With the 2025 Newport Jazz Festival at Fort Adams State Park sold out for its August 1-3 weekend, jazz enthusiasts looking to extend their Newport experience have another celebration to anticipate later this month.
Salve Regina University will host “Bridging the Gap: A jazz dance and music festival” from July 28 through August 4, offering a unique perspective on jazz culture that connects the musical tradition with its dance counterpart.
The festival, curated by One Jazz Collective, aims to highlight the shared histories between jazz dance and jazz music — two art forms that often get separated despite their intertwined origins. With the main Newport Jazz Festival weekend already sold out, “Bridging the Gap” offers jazz lovers additional opportunities to experience the genre’s rich cultural heritage.
“For more than 70 years, Newport has been a mecca for thousands of people who celebrate the culture and history of jazz music at the Newport Jazz Festival,” said Lindsay Guarino, jazz dance artist and chair of Salve’s Department of Music, Theatre and Dance. “We look to amplify this incredible event and tradition by highlighting the shared histories and values between jazz dance and jazz music.”
The festival reflects Salve’s commitment to jazz dance education, with a dance program concentrated in jazz dance and social justice. Education is central to the Bridging the Gap Festival, which includes performances, workshops and public lectures throughout the week.
Ocean-Front Jazz Lounge Takes Center Stage
The festival’s marquee event will transform Salve’s historic Ochre Court mansion into an immersive jazz club experience. On Wednesday, July 30 at 7 p.m., the ocean-front venue will host “Moving on Common Ground,” featuring Marcus Grant and the Movement alongside One Jazz Collective and special guest Orlando Hernández, a celebrated New York tap dancer and choreographer.
The performance, co-directed by Grant and recent Salve dance graduate Trinity Leite, will also showcase Cuban youth ensemble Primera Linea, who are spending the week at the Newport Jazz Summer Camp at Salve Regina through a partnership with Newport Festivals Foundation.
Full Week of Programming Explores Jazz Connections
The festival kicks off Monday, July 29 at 4 p.m. with “Movement Music: Protest and the How/Where/Why People Move,” featuring Marcus Grant and Leland Baker in DiStefano Lecture Hall.
On Wednesday, July 30, the programming doubles up with “One Jazz: The Language of Jazz Music and Dance” at 1 p.m., featuring a panel discussion with jazz dance artists Brandi Coleman, Kimberley Cooper, Guarino and Monique Haley. That evening brings the festival’s signature event — the jazz lounge transformation of Ochre Court.
Thursday, July 31 at 1:30 p.m. features Hernández’s “Dancing in the Break” lecture-demonstration, while the festival concludes Monday, August 4 at 12:45 p.m. with “Cultural Diplomacy: The Healing Survivorship of Music and Dance,” presented by Duane Lee Holland Jr., director of the UMass-Amherst Dance program.
“As a tap dancer and drummer, I’m honored to be a part of this festival that focuses on the connections between jazz dance and music,” Hernández said. “Tap dance and jazz music grew up together. There’s so much to be gained for dancers, musicians and everyone, by learning the history and finding the living points of contact between them.”
Community Outreach Extends Festival’s Reach
The festival will extend into the broader Newport County community through jazz dance classes for youth at the Boys and Girls Club of Newport County’s summer day camp location in Saunderstown, led by Leite throughout the week.
The festival is made possible through support from Amica Insurance and BayCoast Bank. Lectures are free and open to the public, though advance registration is required for both lectures and jazz dance classes.
One Jazz Collective, which curates the festival, is led by Coleman, assistant professor in the Division of Dance at Southern Methodist University; Guarino; and Carlos Jones, professor and chair of dance at SUNY Brockport. The group consists of jazz musicians, dancers and scholars committed to amplifying rooted jazz dance through a contemporary lens.
Tickets for the Jazz Lounge at Ochre Court and registration information for all community events are available through the festival’s website. All lectures are held in DiStefano Lecture Hall and are free and open to the public with advance registration required.
