Faculty and participants say there is something that makes the New York Dance Festival different from others like it in the country.

Some use terms like “family” or “relationships” to point out what sets it apart, while others point to “connections” that are forged and “accountability” shared by students and teachers.

Whatever that something is, local fans of the performing arts will be able to see it for themselves all this month as a three-week festival brings music and dance from around the world to Auburn.

“I'm hesitant to use phrases a lot of other people use like ‘family' or 'teaching life lessons.'” said Sean McLeod, who runs the festival as well as the New York Institution of Dance and Education in Auburn.

“What everybody else doesn't do is teach people to say ‘hi' to someone they have never met before,” McLeod said. “We're actively participating in the development of a person's positive personality.”

Tonight, the New York Dance Festival will begin a run of public performances that feature the many people from central New York and beyond who have come to Auburn for the annual event. The shows will give audiences a chance to see Broadway musicals, dance-only pieces and rhythm concerts.

But organizers say those who come will hopefully notice the chemistry developed through the festival's challenging, yet nurturing, environment.

“They're not performing,” McLeod said Tuesday while discussing the program with a group of faculty. “They're being real.”

This year's festival will include four public events. Two will celebrate Broadway: a musical gala thrown in the name of native Auburnian Thommie Walsh and a show produced through the festival's Musical Theater Project. There will also be a night of drumming with percussionists from around the world, as well as a dance concert featuring artists currently participating in the festival dance classes.

The performances are part of the overall festival that includes classes, seminars and sessions focusing on myriad styles of theater and dance.

McLeod said he is always “humbled” to know world-renowned dancers and choreographers are willing to come to Auburn year after year for these events. It says a lot about the community, which he says is often welcoming of the programs.

Because of all the names and ideas attached to the festival, the students are not the only ones who learn. Jerami Kipp, a faculty member with the festival and a dancer for McLeod's touring company, said all the teachers are taking the classes, too.

When the teachers are willing to put themselves outside of a comfort zone, it helps foster a better learning environment, Kipp said.

“All of these teachers are coming in with different styles of dance and different ideas,” Kipp said. “It's our job as teachers to keep learning.”

Christopher Caskey

253-5311 ext. 282

christopher.caskey@lee.net

If you go.

What: New York Dance Festival

When: July 6 to 24

Where: New York Institute of Dance and Education, 94 North St., Auburn

Info: Visit www.nyide.com

Experience the festival for yourself:

• 7 p.m. today, Thommie Walsh Song and Dance Man Gala: An evening dedicated to Broadway Musicals and Auburn's Tony-winning native son, Holiday Inn, 75 North St., Auburn, $75 includes dinner, $45 performance only

• 8 p.m. Saturday, Night of 1,000 Drums: Featuring performers from around the world for a night of rhythm, New York Institute of Dance and Education, 94 North St., Auburn, $15

• 8 p.m. July 17, A Dayin Dance concert: New York Dance Festival participants perform, $20 general admission, $10 senior and 12 and under

• 8 p.m. Friday, July 24 New York Musical Theater Project: Students from the program put on a Broadway show, New York Institute of Dance and Education, $15 general, $10 senior and 12 and under

For tickets or more information on any of these events, call 252-4420 or visit www.nyide.com.