Dance Performance and Wine at the Traverse City Opera House

by mynorthmedia | Sep 10, 2009 | Counties, Events, Towns

Experience wine tasting and dancing at its finest as four local wineries pair up with the Michigan Dance Collective Friday, Sept. 18, for a night of flavor and expressive movements. Partnering together for the first time, Michigan Dance Collective and four wineries including—Mawby, Left Foot Charley, Silver Leaf and Chateau Fontaine—will come together collectively to share their knowledge of award-winning wine and professional dance.

“We were looking for a distinctive and unique way to tap into the current culture of this area,” Philip Leete, artistic director of MDC says about the event. “By combining two things that people really enjoy, wine and dance, we are able to involve and engage new audiences about wine while viewing modern dance from a difference perspective.”  The night will begin with the introduction of the first two wines from Mawby by their accompanying vino expert (along with some delicious petit food pairing). The audience will be able to interact with one another and each expert in this table-banquet seated setting, which will then be followed by an MDC originally choreographed piece. Left Foot Charley will then introduce its wine with a harmonizing dance as the process repeats with Silver Leaf and Chateau Fontaine for a total of six wines and six dances.

Just like a traditional wine tasting, the wine will range from light and sweet to dark and heavy, and so will the dancing. “There was a creation process for each of these pieces,” Leete explains. “The choreographers got in touch with the wineries, sampled the wines and visualized how to express this wine through dance. Each piece was choreographed to complement each wine. You will see lighter, more free-spirited dances in the beginning, but in the end experience more heavy, complex pieces.”

This perfect blend of wine and dancing is sure to entice any enthusiast. The venue for Wine Tasting with Michigan Dance Collective is the beautifully renovated 120-year-old City Opera House and the event starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door and $10 general admission for balcony tickets (wine tasting not included with general ticket). 231-941-8082, www.cityoperahouse.org.

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