Mystic Aquarium

The New Haven Symphony Orchestra (NHSO), Elm City Dance Collective (ECDC) and Mystic Aquarium have partnered to bring a cutting edge contemporary dance piece depicting the amazing aquatic life on land and in the sea. Join us for this wonderful Aquatic Dance Festival on May 14 and 15 from 10:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at Mystic Aquarium.

Each festival day begins with the NHSO Instrument Discovery Zone, offering children the opportunity to try a variety of musical instruments. The morning continues with Brien Engel presenting an hour-long glass harp performance where he uses glasses of varying sizes and volumes of water to produce different pitches when played with moistened fingers.

At 1:30 p.m., the Elm City Dance Collective, accompanied by NHSO musicians, will artistically personify the amazing aquatic life at Mystic Aquarium in a world premiere performance.  The dancers will creatively dive, float and swim their way through this one-hour piece featuring the music of Antonio Vivaldi, J.S. Bach, Jeremy Cohen and Philip Glass.

Following the performance, families will get a chance to meet the dancers in an interactive dance and movement workshop.  All activities will take place in a tent located in front of the aquarium.

This innovative year-long project also includes a multi-dimensional education program and performances presented in schools across the State of Connecticut.

Under the artistic leadership of its Music Director William Boughton and Associate Conductor Gerald Steichen, the 70-member New Haven Symphony Orchestra annually performs a symphony concert series, a pops series and a family series, as well as more than 120 education programs that reach over 30,000 children across Connecticut. Founded in 1894, the NHSO is the fourth oldest symphony orchestra in the nation.

Mystic Aquarium is a division of Sea Research Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, and is counted among the nation’s leading aquariums with more than 300 species and an extensive collection of marine mammals, including New England’s only beluga whales. Mystic Aquarium has been a pioneer in offering guests a variety of up close encounters with a wide range of marine animals. The mission of Sea Research is to inspire people to care for and protect our ocean planet through education, research and exploration.

Elm City Dance Collective is a New Haven based organization that values an experiential and collaborative approach to dance creation, education and performance.  ECDC works to challenge ideas about movement and reinvent the performance experience.  ECDC began in 2008 as a conversation between four dance artists in the New Haven area. Kellie Ann Lynch, Lindsey Bauer, Jennifer Brubacher and Emilia VandenBroek envisioned an organization that would offer choreographic and performance opportunities for dance artists as well as classes and workshops. In addition, the founders discussed a shared commitment to building community and connection through art.

More information on the creation of this exciting collaboration can be found at NHSO's website, and on ECDC’s blog.

Admission to the Aquatic Dance Festival is FREE when you purchase general admission tickets to Mystic Aquarium.

This program has been made possible through the support of the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism, Mystic Aquarium, Mohegan Sun, The United Illuminating Company.