Dance Your Way Through History At The Liberty Hall Museum's Dance Festival

Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University has partnered again with Buggé Ballet for the Liberty Hall Dance Festival. For the second year in a row, guests will enjoy professional dance performances inspired by moments in history as they explore the Liberty Hall grounds.

Liberty Hall Dance Festival will be held on Saturday, September 29 from 1 - 4 p.m.

"The Liberty Hall Dance Festival allows visitors to the museum to see a wide variety of dance styles in a short period of time, all while being outside and enjoying the beautiful museum grounds," said Nicole Buggé, artistic director of Buggé Ballet who is organizing the dance festival.

Fifteen dance companies and choreographers from New Jersey and New York are participating in the Liberty Hall Dance Festival. Additionally, guests can participate in informal movement lessons themed around early modern dance styles and Baroque court dances. Performances will take place at seven different locations spread around the property of Liberty Hall. First floor tours of Liberty Hall Museum will also take place.

"I am excited by new ways of experiencing dance. The unique format of this festival allows each dance work to create its own world through the site-specific location and individualized historical contexts," said Erin Carlisle Norton of the Montclair-based dance company, The Moving Architects. "In performing my work Canon, which brings the act of public protesting to the foreground, I look forward to how the work changes in an outdoor setting and how the dancers' strength, chaos, conflict and ultimate hopeful determination is perceived by all experiencing the work."

Liberty Hall Museum at Kean University is always looking for new ways to make history come alive for a modern audience, and was the first museum in New Jersey to use augmented reality in its exhibitions. The dance festival builds on that reputation.

"Last year's dance festival was a complete success," said Bill Schroh, director of museum operations at Liberty Hall. "The audience loved the experience, so we knew that we had to bring it back this year. There is nothing like this in the area."

In addition to Buggé Ballet and The Moving Architects, dance companies and choreographers performing include Angel Kaba, Armada Dance, Bryce Dance Company, Carolyn Dorfman Dance, Cranford High School/Emily Donahue, Dance Visions NY, General Mischief Dance Theatre, Heather Harrington/Academy for Performing Arts, The Kennedy Dancers Repertory Company, Luminarium Dance Company, MoustacheCat Dance, Schoen Movement Company and Yamini Kalluri.

Tickets are on sale now and are $20.00 for adults, $15.00 for students/seniors and $12.00 for children ages 3 - 17. Admission includes access to all dance performances, classes and the first floor tour of Liberty Hall Museum. All ticket sale proceeds support both Buggé Ballet and Liberty Hall Museum. The rain date for the Liberty Hall Dance Festival is Sunday, September 30. Reservations are suggested; tickets can be purchased by phone at (908) 527-0400 or by online at www.kean.edu/libertyhall/events.