The Las Vegas Dance in the Desert Festival had its auspicious beginning in 1999 when respected Las Vegas choreographer and performer, Kyla Quintero, visited Professor Kelly Roth at the College of Southern Nevada (CSN) to see if they might be able to combine their ideas and resources to provide a more artistic outlet for Las Vegas strip performers and a local professional venue for the Professor’s modern dance company, Kelly Roth and Dancers. The Festival would also provide an educational and professional opportunity for his CSN students to perform. They have indeed accomplished their goal, the annual Festival continues the legacy to this day, even producing an all digital version through the pandemic!
The Festival continues to attract national and international modern and contemporary dance companies and provides a beautiful venue at the Summerlin Library Performing Arts Center with a top production team and full theatrical support. |
With the passing of Kelly Roth in February of 2021 and the geographic absence of Kyla Quintero, Leslie Kremer Roth, son Tobias Roth and the New Dance Foundation for the Arts Board of Directors, have made a commitment to continuing the Festival, which has been called a "summertime tradition, that strives to maintain integrity and highlight diversity." ~ Carin Fox – Las Vegas City Life.
We invite you wherever you are in the world, to join us the last weekend of July every year for this beautiful celebration of dance as an art form! Visit here for application information and open dates each spring or contact us directly. Or simply visit the great Las Vegas valley to join us as an audience member, because as Hal de Becker writing for Call Back observed, "One thing is certain, dance lovers who miss the annual Festival, . . . do themselves a disservice because it always offers innovative, exciting performances in varied dance styles and disciplines."
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26th ANNUAL LAS VEGAS DANCE IN THE DESERT FESTIVAL 2024
April 19, 2024 - APPLICATIONS OPEN - applications will be reviewed and accepted or declined as they are received
**NOTE: We advise applying as soon as possible, as entrants will be limited by the length of each of our three separate concerts!!
May 24, 2024 - LAST DAY TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION
**NOTE: We advise applying as soon as possible, as entrants will be limited by the length of each of our three separate concerts!!
May 24, 2024 - LAST DAY TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION
"The Festival promises to be highly
accessible and more than a little fun." - Katie Anania, Las Vegas City Life. |
It’s like CineVegas for the arms and legs.
Chicken soup for the soles." - Dave Surratt, Las Vegas City Life. |
KELLY ROTH
(CO-FOUNDER) (Former Artistic Director of Kelly Roth & Dancers; College of Southern Nevada Dance Program Head; Founder/Past Director of New Dance Foundation for the Arts) was born in Carmel, California. As an adolescent, lessons in karate followed by ballet studies at the Arizona Academy of Dancing, under the direction of Mary Moe Adams, a Royal Academy of Dance examiner, led to a Ford Foundation Scholarship at the San Francisco Ballet where at eighteen he was asked to join the company. In 1976 Mr. Roth moved to New York City, commencing an intensive artistic apprenticeship under modern dance legends Murray Louis, Alwin Nikolais, and Hanya Holm, at the Nikolais/Louis Dance Theatre Lab. Since then he has choreographed and performed globally in a variety of settings with dance companies including those of Murray Louis, Robert Small, and his own company, Kelly Roth & Dancers in New York City, as well as Danse Theatre Susan Buirge in Paris, City Contemporary Dance Company in Hong Kong, and Danse Partout in Quebec. Mr. Roth has also taught at Coker College, Texas Woman’s University, Mesa Community College, The University of Wisconsin, and Arizona State University where he received his MFA in dance and was honored as the Outstanding Graduate of the Graduate College. In 1995, Mr. Roth was invited to relocate to Las Vegas in order to build a dance program for the College of Southern Nevada. In addition to his duties as Head of the CSN Dance Program, he continued to choreograph for such organizations as the Las Vegas Ballet Company and Desert Dance Theatre, and appeared as guest artist with various companies including Nevada Ballet Theatre, The Nannette Brodie Dance Theatre and A Ludwig Dance Theatre. With co-founder Kyla Quintero, Roth created the Dance in the Desert Festival in 1999. Heralding the event, which attracts participants from across the nation, CALLBACK observed, “One thing is certain, dance lovers who miss the annual Festival, as directed by Kelly Roth, do themselves a disservice because it always offers innovative, exciting performances in varied dance styles and disciplines.” In his former role as Artistic