard Music Awards, American Music Awards, and Academy Awards, to name a few. Their artist roster includes Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige, Camila Cabello, J Balvin, Ed Sheeran, Beyoncé, Ariana Grande, Big Sean, Madonna, Lainey Wilson, Jessie J, Calvin Harris, Carrie Underwood, Celine Dion, Keith Urban, Halsey, 50 Cent, Ricky Martin, Pitbull, Avril Lavigne, Florida, Maren Morris, and Mariah Carey, to name a few.
About McCallum Theatre Education
The Education Department of the McCallum Theatre produces programs that touch the lives of nearly 40,000 local students, educators, and community members every year. Palm Desert Choreography Festival — combined with the McCallum’s three additional core educational initiatives, The Aesthetic Education Program, The Field Trip Series, and Open Call Talent Project — exist to uplift both the quality of learning and the quality of life within the Coachella Valley, today and for decades to come.
McCallum’s education programs require tremendous philanthropic support, and anyone can make a difference in the lives of thousands of children, teachers, and families! With a donation of $5,000 or more, donors may underwrite the cost of Teaching Artists, Teacher Professional Development, and the professional productions and exhibits — all crucial components of the McCallum’s arts education programs.
