Inverness

Hua Sha Chinese Dance Center

Hua Sha Chinese Dance Center is a non-profit organization founded in 1996 by the famous Chinese dance artist Ms. Xiao Fang Xu. The mission of the organization is to preserve and promote Chinese performing arts and culture in a newly emerging and changing American culture; preserve the Chinese performing arts and traditions of the past and blend them with the present and the future; and ensure that the Chinese communities retain their unique individual identification with their rich culture and past.

The Center is dedicated to training students who enjoy Chinese classical and folk dance. The Hua Sha performance group is made up of advanced students and guest professional artists. The dance group performs traditional Chinese dances in both Chinese and American communities for the purpose of cultural exchange.

So far, the group has performed at the Kennedy Center, the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, Artscape in Baltimore, Dance Festival by Maryland Council for the Arts, and the National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST), National Institute of Health (NIH), Asian Pacific festivals and many more.

Every year, Hua Sha has a major performance either for celebration of the Chinese New Year or for the Chinese Moon Festival. Some of the major performances include Chinese traditional dances and invited famous Chinese musicians and folk song singers from out of state or from China. The two and half-hour show has been a great success in the past four years.

Teelin Irish Dance Company

Teelin Irish Dance Company is known for performances that accentuate the energy of Irish dance with envelope-pushing choreography. From the graceful beauty of jigs and reels, to the thundering beat of Irish percussive dance, a performance by this company leaves audience members at the edge of their seats, wishing for more!

Our dance troupes perform regularly at various venues throughout Maryland and the metropolitan D.C. area, including Theatres, Concerts, Festivals, Fairs, Senior Centers, Hospitals and Nursing Homes. Performances may include the full or a partial Company. There are currently three troupes of the company, each comprised of members auditioned from the Teelin School of Irish Dance who demonstrate a passion for performing!

Maureen Berry, Director of the Teelin Irish Dance Company, is often found performing with her students. Maureen's extensive training in a variety of dance styles and her experience as a professional dance performer has inspired her to explore creative choreography. Whether an audience is interested in a traditional Irish dance performance, a cutting-edge percussive dance performance, or something in between the two, the Teelin Irish Dance Company is sure to impress! The pinnacle of Teelin Irish Dance Company performances may be seen in our very own Portraits of Ireland. Please visit this production's website for further details.

The Foggy Bottom Morris Men

The Foggy Bottom Morris Men perform Morris Dance at festivals, private events, street-corners, and drinking establishments. What is morris dancing, you ask? It is a lively English folk dance, invigorated by clashing sticks, flashing handkerchiefs, and jangling bells, performed to the beat of toe-tapping live music from a concertina, accordion, and sometimes a fiddle and a drum. We perform what are known as Cotswold Morris dances, as well as wild-looking Border Morris dances, sword dances, and (in the Winter Holiday season) a mummer's play.