Back for its third year, “Fall Into Dance” combines speed-dating and a red carpet experience – but in this glamorous moment under the spotlight, dance organization leaders don’t say who they’re wearing; they present their upcoming season. Afterward, they get a video of the two-minute spiel to post on social media.
“We will present a unified look as dancemakers in the area,” executive artistic director Peter DiMuro said. “The event seeks to answer the question ‘How do we get the word out about dance?’”
The speed-dating portion of the evening follows. Dancers, choreographers, journalists and dance fanatics are encouraged to discuss what they hope to give and get in the season – access to shows, new people and accounts to follow online.
“We want to provide space for attendees to mingle, and hopefully they’ll continue to show up to events throughout the season,” DiMuro said – a lesson inspired by the American College Dance Association conference hosted by The Dance Complex in the winter. “We learned a few things about how people show up as audience members.”
The evening concludes with Kathak dancer Anjali Nath performing an excerpt from her upcoming show “Half.”
“Fall Into Dance” marks the beginning of the Dance Complex’s 35th season. For DiMuro, the underlying theme of the year is “gratitude.”
“Heading into my 14th year with the Complex, I’ve been thinking a lot about how movement is a necessity for so many people. Some of our upcoming programming focuses on both movement as a necessity and gratitude for the community,” DiMuro said.
“Fall Into Dance,” 6:30 p.m. Friday at The Dance Complex, 536 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge. Free, but preregistration is encouraged.
