en route // four : Ready. Set. Fly.

January 22, 20215:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Ready. Set. Fly., is the fourth installment of Engine’s en route curbside dance performance series curated by Jacqui De França. Choreography, cinematography, and editing by Mike Esperanza.

Dancers: Erin Love and Marc Nuñez

Music: Mike Esperanza

Website: http://www.baredanceco.com/mike-esperanza

As dance maker and choreographer, Mike has presented on prestigious stages including the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Sergerstrom Center for the Arts, McCalllum Theatre, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Salvatore Capezio Theater at Peridance, The Royal Conservatory in Cordoba, Spain, and the Australian Circus Festival. The Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance, and other universities around the United States have commissioned Mike’s work. Mike’s talent garnered the 2005 “Dance: Creation for Performance” grant presented by Dance/USA and the Irvine Foundation, the 2010 “Innerstate” tour presented by ODC Theater, the 2010 paid engagement award at the Palm Desert Choreography Under the Stars Festival, the 2014 Reverb Dance Festival commission award, and the 2014 CUNY Dance Initiative.

Mike is currently continuing his visual and creative exploration through film. Two of Mike’s recent works have been screened nationally and internationally. The National Center for Choreography in Akron, Ohio and the San Francisco Dance Film Festival named Mike a choreographer for the 2018 “Co-Laboratory” Project. The Project pairs a choreographer with a film director to created a dance film in ten days using the City of Akron as a backdrop. The film “But first…” will premier at the San Francisco Dance Film Festival on October 11th through 14th.

Mike’s work has been described as “bold, athletic movement and theatricality – the latter clearly the coming together of Esperanza’s many talents – the company epitomizes the dance of the new millennium: shape-shifting, vernacular-blending with a prescient focus on the brave new world in which we live.” ~ Jessica Abrams, Explore Dance.

What people are saying about Engine...

Partnering with UNE, Engine has offered professional level gallery and classroom experiences for undergraduate and local students enrolled in arts classes as well as a venue to see art by both regionally and nationally recognized artists.

Stephen Burt

University of New England

Engine is and has been a focal point of downtown Biddeford for many years for so many artists and creative spirits. It is a go-to for me: a retreat, a destination, a source for connection and ideas and community.

Laura Dunn

Artist

Engine is a wonderful place to work surrounded by wonderful people who have infused so much love and light into the downtown of Biddeford. I cannot imagine a bright future in the town without this wonderful organization.

Savanna Pettengill

Artist & Arts Teacher

Engine fuels the creativity of our city, making it the hub for youth and adults alike to feed their spirits, expand their skills, and create a better future for all of us.

Stephanie Edwards

Community Action Committee