ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
SCOTTSDALE PROGRESS | WWW.SCOTTSDALE.ORG | FEBRUARY 27, 2022
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Guests will board “Ollie the Trolley” and be transported around some of the city’s most inspiring spaces to watch local dance companies perform. (Special to the Progress)
Trolley Dances realize a long-held dream here After hosting the Arabian Horse Show, WestWorld of Scottsdale will pivot quickly to accommodate one of the largest Quarter horse shows on the planet. (Courtesy of Kristen Spinning)
Sun Circuit Quarter Horse show promises thrills and pageantry BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
ust days after Arabian equines today vacate WestWorld of Scottsdale, Quarter Horses will stride into the renowned venue for their own show. The 49th annual Sun Circuit Quarter Horse Show is building off the 2021 event, which had a reduced crowd but attracted a record number of vendors. “Last year, from an exhibitor stand-
point, was one of our biggest shows because a lot of shows had been canceled for a year and people were sick of being cooped up,” said Sun Circuit Quarter Horse Show spokesperson Kristen Spinning. “We anticipate this to be the same, if not bigger, this year.” Most of the events are divided into classes based on the skill levels of the riders and horses. That makes it way for patrons to be
see SUN CIRCUIT page 34
BY ALEX GALLAGHER Progress Staff Writer
W
hat began as an epiphany over half a decade ago is set to become a reality on the trails that line Old Town. Mary Anne Fernandez-Herding was in La Jolla, California, for a dance conference in 2015 when she first witnessed people dancing in front of a trolley. She was so inspired by watching performers twirl and twist under bridges and in washes that she wanted to bring the concept to Arizona, particularly Scottsdale. “I could just picture the trolleys around downtown Scottsdale,” Fernandez-Herding recalled. “The thought of creating something smaller and more intimate in a comfortable environment like OldTown Scottsdale, it was a perfect fit.”
Fernandez-Herding later approached Jean Isaacs, Trolley Dances founder and former artistic director of the San Diego Dance Theater, and conveyed her enthusiasm for seeing the concept in Arizona. “The talent of the dancers, the creativity of using the spaces in the outdoor sites and having the dancers make performances specific to the sites was really exciting to me,” Fernandez-Herding said. “It made me feel like an array of possibilities could occur from that.” However, it was not until FernandezHerding was invited to bring her dance company The Movement Source Dance Company, which she co-directs, to perform as part of the San Diego Trolley Dances that she knew it was now or never to bring the concept to Arizona. Fernandez-Herding then approached the Scottsdale Center for the Perform-
see TROLLEY page 36
