Friends of Brockport Dance

Recent Brockport Dance MFA accepts post at University of Southern Mississippi

Department of Dance Chair             and Graduate Dance Program Director, Darwin Prioleau forward the news that Brockport Dance student Kelly Ferris, who received her MFA from Brockport in Spring 2008, has accepted a position as a full-time Instructor of Dance at the University of Southern Mississippi. The dance program at USM, housed in the Theatre and Dance Department in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, offers a BFA in performance and choreography and a BA in dance education to approximately 70 dance majors. Ferris will teach modern, jazz, choreographic research and dance appreciation.

While in this area, Kelly performed as a member of the BIODANCE company and with the Kista Tucker Dance Company.  She also served as the Eastwest Somatics Network treasurer, membership coordinator, and conference chair. Kelly was the Founder/Chair of the Brockport NDEO Student Chapter and was awarded the Elsa Posey Student Scholarship for Organizational Leadership in 2006. Originally from Tennessee, she co-founded and directed Metal Velvet Dance Project in Memphis, Tennessee from 2000 to 2004. Kelly taught at SUNY Brockport as an adjunct professor, and also at the University of Mississippi, the University of Memphis, the Hochstein School of Music and Dance in Rochester, the Center for Arts Education for the Memphis Arts Council, and the Theatre for Youth Program at Playhouse on the Square in Memphis, TN.

The Raw and the Cooked: Brockport Dance grad students hold a tasting at the University of Rochester

Graduate students candidates for MFAs from SUNY Brockport’s Department of Dance will be presenting a selection of their "raw and cooked" choreographic works at the University of Rochester on Thursday, April 17, 2008. The evening will include an array of dances created both in and outside of the graduate choreography class; some have been previously performed, other are still works in progress as well as a discussion with the choreographers on the process of creating their work.

The choreographers highlighted are currently exploring various compositional devices under the artistic direction of Assistant Professor of Dance Maura Keefe and include Heather Acomb, Madia Cooper, Kathy Diehl, Kristi Faulkner, Kirstin Howard, Crystal Malone, Melinda Planey, Rebecca Sproul and Lyndsey Vader. Several of the Brockport students attended a lecture/demonstration at the UofR last month by guest artist Sean Curran. The enthusiastic audience and great performance space sparked an interest in sharing more dance with students in the University of Rochester's Program of Movement & Dance and the University of Rochester community. It also gives the wider Rochester community an opportunity to see the talent coming out of the SUNY Brockport Department of Dance firsthand.

The performance will be held at 7:45 pm in the Dance Studio in Spurrier Hall at the University of Rochester. The event is free and open to the public. For additional information, contact either Maura Keefe or Lyndsey Vader at lvade1 AT brockport DOT edu.

Another new voice for the Friends of Brockport Dance blog . . . Kylee Pike

We'd like to introduce you to another voice who will be writing in these pages from time to time—Kylee Pike. Ms. Pike recently earned a Masters of Fine Arts degree in dance performance and choreography at SUNY Brockport. Her master’s thesis focused on jazz and modern dance and on the difference in women’s roles in each art form through history. Pike received her Bachelors of Arts in English from SUNY Geneseo in 2004, where she also studied dance as a minor and received numerous scholarships and awards. In March 2004, Pike’s jazz dance piece “Falling on Five (Trip Beat)” was selected for performance at the American College Dance Festival at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. She currently teaches various dance forms at Perinton Dance Company, as well as beginning adult ballet at Draper Center for Dance Education. Pike is also a personal assistant to the chair of the Rochester City Ballet, which has allowed her to work on various projects surrounding the further development of that company and dance performances at Nazareth College. Kylee wrote the following to provide a personal viewpoint of the potential effect of supporting dance students in the Department of Dance at SUNY Brockport by coming to the benefit performance of DANSCORE on November 17th and joining the Friends of Brockport Dance:

Though my time in the Brockport dance department was memorable, rewarding, and extremely beneficial to my career, my time might have been enhanced by the possibility of more scholarships. While I never received a scholarship or award from SUNY Brockport, besides the award for making Department of Dance Chair Dr. Darwin Prioleau laugh the most, I know that I would have benefited greatly if one had been available. While in graduate school at SUNY Brockport, I worked two jobs--one an on-campus job at the undergrad admissions office and one off-campus as a teacher at a dance studio. I enjoyed both jobs very much, but I felt overwhelmed and over-committed at times. If I did not have the pressure of working so much to earn money to pay for my education, I might have had more time for school work, rehearsals, or to recuperate. I do think that everyone who receives a scholarship is more than worthy of the money, but there were times when the same people would get one every year. If more scholarships were available, especially for graduate students, then more of us might be recognized for our hard work.

I hope the community will continue to support the dance department, especially events where the donations go towards scholarship funding. This is the only way to build the scholarship program and to ensure that the students are doing the best work possible. This will enhance not only the students, but the undergraduate and graduate dance programs, which will then make SUNY Brockport stand out even more among other dance programs colleges.

