Over a decade ago, Michael Nickerson-Rossi traveled from his then-home of Long Beach to Palm Springs with some friends. By the end of the trip, he’d fallen for the city and its vibrant, artistic feel, but there was one big thing missing: a professional dance company.
“I saw these beautiful works of art, from landscaping to architecture to fine arts, but there was no dance. And I was kind of surprised by that, because we’re so close to Los Angeles,” he said. “And I wanted to bring it.”
Now, Nickerson-Rossi Dance is a professional contemporary dance company consisting of seven full-time members. Under that umbrella, there’s also the Palm Springs Dance Academy and the Palm Springs International Dance Festival, the latter of which takes the stage this weekend.
The festival includes nine days of programming ranging from a ballroom social to a student showcase, and each event purposefully features dancers across a variety of genres to introduce guests to artforms they may be unfamiliar with.
The Desert Sun caught up with Nickerson-Rossi and a few of his colleagues to learn what events they’re most excited for at this year’s festival.
Indigenous Dance Residency Performance
The festival kicks off with an evening of three postmodern dance pieces by Julenda Satow Freeman, a card-holding member of the Delaware Tribe of Indians (Lenni Lenape) and the Cherokee Nation. Freeman choreographed these works during a week-long residency at Nickerson-Rossi Dance Theater, during which she learned new ways to tell her family’s story through movement.
This is the dance company’s inaugural Indigenous Dance Residency, which is something Nickerson-Rossi has wanted to do for years to honor the tribal land that checkerboards Palm Springs. He got one step closer in 2021 when the company partnered with the Cahuilla Band of Indians to present a modern bird song dance during a Modernism Week home…