Nickerson-Rossi dancers.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID CROTTY
Palm Springs–based Nickerson-Rossi Dance recently celebrated the opening of a new location in Palm Desert with a special preseason preview. Invitees had the opportunity to tour the new facility, learn about the dance programs, and enjoy live performances by company members and students.
“We are thrilled to be here and look forward to meeting all our El Paseo neighbors and becoming part of the community,” says founder and artistic director Michael Nickerson-Rossi. “We’re heading into a bright future for all the young people who will pass through the doors of our new studio.”
Student dancers performing.
Formally commissioned in 2012 by the Palm Springs Art Museum’s Arts Council, Nickerson-Rossi Dance rooted itself in the Coachella Valley by producing the Palm Springs International Dance Festival in 2016. The company’s mission — to engage, inspire, and ignite the mind, body, and senses by using dance as its own language — is evident in its professional, educational, therapeutic, and community-centric dance programming.
The dance studio provides space for and nurturing of new, innovative, and creative programs, equitable access for youth to train and excel in dance, and opportunities for underserved communities to experience dance on a professional level.
Located on El Paseo at San Luis Rey Avenue, the studio is easily accessible to East Valley families who found it difficult to get to the flagship location in Palm Springs. Programs slated for the new studio include Nickerson-Rossi Dance Academy, which provides pre-professional dance education as well as access to college and professional programs and the School Alliance Education program, a partnership with the Palm Springs Unified and Desert Sands Unified school districts.
While classes have already begun in the new space, the public will be invited to visit the new studio later this season. For more information on Nickerson-Rossi Dance and funding and naming opportunities available at the studio, visit nickersonrossidance.com.
Heidi Buehler, Chad Allen Ortiz.
Dancers in motion.
Vincenza Gist, Sydney Young, Riley Hart, Elle Walker, Amaya D’Souza, Skye Penny, Ava Thorpe.
Frank Goldstin, Terri Ketover, Jim Jacob, Stacy Jacob, Bart Ketover.
Michael Nickerson-Rossi and Vincenza Gist.
Dancers.
Skye Penny, Richard Jay-Alexander, Riley Hart.
Vincenza Gist.
Cristina McKeever-Chaney, Chad Allen Ortiz, Michael Nickerson-Rossi.
Denise Rodriguez Bowman, Francesca Gist.
Students/dancers.
Cass Graff-Radford, Gary Brill, Sera Brill.