Director of Kelly Roth & Dancers and Concert Dance Company, he had taken his mixed choreographic bag of literal and abstract narratives to the Avignon Festival in France, to the International Choreographic Festival in Mexico City, the Prague Festival in the Czech Republic and to frequent engagements in California, Arizona, and Utah. In June 2003 Kelly Roth and company received first prizes for Choreography and Best Contemporary Dance Presentation at the Dance Grand Prix Italia in Cesena, Italy. In Spain, the company gleaned the silver cup for dance theatre at the Barcelona Dance Awards, 2006. Described in Dance Spirit Magazine as “one of the most exciting modern dancers and choreographers on today’s dance scene,” Mr. Roth was also cited by the Nevada Arts Council for “high artistic achievement,” and awarded a prestigious Nevada Artist’s Fellowship for 2005. City Life magazine’s recent Best of the Valley 2008 issue anointed Roth as Las Vegas’ “best local choreographer.” Evaluating Mr. Roth’s impact on the cultural climate of Southern Nevada, Las Vegas dance critic, Hal de Becker, stated, “CSN and the community at large are fortunate to possess a creative artist of his caliber.” |
KYLA A. QUINTERO
(CO-FOUNDER) A gifted choreographer, director, and dancer whose work has been enjoyed by audiences around the world, includes among her many credits: "John Gabriel Magic Re-defined" at the Majestic Theater in Branson, "Steve Wyrick, Magician of the Year" at the Sahara, and Redken's International Hair Shows at the Mandalay Bay and the MGM Grand. She was also the Associate Choreographer for "Passion 2000" at Harvey's Resort & Casino in Lake Tahoe and "Las Vegas Magic Express" at the Sheraton Walker Hill in Seoul, Korea. In addition, Kyla was the Associate Choreographer for "Carnival of Wonders" at the Flamingo Hilton in Reno, "Nightbeat" at the Reno Hilton, "The Strip," a television pilot for Warner Brothers, "Glamour" for the maiden voyage of the world's largest cruise ship, The Grand Princess, the critically acclaimed show "Aireus" at the Reno Hilton, and "Country Fever" at the Golden Nugget--all directed by Emmy Award Winner, Michael Darrin. Kyla was the Founder and Artistic Director of Solstice Dance Theater, a modern jazz company based in Las Vegas. In addition to co-producing Dance in the Desert, Solstice Dance Theater performed at Dance Mosaic, a festival in Palo Alto, CA, and at the Gateway Arts and Music Festival in Las Vegas. In July of 1997 Kyla was commissioned to set a concert entitled "Snippets of Life" for Opus Dance Ensemble in Las Vegas. Kyla was the Producer/Director/Choreographer of the Voices of Hope 1996 World AIDS Day benefit at the MGM Grand Theater starring Susan Anton, with a cast of 40 dancers, singers and musicians. She directed and choreographed numbers for the "Golden Rainbow" show at the Tropicana in 1995 and 1996. Kyla is a native of New York City. After graduating from New York University with a degree in Spanish Language and Translation, she performed in many shows around the world, including Japan, Aruba and the Philippines. She also appeared in shows in Atlantic City, Lake Tahoe and in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics. After moving to Las Vegas in 1991, she danced in "EFX" starring Michael Crawford, "Legends in Concert," "Country Fever," and was the principal dancer in "Wild Things" at the Dunes. An accomplished teacher, Kyla was on the faculty of Backstage Dance Studio in Las Vegas, a guest teacher for Dance Olympus and Dance Masters of America, traveled nationwide to teach workshops and master classes, and taught creative movement for people living with AIDS and other chronic and terminal illnesses. |
LESLIE KREMER ROTH
(ARTISTIC DIRECTOR) (Artistic Director – Kremer Dance Collective; Las Vegas Dance in the Desert) formerly on the Dance Faculty at the College of Southern Nevada, teaches children’s classes for Clark County Parks & Recreation. Having received her MA in Humanities/Dance from Arizona State University, and her BA in Dance from the State University of New York College at Brockport, she was subsequently invited to be on the faculty at ASU. Ms. Roth has also taught and choreographed at Mesa Community College, Texas Woman’s University, Coker College in South Carolina and has been a guest teacher at numerous dance workshops around the country. As a performer, Ms. Roth has toured nationally and internationally with the award winning Kelly Roth & Dancers, as well as with A Ludwig Dance Theatre, Kei Takei, Laura Dean, Richard Bull, and Erroll Simpson and Dancers. In addition, she has been a guest choreographer with Las Vegas Civic Ballet. Ms. Roth also performs, teaches and assists Denise Lahav with Flash Mob Las Vegas and is Director of Dance for Lifelong Dreams, a group dedicated to enriching the lives of special needs and at-risk children and adults through the arts, directed by Tshelene Henreid. |