Published July 26, 2024

Dance, Dogs, and Downtown Reno

by Dennyse Sewell

“We like dance, we like dogs, we like other nonprofits...”
“We like free outdoor events, we like food trucks, we like downtown Reno…” 

When I sat down in September of 2021 with our Director of Community Engagement, Adam Cates, to begin planning a new signature event for the Pioneer Center, this was how our brainstorming session began. One year later, this list of “likes” became the Dog Days of Summer Dance Festival, an annual celebration of local dance creation that will soon be returning to downtown Reno August 16-18, 2024. 

During the pandemic when the Pioneer Center was closed for 18 months, our organization was forced to look at our business model from new and unfamiliar perspectives. Unable to bring large groups of people together in our indoor auditorium for shared experiences, we found ourselves examining the role of a performing arts center from a different lens. We learned some valuable insight as we considered the entire city block occupied by our theater – both the traditional indoor spaces and also the under-utilized outdoor spaces. We were inspired by the possibilities of activating our front plaza to create more outdoor performance opportunities, and we also knew this would provide a way to expand arts access even further by sharing these performances with the wider public for free, without the barrier of ticket purchase.

The Pioneer Center has hosted exceptional dance performances since our very beginning. The earliest performances to grace the brand-new mainstage in 1968 were by renowned touring dance companies like Ruth Page and the Utah Civic Ballet (now Ballet West). For over five decades, the community has returned to the Pioneer Center year after year for world renowned touring dance companies, Tony Award-winning Broadway choreography, and many high-quality local dance companies including our current resident ballet company, A.V.A. Ballet Theatre. And thanks to another resident company, Artown, our mainstage has hosted stunning and emotional performances by the likes of Mikhail Baryshnikov, MOMIX, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Martha Graham Dance Company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and many more.

Through the Dog Days of Summer Dance Festival, the Pioneer Center is now able to provide an avenue for smaller local dance organizations to grow their patron base and find a home at the region’s premier performing arts center. Each year, the festival features six headlining companies, all of whom are based in the greater Reno/Tahoe region – but none of whom are otherwise presented on the Pioneer Center mainstage, which enables us to build new relationships within the rich and diverse local dance community. We program each festival with a range of dance and movement, highlighting different local companies and ensuring that no two nights of the festival are ever the same. To participate, interested companies are invited to submit a proposal which is reviewed and scored by a 25-member panel consisting of local arts leaders and national dance experts, and the top six companies are commissioned by the Pioneer Center to create original works for the festival. In addition to these headlining companies, we also invite additional local groups to perform opening numbers and a professional dance artist is brought to Reno as a featured guest performer each year.

This annual signature event is special not only because of the unique performances, but also because of the unique setting. The Dog Days of Summer Dance Festival gives us the opportunity to construct an outdoor performance space on our front plaza, including a raised stage, a full complement of theatrical sound and lighting equipment, and a 180-degree seating area for patrons to wrap around three sides of the stage. The performance backdrop is the Pioneer Center’s historic and iconic gold dome. A night at the festival begins at 6pm when the plaza opens for seating; patrons arrive early to set up chairs and blankets around the stage, then enjoy dinner from a variety of local food trucks who are on-site for the evening. When the show kicks off at 7:30pm, the neighborhood around the Pioneer Center begins to transform. As the brilliant Nevada summer sunset illuminates the sky above, theatrical lighting and projections bring the dancers and the historic neighborhood architecture into swirling synchronicity. Over the next two hours, music fills the night air as patrons experience the art of dance right in the historic heart of downtown Reno.

So where do the dogs fit into this event, you might be wondering? One of our guiding principles here at the Pioneer Center is a belief in the power of partnership, and we realize that bringing large groups together for entertainment is also an opportunity to elevate the visibility and messaging of our fellow local nonprofits. As a team of animal lovers, we wanted to bring the region’s homeless pet population onto centerstage (literally and figuratively!), so we asked SPCA of Northern Nevada to be our spotlight partner for Dog Days of Summer. Throughout the festival, patrons are provided an opportunity to learn about the great work of SPCA-NN, donate to support their cause, and even match with a new dog of their own from the Adoption Board. But of course we couldn’t let the opportunity pass without inviting dogs to be the stars of the aptly named Dog Days of Summer Dance Festival, so each evening includes intermission entertainment featuring a “Pup Parade Fashion Show” in which recent adoptees from SPCA-NN strut their stuff on stage with their forever families, with both human and canine counterparts sporting fashions from the SPCA-NN thrift store. We are so proud to lift up the life-saving mission and work with the incredible staff of SPCA-NN, and we know by the laughter and applause that our audience members especially love the intermission fashion show.

There is no fee to attend the Dog Days of Summer Dance Festival, and it’s perfect for all ages.  Absolutely everyone is welcome, though we ask for safety that you leave your own pup at home. This year’s lineup will feature Aztec ceremonial folk dance, Bollywood, classical ballet, contemporary, hip hop, jazz, Mexican ballet folklórico, modern, tap dance, and more. You won’t want to miss a single night! We encourage you to consider joining us for the entire festival, where you’ll experience these amazing companies – all of whom are based right here in northern Nevada:

Friday, August 16

White Light Bollywood Productions (Bollywood)
Nevada Dance Company (classical ballet, contemporary)
Opening number by Ballet Folklórico Flor de Castilla

Saturday, August 17
Entity Movement (hip hop, commercial jazz)
Ballet Folklórico Internacional y Danza Azteca Aztlan (Aztec ceremonial, Mexican folk dance)
Opening number by Note-Able Music Therapy Services Dance Troupe

Sunday, August 18

Ballet Folklórico Pueblo Nuevo (Mexican folk dance)
bellë contemporary dance company (contemporary, modern)
Opening number by The Dapper Tappers

Our guest artist for this year’s festival is New York City-based dancer/choreographer Haley Davis. After growing up in her mother’s Carson City dance studio, Ms. Davis launched a successful career performing around the globe and teaching for prestigious institutions including the famed Broadway Dance Center. Ms. Davis will perform each evening of the festival, in addition to the other dance groups listed above.

The Dog Days of Summer Dance Festival is our love letter to this community. It’s an inclusive, celebratory, accessible, and inspiring event that our entire team is proud to produce and present for the benefit of our community. It’s also an opportunity to activate our historic intersection in the heart of downtown Reno and invite our friends and neighbors to experience our city block in a new way. What could be better than enjoying a warm evening in late summer with delicious food, adorable dogs, spectacular dance performances, and hundreds of your fellow community members. We sincerely look forward to seeing you at this year’s Dog Days of Summer Dance Festival, August 16-18!

 

Dennyse Sewell is the CEO of the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts in Reno, Nevada

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