Someone had to be the first to dance and Molly Piveral didn’t mind being that someone.
“I think people live in a place of fear and so, sometimes, if you’re just the first one, it brings others into it,” said Piveral, the brave soul who was the first to jump on stage and learn Bollywood dance moves Saturday.
Piveral’s impromptu dance lesson was part of a session by the Asian Cultural Association of Central Florida at the first-ever Arts for All Day.
The free event was organized by the United Arts of Central Florida, which provides financial support for more than 50 local arts, science and history organizations through grant programs.
More than 60 local artists and organizations were represented at Loch Haven Cultural Park, providing information about what they do, offering hands-on classes and performing for the throng of people. The park’s permanent residents, including the Menello Museum of American Art, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando Science Center, Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Orlando Fire Museum and the Orlando Repertory Theatre, offered free or reduced admission.
Piveral said she had a few performances or organizations she specifically planned to see Saturday, but was open to whatever art she was near in the moment — painting, art exhibits, ballet or orchestral performances.
“The door’s open, so you go in and you take in the experience,” she said.
Flora Maria Garcia, United Arts’ president and chief executive officer, said 5,000 people had registered for Saturday’s event online, prompting organizers to close registration.
Garcia said registration was closed nearly two weeks before the event because “our venues were getting nervous.”
The crowd for the performance at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, where the Bollywood performance took place, was standing-room only. Organizers had to eventually turn people away from the center’s Mandell Theater.
“Our goal for this day was to invite new communities that have not experienced arts in the past,” Garcia said. “And I am seeing people I have never seen before in my life at any cultural events and the crowd is huge.”
In anticipation of the crowds, the Florida Department of Transportation announced they would offer SunRail service. Central Florida’s commuter rail, which connects DeBary to Sand Lake Road, typically only operates on weekdays.
Garcia said United Arts leaders urged people to take advantage of the train, which has a stop at the Florida Hospital Health Village, just down the road from Saturday’s festivities. She said many people told her they chose the train instead of driving to the crowded park.
Peter Schreyer, executive director of the Crealdé School of Art in Winter Park, said Arts for All Day brought Central Florida’s art scene together in one place.
“Normally, people have to go to all the different venues and the different sites,” Schreyer said.
He said the local community “is not fully aware of the size and the scope of what’s here” and consistently lament what is not offered here instead of looking at what is. Schreyer wasn’t surprised by Saturday’s attendance.
“I think we all learned through the recession where people started holding back that people still want to do stuff,” he said.
cdineen@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5414; Twitter: @CaitlinDineen
Our editors found this article on this site using Google and regenerated it for our readers.
