January, 2015 – PB Poetry Festival

(Delray Beach, FL – January 8, 2015)  Susan R. Williamson, Director of the Palm Beach Poetry Festival (PBPF), today announced that one highlight of the upcoming 11th annual festival will be a special performance of Ballet’s Child, a collaborative contemporary work that combines poetry, dance and film.

The first work by the creative team of choreographer Donna Murray, poet Lani Scozzari and film maker Tiffany Rhynard tells the story of a 7-year-old girl who is told to “lose five pounds” at an audition where she stood in a line of girls in black and pink. The journey told through words and movement is one of dysmorphia and complicated coping rituals while in pursuit of technical artistry.

“The poetry of Ballet’s Child is honest and at times dark, contrasting with an otherwise beautiful, idealistic world of dance. This biographical work describes what it feels like to be a dancer, and, more importantly, what it feels like to be not good enough,” said Williamson. “Ballet’s Child merges poetry, ballet, modern and contemporary dance, as well as short films, all presented as live theatre, which makes this performance piece both personally captivating and emotionally compelling.”

Ballet’s Child will be presented at the Crest Theatre at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts on Friday, January 23, at 8 pm. Tickets are $20 general admission, $15 for seniors and $12 for students, and can be purchased online at or at the Crest Theatre box office at 51 N. Swinton Avenue in Delray Beach.

The 11th annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival returns to the Delray Beach Center for the Arts at Old School Square for six days, January 19-24, 2015. Special Guest Poet will be Dana Gioia, past Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (2003-2009) who recently published his fourth volume of poems. Gioia will be interviewed at 4 pm on Jan. 20 and will read from his work at 8 pm on Jan. 21.

In addition to Mr. Gioia and the eight distinguished poets who will be leading workshops at the Festival (Chard deNiord, Linda Gregerson, Thomas Lux, Maurice Manning, Molly Peacock, Brenda Shaughnessy, Patricia Smith and Robert Wrigley), five additional nationally acclaimed poets will also be featured: coffeehouse performance poets Malcolm London and Rachel McKibbens will provide outreach programs to local high schools on Jan. 23 and perform the following night, and one-on-one conference poets Sally Bliumis-Dunn, Nickole Brown and Ginger Murchison.

About Ballet’s Child

Ballet’s Child is the first work by a talented creative team:

+ Donna Goffredo Murray is a choreographer, director, teacher and writer who created a repertoire of more than 40 concert works, as well as musical theater, classical and commercial choreography. Her work has been presented in numerous New York venues and her dance company has performed in festivals in North Carolina, Maryland and Idaho. She is one of the founders and directors of The Dancers’ Space in West Palm Beach, where she resides with her husband and three children.

+ Lani Scozzari is a writer, long distance runner, mother, teacher and a classically trained actor and dancer. She began writing the semiautobiographical poetry in Ballet’s Child over 15 years ago as a means of recovery from an eating disorder. Her poems and essays have been published in numerous publications (The Courtland Review, Comstock Review, Midway Journal, Mom Egg Review, etc.). She is a graduate of the Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, attended the North Carolina School of the Arts and holds a B.F.A. in Poetry from Emerson College and an M.F.A. in Poetry from Sarah Lawrence. She and her husband are raising two young daughters in Tequesta, FL.

+ Tiffany Rhynard is an activist, filmmaker, choreographer and teacher who has created more than 60 works for stage and screen. Her films have screened throughout the United Stated and in Austria and Germany, and her dance for the camera pieces have been shown at various film/video festivals. Ms. Rhynard has taught dance for the camera and movement activism at numerous colleges, universities and studies and she travels frequently for master classes, workshops and residencies.

The 11th annual Palm Beach Poetry Festival will be held January 19-24, 2015 at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts. The Festival will once again feature top poets at more than 20 ticketed public events, including readings, talks, interviews and a lively panel discussion.  In addition, workshop participants will read at several late-night open mics, free to the public. Tickets are available for purchase – including for the interview with and readings by Dana Gioia, past Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts – through the festival website and at the Crest Theatre Box Office at the Delray Beach Center for the Arts.

The Palm Beach Poetry Festival is generously sponsored by The National Endowment for the Arts, Morgan Stanley, the Windler Group of Morgan Stanley’s Atlanta Office; the Cultural Council of Palm County the Palm Beach County Tourism Development Council and the Board of Commissioners of Palm Beach County; ; Visit Florida; WLRN; and , Delray Beach’s independent bookseller.

For more information about the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, please visit .