NAHANT — After a pandemic forced hiatus, Forty Steps Dance will return to Town Hall one last time on July 16 to celebrate its 30th Anniversary — the nonprofit’s final performance.
At the event, the audience will be introduced to the Forty Steps dance, coined by the company as Sallee Slagle’s iconic moves that reappear throughout her choreography. The evening will include excerpts from her master works “Creatures” and “Lux Aeterna.”
Slagle, who has trained and mentored dancers for years, will perform a special duet in “The Flood,” set to music by Peter Gabriel, which “expresses how we fight to not be swept away by our troubles.”
“To round out the program, the performance will feature dancer Emma Rosenfeld and musician Duncan Lorien as guest artists,” said a statement from the studio.
Slagle’s works are generally known for their diverse style, inspired by a variety of themes. The company is composed of 11 dancers who come from Boston, Salem, Ipswich and beyond to study with Slagle, gain her insight, and grow technically as well as artistically.
Slagle said that she is taking a break after 30 years of working in the studio and is planning to relocate. She also said that the final performance is going to feature a variety of the best pieces from the dance company’s huge repertory, and it will also be the first indoor performance since the beginning of the pandemic.
“Although we have done two outdoor events in the interim, we are very excited to be back in a theater setting, which will be held ‘in the round’ at the Nahant Town Hall with full lighting and production,” said Slagle.
Slagle hopes to create “new incarnations” of Forty Steps Dance somewhere in the future.
The performance is supported in part by a grant from the Nahant Cultural Council, through the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and in part by the Nahant Preservation Trust, and by individual donations that can be made through the Forty Steps Dance website.
Attendees are encouraged to wear a mask to enhance safety. Seating will be arranged in a spacious way so attendees can socially distance “as we convert the hall into a theater in the round,” said the statement.
Forty Steps Dance is a modern dance troupe with a mission of increasing the visibility of dance in our society. The troupe has performed throughout the Boston area and abroad with the Culture Connection, North Shore Dance Alliance, Windhover Performing Arts Center, Majestic Cruise Lines, and the Saint Hill European Arts Festival in England.
For more information, tickets, or to donate to this farewell performance, please call 781-599-1476 or visit www.fortystepsdance.org.
Oksana Kotkina can be reached at [email protected].
