Photo by Laine Cantrell

Murfreesboro’s own Blue Moves Modern Dance Company celebrates 20 years of life, love and dance, Saturday, March 13, at Avenue 9 in Nashville, with its Gala Bash. Over the course of the company’s 20 year journey, Blue Moves has performed everywhere, from traditional stages to regional festivals to your local bar. As Blue Moves fans might expect,this celebration will not be your typical dance performance.

“We’ve never been what people expected,”says Holly Cannon Hesse, company member,“and this milestone eventwill be no exception.” In addition to performing five repertory favorites,“Afloat” (1994), “Souls’ Home” (2004), “Timeless” (1993), “From the Hip” (2005) and “Ride” (1998),there will also be vintage videos, a slideshow spanning 20 years of performances, parties and people, a graffiti wall, memorabilia, a debut piece, and of course, opportunities for audience participation. At the Bash the company will present its inaugural Blue Moves Legacy Award, recognizing Anne Holland Coleand her contributions to the birth and development of Blue Moves.

“Anne has an eccentric, creative spirit that the company, along with hundreds of her dance students, has grown to love, and this award is a small way we can show our appreciation,” says Angela Armstrong,company member and MTSU Associate Professor of Dance.

Blue Moves has grown from an idea in the heads of three young dancers in1989 to a community of like-minded individualswho believe in the powerand purpose of art. “Blue Moves has provided me with not only avenue for social justice choreographyand other dances that have marked milestones in my life,” says co-founder Amanda Cantrell Roche, “but the members of this close-knit group have been a family which have shared our joys, our pains, our trials and triumphs.”

“This event is truly about saying thank you and recognizing those people who have shared this journey,” adds Lee Anne Carmack, company co-founder. “We have compiled a list of almost 100 people who have performed with, teched for, or contributed in some way to our longevity. This is not a trek any one of us could have made alone.”

Actor and director Jon Royal, who has been a guest artist at many Blue Moves shows over the years, will Emcee the event. In addition, former Blue Moves members and playwrights, Julie Shavers and Jacqueline Springfield, will each perform original monologues.

Partygoers are encouraged to dress in festive blue attire and to arrive early. A cash bar will serve a signature Blue Move cocktail and there will be plenty of room for dancing after the show. For more information, visit bluemoves.org.