Before there was a Palm Desert Choreography Festival there was Shea New. In the beginning, just herself and an idea. She was teaching at the College of the Desert in Palm Desert at the time and still does today. Her favorite class is teaching the History of Dance. Shea received her BA in choreography from UC Irvine where she studied with renowned choreographers Eugene Loring, Antony Tudor, Arthur Mitchell, and Joe Tremaine, then furthered her education with Merce Cunningham Dance Company, San Diego Ballet and National Ballet of Canada. Her biography is extensive betraying her passion for all things dance. The Palm Desert Choreography Festival will be presented at the McCallum Theatre on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 7 pm and Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 4 pm. Tickets are on sale now.
2025 Finalist – Water Street Dance Milwaukee – Goodby by Morgan Williams – Photo courtesy of the festival.
When she first came to the desert she was dancing in a show at The Riviera. After a personal loss she needed to give vent to her grief and also needed a venue for her choreography. Originally, she put on a show at the College of the Desert. Then through a series of circumstances the City of Palm Desert became involved, and she raised money and had her first Festival in 1998. Full disclosure, I was a participant and fortunate enough to win the Grand Prize for Choreography at that Festival! I speak from experience when I say that Shea New is an indefatigable force for Dance and Choreography in Palm Desert.
2025 Finalist – Boca Tuya -Like Those Playground Kids at Midnight by Omar Roman de Jesus – Photo by Jacob Jonas.
Another reason that she started the Festival, originally called the Dance Under The Stars Choreographic Festival, is that she was given a complimentary ticket to see Pilobolus. She looked around at the auditorium and they had given away half of the seats and there was still only 600 people out of an 1100 seat theater. She thought, “What’s wrong with this picture? This is Moses Pendleton!”. She realized at that moment that she wanted to create new dance audiences for the desert area. And this is what has come to pass with the gradual growth of the Festival. Newer and younger audiences are now more aware of Dance throughout the area and Shea could not be happier.
She met Kajsa Thuresson-Frary, Vice President of Education at the McCallum, who had seen that first festival show, and became an educator for the McCallum. Since 2002 “Dance under the Stars Choreography Festival” was fully incorporated as an Educational event. The Festival was later renamed the Palm Desert Choreography Festival in 2019 after renewed funding from the City of Palm Desert. A mark of its growing popularity is that they received 150 submissions for this years’ festival.
2025 Finalist – Ririe-Woodbury Dance – The Rate We Change by Kellie St. Pierre – Photo by Todd Collins.
Shea: I’ve been Artistic Director for all the festivals. I created a template so we can have a curated show. We need to have hip-hop, ballet and contemporary, jazz as well. Commercial dance is a big part of this. I want young people and their opinions.
We spoke about the differences between Concert Dance versus Commercial Dance and agreed that any dance is great if it holds attention and moves people.
2025 Finalist – Dance Kaleidoscope – Hifi by Sean Aaron Carmon – Photo by Lora Olive.
Shea: Broadway Dance, Modern and other forms will appeal to someone in the audience. Why draw the line between dance forms when you don’t have to? Balanchine choreographed on Broadway. Many modern choreographers have worked on Broadway as well. There is crossover between commercial and concert all the time. We sell out! And that speaks volumes to me. That’s what we wanted. We wanted to bring dance to the Desert. Growing up here and seeing the progression to professional, that’s why we do workshops, we have four workshops coming up. One of them is Zachary Groenewold from Orange Coast College. Its Concert Dance with hip-hop. it is fulfilling to see all of the dance happening.
Me: Yes, that is the point!
Ballet Memphis in “A Fading Memory – Photo courtesy of the festival.
Shea: We take all audiences! That is what we want. It was synergy that McCallum was there at the time. I consider the Festival an alternative form of funding with the cash awards. The city (of Palm Desert) has sponsored [us] for every year! That for dance is important support!
Me: It’s fantastic that you have been helming this for so long and made it grow with the McCallum Theatre.
Shea: There is no Academy Award for dancer or choreographer who spends a lifetime to elevate the artform. We are looking at the dancemaker as well as the dancer. Also people who spend their whole life choreographing for College dance curriculums or High School dance programs, and why shouldn’t they be celebrated?
David Parsons – Photo courtesy of the artist.
One of the serendipitous events along the way to producing the Festival was a gift she received from a friend who wanted to help her along on her journey. She describes Colin Webster Watson as a Renaissance man and Artist. He had sculpted a few statuettes and asked her to take her pick. He gave the statuette to Shea New as a gift to use for the Lifetime Achievement Award in perpetuity. And speaking of which, the Lifetime Achievement Award is given to various individuals who have spent their life furthering the Artform of Dance. The Award is not just for performers, but the list includes Dancers, Choreographers, Agents and Photographers. This years’ Lifetime Achievement Award goes to David Parsons, for his work through his company Parsons Dance, whose mission is to “bring life-affirming performances and joy to audiences worldwide and, through education and outreach programs, to sustain an appreciation of Dance”. When the Parsons Company comes to perform at the McCallum in April, they will do a workshop as part of their educational outreach which is a great opportunity for dancers from the area. When asked how Shea found David Parsons, she informed me that one of her associates from the Dance Visionary Series of the Festival, Suellen Richmond, is also on the Board of Parsons Dance company. The Dance Visionary Series was created with the McCallum Theater so that major companies can be brought in. Currently Complexions Contemporary Ballet is performing.
