Bridging the Gap: Jazz Dance and Music Festival at Salve Regina

Salve Regina University will host “Bridging the Gap: Jazz Dance and Music Festival” on its campus from July 30 – August 1, 2024. Curated by jazz dance artists and scholars from across the U.S. and Canada, and in collaboration with acclaimed jazz musician Julius Rodriguez, this 3-day festival includes performances, workshops, and a public lecture.

“Some of the very best jazz choreographers, dancers, musicians, and scholars are coming together in a celebration of jazz. This festival highlights the shared histories and values between jazz dance and jazz music, where the dance is in conversation with the music and the music with the dance,” said Lindsay Guarino, jazz dance artist, educator, and scholar and chair of the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at Salve.

Newport has been a home for jazz since the first Newport Jazz Festival in 1954. Bridging the Gap will augment that history and culture by featuring musicians and dancers in events at the historic Casino Theatre and Ochre Court buildings on the Salve Regina campus.

Jazz Dance at the Casino Theatre will highlight guest performers from Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD) of Calgary, Alberta and choreography by Kimberley Cooper, DJD’s artistic director.  Additional choreographers include Carlos R. A. Jones of Buffalo, NY and Brandi Coleman of Dallas, TX. 

The Jazz Lounge at Ochre Court will transform the ocean-front mansion into an immersive jazz club.  New York-born and Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Julius Rodriguez will play with his band, and music will be made visual by Salve Dance with guest performers from across the U.S. and Canada.

Esteemed music journalist Marcus J. Moore noted that “Rodriguez, 25, has been lauded for his tremendous sense of harmony and virtuosity across piano, drums, bass and whatever else he feels like playing any given week. He can hold his own at a psychedelic free jazz show in Brooklyn, a stadium-size rap concert in Los Angeles, a stately supper-club gig on the Upper West Side.”

Workshops and an artist panel are free and open to the public. Advance registration is required.  Full festival details including artist profiles and links to purchase tickets are available at https://salve.edu/bridging-the-gap.

Salve Dance Group, Photo credit Kim Fuller Photography