Dance is about to go quiet for July and August (though Artbeat has a pulse)

Our June has been filled with dance, but considering dancers rehearse for months for a single performance it’s unsurprising that some months see fewer shows – and for July and August, Cambridge-Somerville stages go largely dark. (Theaters also take a two-month summer hiatus.) We asked around to find why the next two months are so reliably quiet, talking with four local heads of companies and longtime dancer-choreographers, and none knew exactly why. The most probable reason, though, is dancer availability: Many go on vacation over the coming months, with some headed to the famed Jacob’s Pillow center in Becket for the festival running through the same months things are all but silent here. Others split their time between the studio and beach, preparing mentally and physically for the upcoming season after an adrenaline-filled spring of shows. “Our company was founded in June of 2024, so having our first show around the one-year date made sense,” Exceptional Dance director Lindsay Gibbons said. The summer is not a total dead zone, either. For some, it’s a great time to debut works in progress. Alexandria Nunweiler has a piece premiering at the July 19 ArtBeat festival in Somerville’s Davis Square. Because it’s part of a larger show, “it’ll be nice to see it on stage in a lower-pressure setting before putting the entire show together,” Nunweiler said. “I just had a show at the beginning of June, so I’m looking forward to things slowing down a little.”

This post originally ran in Cambridge Day