2025 Finalist – JA Collective – Aidan Carberry and Jordan Johnson in Castling The Unknown – Photo courtesy of the festival.
The aim of the festival is to honor the choreographers. For 27 years, Palm Desert Choreography Festival has celebrated the creativity and brilliance of choreographers. Over this time, nearly 800 choreographers have showcased their works. Ranging from contemporary ballet to hip-hop to commercial styles, 10 choreographers will compete on Saturday for the $10,000 grand prize, while 14 choreographers will vie for the $5,000 grand prize on Sunday.
2025 Finalist – Mt. San Antonio Repertory Dance Company – Concessions by Michelle Shear – Photo courtesy of the festival.
According to Shea, “We look at the choreographer as everything, producer, director, casting agent, and it is their moment, this show. They are networking and meeting other professionals and helping each other”. And she is helping the Artform grow and thrive in Palm Desert. One objective of the Festival is to provide professional development opportunities for local youth aspiring to pursue dance as a career. They can participate in workshops where they will learn choreography featured during the shows presented at the weekend.
These are the 10 Finalists presenting their work on Saturday November 8th at 7:00pm.
1. Kellie St. Pierre – a choreographer and dancer based in Salt Lake City, UT. “The Rate We Change”.
2. Cecily Khuner, a choreographer and dancer based in Memphis Tennessee. “A Fading Memory”.
3. Omar Román de Jesús, director of BOCA TUYA, a New York City-based movement company.
“Like those Playground Kids at Midnight”.
4. Martin Ortiz Tapia, a choreographer and dancer based in Chicago, IL. “El Camino Aún No Escrito”
5. Noelle Kayser, the artistic director of nk + collaborators, a dance performance platform based in Chicago, IL. “ANIMAL”.
6. Franco Nieto, artistic director & co-founder of Open Space Dance, based in Portland, Oregon. “Upstairs Neighbor”.
7. Megan Doheny and Ilya Nikurov, Long Beach, CA-based choreographers and co-creators of the dance project Outrun The Bear. “Palace”.
8. Morgan Williams, artistic director and founder of Water Street Dance Milwaukee. “Goodbye”.
9. Aidan Carberry, along with Jordan Johnson, the choreographic duo behind JA Collective, based in Los Angeles. “Castling the Unknown.”
10. Sean Aaron Carmon. “hiFi”.
These are the 14 Finalists from emerging companies, colleges and studios presenting their work on Sunday, November 9th at 4:00pm.
1. Melissa Bobick (Salt Lake City, UT)
2. Gillmer Duran/Ballet Arizona Studio Company (Phoenix, AZ)
3. Zachary Groenewold/Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, CA)
4. Jacob Gutiérrez-Montoya/Hawkins School of Performing Arts (Folsom, CA)
5. Riley Hart/Aztec Arts Dance Company (Palm Desert, CA)
6. Madison Lucas, Ella Melideo (Los Angeles, CA)
7. Rochelle Mapes/Mater Dei Dance Conservatory (Orange, CA)
8. Hannah Millar/Imprints (Fresno, CA)
9. Alexandra Schooling (Oklahoma City, OK)
10.Michelle Shear/Mt. San Antonio College Repertory Dance Company (Walnut, CA)
11. Jayde Spiegel (Las Vegas, NV)
12. Ashton Titus (Long Beach, CA)
13. Avree Walker/Live Arts Collective (Las Vegas, NV)
14. Lian Long Xuan (Philadelphia, PA)
2025 Finalist Palace by Megan Doheny – Outrun The Bear – Photo by Sang Hoon Ok.
From the website: “Palm Desert Choreography Festival is a dynamic live platform for dancemakers and dancers to showcase their work and powerfully engages audiences around dance in the Coachella Valley. Dedicated to dance as an art form, the Festival presents new, original choreography and features a competition in two divisions, a Lifetime Achievement Award presentation, outreach projects, workshops, and networking opportunities for choreographers and dancers. Since 1998, the Festival has presented 781 original pieces of choreography and awarded over $850,000 to choreographers”. Congratulations to Shea New and the McCallum Theater for continuing this fantastic work! The impact of your passion is seen and appreciated by so many.
The Palm Desert Choreography will be presented at the McCallum Theatre on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 7 pm and Sunday, November 9, 2025 at 4 pm.
For more information and to purchase tickets, please click HERE.
To learn more about the McCallum Theatre, please visit their website.
Written by Brian Fretté for LA Dance Chronicle.
Featured image: Megan Doheny and Ilya Nukurov in Palace – Outrun The Bear – Photo by Choi Jong-Soo.