We'll be hearing more from Kylee in the future and look forward to her perspective as a recent graduate of the Department of Dance who is "out in the world" of dance.

The new dance students get a chance to strut their stuff . . . New Dancers Showcase at SUNY Brockport

On November 1-3, the SUNY Brockport Department of Dance will be presenting the New Dancers Showcase. The performances will feature the debut dance performances by first-year dance majors, minors and graduate student choreography. It is co-directed by faculty advisor Dr. Suzanne Oliver, assistant professor and student director Kelly Kavanaugh, a graduate MFA candidate. The New Dancers Showcase provides graduate dance students the opportunity to set their choreography while giving the new undergraduates their first taste of rehearsal and performance at the college level. Choreography will range from the influences of Jamaican dance hall influence to a contemporary piece that explores the concepts of “change, self-doubt, overcoming fear, and the value of challenging oneself.” A technique demonstration based upon movement developed in class will also feature these young dancers. Professor Oliver says that:

These dancers are overflowing with life and desire to dance . . . they come from a variety of backgrounds and influences but the basic love of movement is universal. The challenge for the teacher/choreographer is to honor their past experience and still guide them toward a deeper wondering and a willingness to personalize and own the movement.

In response to the increasing popularity of the show, the performance will be presented for three nights. Admission is free, but contributions to a student scholarship fund for undergraduate dance majors are encouraged and will be accepted at the door. Performances are in the Rose L. Strasser Studio, Hartwell Hall, Kenyon Street, on the SUNY Brockport campus. There will be a reception following the Friday, November 2nd performance.

A new voice for this blog . . . Jenny Showalter

One thing we've been meaning to do with this site for awhile is bringing you the voices of dancers, especially current and former students of dance at Brockport. One such voice is that of Brockport Dance Department graduate teaching assistant Jenny Showalter, who will be performing Velocity, her Master of Fine Arts thesis work, during the Dance/Hartwell performances October 25-27. Ms. Showalter is a dancer and choreographer originally from the Chicago area. Her work has been shown at Rochester’s Image Movement Sound, the American College Dance Festival, Dance Chicago, and Lincoln College. Jenny has been commissioned to choreograph to original musical scores for both the Heidelberg Music Festival in Ohio and the Vision of Sound touring concert. She has performed in various venues, most recently including the International Dance Festival in NYC. She holds a BS in P.E. Exercise Science from Western Illinois University, is a certified personal trainer, and is currently pursuing her MFA in dance choreography and performance at SUNY Brockport.

Jenny will be writing for this site from time time to time, but we'd like to introduce her and her voice here in connection with her upcoming performance. Jenny sent me some of her thoughts on the process of choreography to share with you all:

When embarking on creating a new dance, I usually start based on a vision or inspiration. This impetus, no matter how small or large, can be inspired by anything and I, as a choreographer, hone in on this vision through the commitment of the dancers. My visions often come to me in the state right before falling asleep. I picture the movement or idea in my head and often times work out all the factors needed to make it a reality. However, just as in life, it is trial and error when it is tried with real bodies in the rehearsal space. This progression of how a dance is made fluctuates through many stages before it gets performed in the concert setting. And the choreographic process is a time consuming task for both the choreographer and the dancer. One dance may require six hours of rehearsal time a week. During these hours the dancers try endless possibilities and in the end the original impetus may be only a small aspect of the whole dance. How the movement ideas expand during the rehearsal stages is what makes the outcome of a dance so unknown. This is what is exciting about the choreographic process.

Welcome, Jenny!  I'm looking forward to seeing the full performance of Velocity at Dance/Hartwell this week.  Hope you come out for it as well.

Best of Brockport Dance . . . Your chance to sound off!

While we assemble a longer piece on the Best of Brockport Dance that occurred last weekend, we're writing this post to encourage readers to express their thoughts and comments.  Just click on Comments link immediately below this post and leave your thoughts on the event and the performances, the Friends reception and anything else that comes to mind.  If you'd prefer, you can click on the link to send an email and we'll add your comments.

Give them their props...Student award recipients and nominees

From the April 2007 newsletter (now available on the Brockport site), the outstanding student award recipients and nominees for the 2006-2007 academic year include:

• Leah Fox, nominated for the School of Arts and Performance Outstanding Student Award;
• Marisa Ballaro, Departmental Scholar in Dance;
• Jenny Showalter, Graduate Friars Foundation Award;
• Erin Johnson, Undergraduate Friars Foundation Award;
• Sarah Moore, Undergraduate Friars Foundation Award;
• Stephanie Vertichio, Nat Goodhartz Award;
• Crystal Malone, Pylyshenko-Strasser Graduate Award;
• Elizabeth Cramer, Rose L. Strasser Dance Award;
• Zurisaday Moreno, Rose L. Strasser Dance Award;
• Jocelyn McIntosh, Rose L. Strasser Service Award and
• Laura Frank, Sarah Horne and Lyndsey Vader each received the Dawn and Jacques Lipson, MD, Award in Performing Arts.

There's a host of other information in the newsletter. Check it out!