Kentucky NACHMO Exhibition
The Kentucky NACHMO Festival (National Choreography Month) presented by Ambo Dance Theatre with a music exhibition curated by StellAura (possibly).
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​StellAura is a Louisville, Kentucky-based band that brings together music, performance, art, and fashion to create an experience that is as visually expressive as it is musical. Led by Eva Morse on vocals and keytar, alongside Russell Cooper on synths and keys, Tyler Bundy on bass, and Chris Luckett on drums, the group blends a dynamic live-band energy with an eclectic, imaginative aesthetic. Their music and performances embrace the cosmic, the mysterious, the weird, and the fabulous, inviting audiences into a world that feels both theatrical and deeply personal. With a mission to uplift, inspire, empower, entertain, and transport, StellAura offers a distinctive presence within Louisville's creative music scene.
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​​Unlike NACHMO in years past where we took the whole month of January to generate movement based off the NACHMO prompts this year we are doing things a little different. This year we will just be using a few of the prompts and taking a portion of the month of January to create a works in progress piece! This is meant to be a short, lighthearted commitment and an opportunity to create a dance that dancers can get feedback that they can use to finish their pieces!!!
Tickets will be on sale starting in January 2027!
How to Participate!
Choreography Criteria
For those interested in choreographing a piece for this show there are a few criteria that you will ideally follow:
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The piece needs to be a work in progress or a newly created piece!
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Need a place to rehearse? Ambo will be opening up the studio for rehearsals at our studio in January to help with the creation of your pieces. The dates for those are:
Saturday, January 2, 2027 from 12pm-2pm
Saturday, January 9, 2027 from 12pm-2pm
Saturday, January 16, 2027 from 12pm-2pm
Saturday, January 23, 2027 from 12pm-2pm
(More dates and times are available as long as we don't have classes going on during the time you are needing so just reach out and ask.)​​
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Your piece can be choreographed over the course of the month of January (aka National Choreography Month), or, if you're feeling wild, in the 24 hours leading up to the event itself!
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No more than 6 dancers (or more if movement can be done safely in tight parameters)
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1-4 minutes in length
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You ideally will use a few NACHMO prompts to help spur the creation of your piece! Previous NACHMO prompts can be found here.
How to Participate as a Choreographer
For those interested in choreographing a piece for this you will need to get a group of dancers together (solo works are also welcome), come up with an idea, and fill out the Participation Commitment Form.
There are a limited number of spots available, and it will be first come first serve so get your form turned in asap!
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Youth ages 12 and up are welcome to participate. However, adult supervision is required for any youth groups as it will not be provided by Ambo Dance Theatre.
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The deadline for submitting the Participation Commitment Form is Saturday, January 2nd, 2027!
How to Participate as a Dancer
For those interested in dancing in a piece for this comedy dance festival, the best way to guarantee the chance to dance is to drag your friends (who will only kick and scream a little bit) into the process to dance with you!
If your friends are being sour grapes, you may come to one of the open rehearsals that Ambo is hosting to see if any of the choreographers need any dancers, but we will not be filling spots in choreographers' pieces as we have in previous years. Coming to the rehearsals is not a guarantee of being able to participate as a dancer, but it is a great place to connect with fellow participants and build skills that will help you to get the most out of your experience and try something new!
Why are you doing this festival?!
NACHMO stands for National Choreography Month, which is January! After years of doing a more formal NACHMO festival, we realized that the formality was actually hindering many people from participating, so we decided to make this a work in progress show to make things more accessible, while also providing a more formalized environment through the Kentucky Dance Festival!
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The dance portion of this event is a social and networking event, an opportunity to get out of your own choreographic box, and to get some feedback during your choreographic process, to have fun, and socialize with other members of the art and dance community. The goal is to let go of our inhibitions in Dance, and simply come together through the joy of creativity with movement!
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You do NOT need to have any prior choreographic experience, nor do you need to be a trained dancer. This event is entirely about bringing our community together in DANCE! All backgrounds and experience levels are welcome and encouraged to participate simply for the joy of dancing and creating!
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At the end of the day, we hope to see as many people moving, dancing, creating, and coming together as possible because Dance belongs to everyone, it doesn't have to be stiff and serious to hold value for our community.
