In just a few weeks, Kristen Blundi, a fifteen-year old from Obelisk, PA, will be dancing in the upcoming Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe with MM2 Modern Dance Company production of Emergence.
The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe is an internationally recognized presenter of performing arts. A broad array of performing artists, from Philadelphia and around the world, converge for two concurrent sixteen-day festivals during the month of September in venues throughout Philadelphia. Now in its 14th year, the festival will run from September 3rd –18th.
Kristen Blundi is not only the youngest member of MM2 Dance, but also one of the youngest participants in this year’s festival. MM2 Modern Dance evolved as a leader in imaginative movement and creative collaboration for college age dancers, as well as post-college dance majors in career transition. Kristen was the only high school student allowed in to the dance company. Artistic Director Steven Weisz explains, “her professionalism, level of maturity and skill as a dancer, made her immediately accepted by the rest of the company and had us look beyond our normal age requirement.”
For Kristen, who has studied dance for the past 8 years at Dance Depot in Collegeville and will be attending the Lehigh Valley High School for the Performing Arts in the Fall, the Philly Fringe offers the opportunity to put her skills to the test in a professional venue. Her training has included ballet, lyrical, contemporary, jazz and modern. She has performed and won numerous accolades in a variety dance competitions including placing first and in top ranks of The National Dance Showcase, Showstoppers, Access Broadway, Beyond The Stars, The Power of Dance and Starpower.
The work being presented at the Fringe this year by MM2 Dance, titled Emergence, has taken on a variety of meanings during the course of its development. Derived from examples in nature, a flock of birds or a school of fish moving together, emergence is the way complex systems and patterns arise out of relatively simple interactions. For Kristen, who is normally quiet and reserved, Emergence represents the losing of oneself in the sheer joy of movement and dance, while still maintaining an identity within “the flock”.
The experience of dancing with MM2 and preparing for the Philly Fringe is perhaps best expressed by Kristen herself. “Being the youngest member of MM2 is an honor for me. I am excited and blessed by the opportunity to pursue many different and unique experiences that dancers my age don’t have until later in their career. Dance is something that allows me to express myself. I have always wanted to dance and I am thrilled to take on this challenge. Working with the dancers’ diverse styles to blend and create something cohesive and expressive to present to the public is a wonderful opportunity. Fringe gives us the ability to present our heartfelt passion for dance to the public. It gives us the ability to share our movement, our feelings, and our lives.”
If you would like to learn more about Kristen and MM2 Modern Dance, you can visit their web site at http://www.mm2dance.org or simply attend her upcoming Fringe debut on September 11th.
QUICK FACTS
Show: Emergence
Company: MM2 Modern Dance
Event: Philadelphia Live Arts & Philly Fringe
Date: Saturday, September 11, 2010
Times: 2:30pm, 4:30pm & 7:30pm
Venue: Upper Darby Performing Arts Center, 601 Lansdowne Avenue, Drexel Hill, PA
Tickets:
$15 general admission
$10 students and buyers under 25 years w. ID
Box Office: http://www.livearts-fringe.org or http://www.DanceBoxOffice.com
Special $5 tickets available: Send text message to 25827 and in body of message put mm2dance to find out how to get this discount.