Performances
Kaleidoscope
Dance Company
Kaleidoscope Dance Company is the Northwest’s unique modern dance company of young people between the ages of 7 and 17. Founded in 1981 by Anne Green Gilbert, and now directed by Anna Mansbridge, this engaging company delights audiences with their mesmerizing and expressive performances. Kaleidoscope has performed for hundreds of thousands of children and adults in schools, theaters, community centers, retirement centers and other communal settings across the world.
Mosaic
Dance Company
Mosaic Dance Company is comprised of children between the ages of 7 and 13, and offers performance opportunities to interested Creative Dance Center students. First formed in 2006 by Anne Green Gilbert, the company was reconvened by Anna Mansbridge in the Fall of 2018. Mosaic performs with Kaleidoscope in two major annual concerts each year.
CDC Virtual School Show
Expect the Unexpected!
Our 2021 Virtual School Show is a celebration of community, creativity, and collaboration that showcases our teaching methodology, Brain-Compatible Dance Education.
We could not let this pandemic school year pass us by without documenting our wonderful students and giving them a platform to shine! This Virtual School Show provides our students the opportunity to perform for friends and family – that’s you! This is their time. We thank you for joining us to cheer them on.
Dances were filmed during class time. There were no expensive costumes to purchase. Our students worked in collaboration with each other and their teacher to present a dance that is age-appropriate and creative, highlighting what they explored and learned in class during our online Spring Session.
From joyful preschoolers, to children and teens demonstrating dance skills and embodied self-expression, to adults of all ages relating to their screens and each other in the most creative ways, our Virtual School Show recognizes that dance is for all ages and abilities and celebrates the dancer inside all of us!
Upcoming Performances
Virtual Spring Concert 2021
Now available for anytime viewing!
Experience the wonder of our resident companies Kaleidoscope and Mosaic as they present a full virtual concert of dance on film. Join us for this inspiring concert filmed on location around the beautiful Seattle area, featuring exciting new works by local Seattle choreographers: Sarah Alaways, Holand Dennis, Kechelle Jackson, Amy J. Lambert, Anna Mansbridge, Robert Moore, Melissa Sanderson, Hayley Shannon, Maya Soto, & Elizabeth Sugawara.
Connecting Through Dance: This year’s concert also features “Common Ground”, a special virtual collaboration with Barefoot Dance Company from West Park, NY, and Kaleidoscope Dance Company.
A new way to watch: the full concert is now available to view on our website films page (link below). A suggested donation of $15 will support this concert and our performing companies. Thank you!
Gift of Dance Virtual Concert
Created December 2020, available to view now!
Join us as Kaleidoscope and Mosaic present original modern dance works choreographed by youth ages 7 to 17 in a new medium – dance on film!
Collaborating in multi-age groups, Kaleidoscope dancers rise to the artistic challenge of making work in a new way. Navigating social distancing guidelines and inspired by the beautiful outdoor spaces of the Pacific Northwest, these dances reflect our unusual times. Creating for the camera rather than the stage, our artists utilize creative, flexible, and innovative thinking as they work together to bring their choreographic visions to life. Watch and rewatch this inspiring and family-friendly virtual concert!
A new way to watch: This concert on film is available for anytime viewing at the link below. A suggested donation of $10 will support this concert and our performing companies. Thank you!
School & Community Performances
Events Coming Soon!
Want to know about our next performance? Stay up to date by visiting our announcements. Want to book a concert for your school or community? Fill out the form below!
The Kaleidoscope Experience
The Kaleidoscope Experience is…
About movement and beyond: You’ll experience performers leap, turn, lift, twist, fall, bend, and balance in a seamless flow of shifting patterns and shapes, connecting and separating. Our pieces communicate profound ideas exploring challenging themes such as identity, connection and disconnection, global issues, peace, and the human experience. Some pieces are fun and uplifting, some are abstract, and some tell a narrative story.
Sometimes musical, sometimes silent, but always emotive: Musical accompaniment comes from many genres; classical, contemporary, traditional, pop, musical theatre, alternative, contemporary, electronic, folk, world music, or sometimes silence. Our melodies, beats, and more ambient sounds evoke a particular feeling or atmosphere explored in our dances.
From the same mind that created the Creative Dance Center: Our reputation as one of the foremost youth dance companies in America is in thanks to founding director Anne Green Gilbert’s philosophy that young people are able to achieve a professional level of artistic expression.
Bring Kaleidoscope to You
Our concert includes…
- Parachute Play, a humorous romp with a full-sized parachute;
- Oh Be Gentle, a movement choir inspired by American Sign Language, encouraging everyone to treat the earth and its inhabitants with kindness;
- A To Zap, a lively dance based on classic children’s games and the alphabet;
- The Kites are Flying focusing on resilience and peace
- And more, including fun, guided audience participation and a short Q&A with the dancers.
Booking & Concert Details
- Your experience includes: Concert and Discussion Question Booklets
- Focused Audience: Preschool through grade 8
- Length of School Concert: 50 minutes
- Required Space for Presentation: Minimum 20’x20’ gym or stage space
- Cost: One Concert – $495: Two Concerts – $800.
Financial support may be available upon request.
Please complete the form below.
Dance Residencies are also available using Anne Green Gilbert’s Brain-Compatible Dance Education methods tailored to the needs of your school.
Have an urgent question? You can directly contact Director Anna Mansbridge at anna@creativedance.org or 206-363-7281.
Afternoon of Dance
~ a show for parents, family, and friends of students of the Creative Dance Center ~
Expect the Unexpected
The Afternoon of Dance is a celebration of community, creativity, and collaboration that showcases our teaching methodology, brain-compatible dance education. The show provides our students with the opportunity to perform on stage in front of friends and family. (That’s you!) Afternoon of Dance is their time to shine! We hope you join us to cheer them on at Shorecrest Performing Arts Center.
What Sets It Apart: CDC’s Afternoon of Dance is not your typical recital. There are no expensive costumes to purchase. Our students work in collaboration with each other and with their teacher to present a dance that is age-appropriate and creative, highlighting what they have explored and learned in class. The dancers enrolled in our Winter/Spring independent classes from preschoolers and children to teens and adults, work hard in class and this is their moment to showcase their work.
Alumni
We are so proud of our Alums!
