Dancing Poetry Festival Contest
Deadline: April 15, 2017 (new!)
Sponsored by Artists Embassy International - 24th Year
Three Grand Prize Winning Poems to be Danced and Filmed
- 3 Grand Prizes will receive $100 each plus their poems will be danced and filmed. Each Grand Prize winner will be invited onstage for photo ops with the dancers and a bow in the limelight.
- Six First Prizes will receive $50 each
- Twelve Second Prizes will receive $25 each
- Thirty Third Prizes will receive $10 each
- All winners will receive a prize certificate suitable for framing and be invited to read at our Festival at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco, September 16, 2017
The top three poems chosen as Grand Prizes will be choreographed, costumed, and recorded live in an on-stage performance at the Festival. See pictures from our 2016 Festival, and check the other tabs on our website to read winning poems and view photos of the winning poets.
Last year's Grand Prize winners included Claire J. Baker, Tanya Joyce, and Toni Poll-Sorensen. For poetry, we look for something new and different including new twists to old themes, different looks at common situations, and innovative concepts for dynamic, thought-provoking entertainment.
The entry fee is $5 per poem or $10 for 3 poems, payable to Artists Embassy International. (Poets outside the USA, please send an international postal money order in US dollars or US currency.) Each poem may be up to 40 lines long. Send two copies of each poem. One copy should be anonymous (just title and poem), the other should have your name, address, phone, email address, and where you heard about this contest (e.g. Winning Writers Newsletter). There is no limit on the number of entries. Entries should be typed.
Your entry should be suitable for a general audience since our following is comprised of people of all ages and ethnicities. English translations must be included with non-English poems. Our judges consist of poets, dancers, musicians, and visual artists of various media, all members of Artists Embassy International. Judging is done with the anonymous copies of the poems. Artists Embassy International is a non-profit, volunteer, arts and education organization whose goal is to further intercultural understanding through the arts.
Three poets, the Grand Prize winners, will be rewarded with seeing their poems danced by Natica Angilly's Poetic Dance Theater Company, a well-known dance troupe that has performed around the world and throughout America. This company is dedicated exclusively to creating new avenues by combining poetry, dance, and music together for presentation and the expansion of poetry with dance in the life of our culture.
To enter the contest, please visit our website at www.dancingpoetry.com or submit to AEI Contest Chair W, Judy Cheung, 704 Brigham Avenue, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Questions? Please email Ms. Cheung at jhcheung@comcast.net.
Please enjoy "Just Breathe" by Toni Poll-Sorensen, winner of a Grand Prize in 2016:
Just Breathe
You are never alone
Just breathe
Breathe in the breath of Einstein
Breathe in Gandhi
Just breathe
Breathe in your beloved ancestors
Tiny helpers to fill your essence
Every breath the breath of others
Just breathe
Part of your history
Part of our universal nature
To stimulate your being
Just breathe
Tiny helpers to fill your essence
Part of our universal nature
To stimulate your being
Just breathe
To let you know how alive you are
To give you a reason
For one more beautiful breath
