Nyack-local dancers Heather Cornell and Anna de la Paz are pleased to announce their second annual world music and dance festival – Walk to the Beat – to be held July 26, 2014 in Nyack (rain date July 27th).

Walk to the Beat, free to the public, will bring world class percussive music and dance artists to venues and businesses throughout the village, including the gazebos in Memorial Park and Main Street, the Edward Hopper House garden and the Nyack Center. The main stages will run from noon – 5 pm, workshops will happen from 11 am to 6 pm and all will culminate in a huge jam session in Memorial Park where any and all can dance and play. The festivities will then move to Casa del Sol on Main Street for an after-party with the producers’ band, Making Music Dance.

The two producers, Heather Cornell and Anna de la Paz, are both internationally renowned performers who work extensively away from home. They are committed to bringing excellent dance and music to the lower Hudson Valley through the excitement of participation, the freedom of improvisation and the magic of discovery.

According to Ms. Cornell, “There are so many wonderful artists who make their homes in the county and many, though internationally renowned, don’t have nearly enough opportunity to play at home.”

This year our roster of local artists is exciting. Arthur Lorde and Motherland Rhythms and Dance is a dynamic group of African dancers and musicians who make their home in Spring Valley. Ekklipse Steel Band is a multi-generational group of musicians where parents and children share the tradition of Jamaican music. Pat Cannon, director of Foot and Fiddle Dance Company, from Sloatsburg, will be calling a huge square dance in Memorial Park. She recently called a Square Dance in Bryant Park, NY for 700 participants. Also on the bill are Stephanie Cadman, one of the top Canadian fiddlers and practitioner of Ottawa Valley step dance; Kakande, a group of African musicians left by balafon griot Famoro Diaboute; body-percussionist Max Pollak from Rumba Tap, Piermont local Scott Simpson’s drum ensemble and Nyack’s own Glenn Schloss.

Unique to this festival are our band of Wandering Musicians who will be performing 5 minute sets in 12 designated local business throughout the day. This is a highly eclectic roster that includes flamenco, capoeira, tap dance, drummers and world musicians.

And new this year are the workshops that will happen throughout the village. Local musicians Lisa and David Karrer will be teaching families how to make their own instruments out of recycled materials, and then will lead the participants in a performance. There will also be workshops outside and inside in body percussion, capoeira, balafon and drum circles.

Last year was the first. Walk to the Beat took over the village for the day and artists and public alike communicated through the universal language of percussion. And it was a whole lot of fun. What did you miss? Imagine…you are walking down Main Street in Nyack and start to hear the drums. You follow the sound and all of a sudden there is a stage in the middle of the village. You see people smiling, you feel the urge to start stomping your feet, clapping your hands, and before you know it, you are hooked. As you wander the streets of this eclectic village, you are constantly surprised by what you encounter. A flamenco dancer jamming with a tap dancer…an African griot playing his traditional balafon at the coffee shop…a steel drum band at the park… and more.

Walk to the Beat, free to the public, is a multi-cultural event designed to unite people. It is a family event that encourages families to come together and spend the day listening, playing and collaborating with each other and with the rest of the community.

For up to date program and performance information, you can join the Facebook group: (https://www.facebook.com/groups/348443061962715/)