Big Dance Performance Coming to Raven Theater

There’s a pretty wild-looking dance show called “Mosaic” coming up this Sunday afternoon at the Raven Theater. It’s the second annual showcase of the Healdsburg Dance Collective, a relatively new group run by four ex-pro dancers here in town. The show will “blend dance, art, film and music for a truly entertaining afternoon,” according to a press release from the collective. It sounds like it includes five parts: a dance performance called “Visible Light” by the UPside Dance Company, with paintings by Healdsburg artist Jake Messing projected onto them as they dance; another performance by the Santa Rosa JC’s dance company; another one by a local Bachata duo; a screening of some short films from the San Francisco Dance Film Festival; and an afterparty with live music by Mr. December, so that the revved-up audience can get some dancing in, too. Here’s some more background on that first segment from UPside’s artistic director and choreographer, Tanya Knippelmeir: “I have always dreamed of doing something like this, projecting artwork onto the dancers, and finally have the opportunity. I couldn’t have found a more inspirational artist than Jake Messing. When we met and decided to collaborate together, the ideas were overflowing! It’s my hope that the projection on stage and on the dancers will make it seem as if his painting comes alive.” And Messing himself says: “This piece is inspired by the magnificent and yet limited color spectrum that we can experience as humans. I am constantly in awe of the beautiful range of color and light that surrounds us all and this piece is an attempt to capture that beauty within a small, fleeting moment in time. This piece has been in the recesses of my mind for years and I am thrilled to have it out in the world and on stage.” You can grab tickets for the show on the Healdsburg Dance Collective website. (Source: Email & Healdsburg Dance Collective)