American Dance Festival cancels 2020 season amid coronavirus concerns
The American Dance Festival canceled its 2020 season Tuesday as the coronavirus continues to spread across North Carolina.
No dancers will take the stage in Durham this summer, as all performances, summer dance intensive, pre-professional dance intensive and dance professional workshops through July have been called off. It was scheduled June 18-July 25, 2020 and have been its 87th season.
The decision was made with “incredible sadness,” Jodee Nimerichter, American Dance Festival executive director, said in the announcement.
“In caring for the well-being of our community, it feels like the only option, and we need to do it now because of all of the implications of waiting longer,” she wrote. “We are heartbroken for the lost opportunities for all of the artists, teachers, musicians, students, audiences, staff, interns, and ADF fans.”
The dance festival typically attracts 25,000 people to weeks worth of performances at venues across Durham. The festival, founded in 1934, moved to Duke University in Durham in 1978, according to the ADF website.
Nimerichter thanked the staff, who are now working remotely, for their work over the past year to plan the “electrifying performances, create stimulating educational opportunities for hundreds of exceptional dance students from around the world, and coordinate exhibits, discussions, and film screenings for the entire community.”
She said they will bring the world-class performances and educational programs to the Durham community as soon as it is safe to do so.
The American Dance Festival office is currently closed and is accepting donations to help deal with the financial repercussions of the cancellation this season.
Full Frame canceled, Dreamville postponed
Several other major festivals and events have been canceled or postponed because of the threat of coronavirus and restrictions set by local and state governments.
Another Durham staple, the 23rd annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, also was canceled. It would have been held this weekend — April 2-5. While the festival isn’t taking place, organizers announced Tuesday that the lineup of films would have included “Never Too Late: The Doc Severinsen Story,” about the longtime bandleader on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” and “Spaceship Earth,” about the 1991 Biosphere 2 experiment. Severinsen, now in his 90s, would have attended.
Full Frame typically brings in about 10,000 people. Next year’s festival will be April 8-11.
The Durham Performing Arts Center, the Raleigh Convention Center and the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts have canceled or postponed all public events through April 30.
J. Cole’s Dreamville Festival was postponed until August. The popular traditional music festival Merlefest, which was scheduled for the end of April in Wilkesboro, was canceled.
The Carolina Ballet has moved its remaining two productions of “Macbeth” and “Cinderella” to next season. Instead, it is showing online performances of past productions with new videos released every few days at carolinaballet.com/performances.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued a stay-at-home order that began Monday evening and is set to last until the end of April. That means people across the state are not allowed to leave their homes except for essential work or activities including grocery shopping, doctors appointments and exercising. The order also bans groups of more than 10 people from gathering.
This story was originally published March 31, 2020 at 12:44 PM.
