The 10th annual Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe had a packed schedule of over 1,000 creative performances that were showcased from Sept. 1-16. Performances were held throughout the city.
Nick Stuccio, a former Pennsylvania Ballet dancer and arts producer, and Eric Schoefer, a choreographer and performance artist, shaped the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe. Stuccio and Schoefer’s idea arose for the festival after they experienced the festival first hand in Edinburgh, Scotland at both the International Festival and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Sister Mary Louise Sullivan, a history professor at Cabrini College, was in Edinburgh visiting her brother when the festival was taking place years ago.
Sister Sullivan said, “There was a lot of excitement and young people running around the streets among performers playing instruments and dancing. It was just super.”
Since 1997, the festival has captured audiences around the Philadelphia area. The festival has represented a place for artists in all genres to perform including dance, theatre, puppetry, cabaret and music. Artists have the opportunity to express themselves artistically and push the boundaries in surprising innovative manners by combining various forms of art and providing audiences with something unique.
Co-Artistic Director for BalletX that performed at this year’s festival, Christine Cox, said that her and Co-Artistic Director Matthew Neenan, “created BalletX to keep ballet moving into the future with newer and edgier choreography.”
The performing arts event sheds light to all artists from well-known to up-and-coming. The Live Arts Festival is comprised of selected performances by invited artists to the event. On the other side, the Philly Fringe offers a chance for all artists to perform their own self created work.
Cox agreed. “It is a wonderful festival to be a part of because it brings audiences into the theaters and provides a lot of opportunity to artists.”
This was Cox’s 10th year participating in the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, and BalletX’s second year the dance company was invited back after premiering BalletX at the festival in 2005. Cox and Neenan both co-artistic directors for BalletX hope to be invited back again next year.
The organization prides itself on engaging people who do not originally have a passion for the arts but beginning to appreciate the arts in its various forms and styles. The festival offers people with an enjoyable social event to attend.
The festival has been wildly successful as it has grown each year. The first year the festival lasted for five days and had 60 performers. This year the festival lasted for 16 days with more than 1,600 artists presenting their cutting-edge masterpieces. Audiences are responding well to the fresh presentation of the arts.
Cox said, “We had all sold out shows and received standing ovations.”
