Friends of Brockport Dance

Limón Dance Company in residence at SUNY Brockport

The Limón Dance Company will be in residence at SUNY College at Brockport again this year form July 21 through August 8, 2008. In addition to the educational activities during the day, the Company there will also be evening activities, including:

• Monday, July 21st: Film Showing and Discussion: “Limon: A Life Beyond Words” with Carla Maxwell
• Wednesday, July 23rd: Anna  Sokolow and José Limón, Colleagues ,Friends and Humanists –  join a discussion of these two giants of American Modern Dance  with Jim May, Artistic Director of Sokolow Theater Dance Ensemble and  Carla Maxwell, Artistic Director of the Limón Dance Company, as they share their experiences working with these seminal artists of the 20th century.
• Thursday and Friday, July 24th and 25th: Preview Performances of Anna Sokolow’s riveting masterwork, Rooms, performed by the Limón Dance Company. Discussion to follow the performance.
• Monday, July 28th: Introduction to Columbian Folklore #1 masterclass with Daniel Fetecua
• Wednesday, July 30 – Introduction to Columbian Folklore #2 masterclass with Daniel Fetecua
• Thursday, July 31: Lecture/Performance by Daystar/Rosalie Jones, founder of Daystar: Contemporary Dance Drama of Indian America, which has been acknowledged as a pioneer of “native modern dance”. She will share her experiences of being coached as a choreographer by Mr. Limón, and speak about the developments in “Indigenous contemporary dance” now taking place in Canada, driven by a new generation of Indigenous First Nations peoples. She will conclude her presentation with “The Spirits Dance”, a mime/dance story about the origin of the healing “Jingle Dress” of the Anishinaabe people of the Great Lakes.
• Monday, August 4th: Contemporary Jazz dance masterclass with Ashley Lindsey
• Thursday, August 7: The Limón Dance Company, open showing of a new work in progress by Clay Taliaferro.
• Friday, August 8th: Final Day at 1:15: a final showing of all repertory classes and composition (no charge).

Unless otherwise noted, all activities at 7pm and with a $15 admission (free for workshop students). All events will be held in Studio 152 of Harwell Hall, unless ventilation requires moving to the Hartman Theater.

Bill Evans & Friends to dance on July 11th

Internationally-renowned choreographer and dancer, Bill Evans, who is a visiting professor/guest artist in the Department of Dance at SUNY College at Brockport, will be giving a concert of contemporary dance by Rochester-area professional dancers in Bill Evans & Friends, which will be performed in Hartwell Hall, Kenyon Street, Brockport, New York, on Friday, July 11, at 8:00 p.m.

The diverse program of dance at this concert will culminate a week-long Dancers Intensive Workshop, and include new and reconstructed work by Evans and other leading western New York professional choreographers—Don Halquist, Suzanne Oliver, Heather Roffe, Kista Tucker and Anne Harris Wilcox. Performers include some of the most skilled and expressive contemporary dance artists in western New York. The featured work of the program will be a revival of Hard Times, choreographed under a choreographic fellowship awarded to Bill Evans by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1973. It is one of the works that launched his international career as a choreographer and was performed throughout the country in numerous national tours by the Bill Evans Dance Company between 1975 and 1983. The work takes its title from a depression-era ballad of the same name, one of a suite of five traditional songs recorded by the Deseret String Band to which the work is performed. This modern dance work graphically depicts the struggles and triumphs of the impoverished and disenfranchised. It is compelling in its powerful physicality and usually ignites controversy among audience members during intermission discussions. It will be performed by Anne Harris Wilcox, Don Halquist and Jenny Showalter. Other works that will be performed include:

• Bohemian Stroll, a fun and spirit-lifting piece for 10 dancers by Kista Tucker, artistic director of Kista Tucker, Inc.;
• Let’s Go Out to Lunch, a duet choreographed by Anne Harris Wilcox, artistic director of the non-profit dance company, Present Tense Dance, and inspired by Patricia Wilcox’s book A Public and Private Hearth;
• Swan Song, a solo that explores loss, mourning, memory and facing the unknown, choreographed and performed by College of Brockport dance faculty artist, Suzanne Oliver;
• Excerpts from SIDE(S), a series of vignettes, brief tastes of various facets of life, from paranoia to playfulness, and acts that befriend vs. acts that destroy, by Heather Roffe, adjunct faculty artist at both Brockport and Hobart William Smith;
• Kilter, by Brockport faculty artist and 18-year member of the Bill Evans Dance Company, Don Halquist, a virtuosic solo in which the dancer reveals powerful three-dimensional spatial pulls; and
• Three Preludes, a solo fusing rhythm tap dance and modern dance to music by George Gershwin, choreographed and performed by Bill Evans.

Tickets will be available only at the door, beginning at 7:00 p.m. $10 general, $6 students, $20 patrons. Email billevansdance@hotmail.com for more information.

Somadances Comes to Hartwell Dance Theatre

On June 21, 2008, FOBD Faculty Liaison/Visiting Professor/Guest Artist Bill Evans and Professor Emeritus Sondra Fraleigh will host Somadances, a performance presented as part of the international conference, "Invention-in: Dance, Somatics, and Movement Analysis." The performance will begin at 8:00 p.m. in Hartwell Dance Theater at SUNY Brockport. Admission for non-conference participants is $5 at the door.

Invention-in will be held at SUNY Brockport on June 20-22, 2008. In addition, SUNY Brockport Department of Dance faculty members Anne Burnidge, Suzanne Oliver and Kelly Ferris will be presenting/conducting workshops at the conference.

Also, after the close of the Invention-in conference, Professor Fraleigh will conduct a week-long (June 23-July 1) somatics certification workshop at SUNY Brockport. See http://www.eastwestsomatics.com for additional information.

2008 Bill Evans-Brockport Dancers' Intensive

Bill Evans and SUNY Brockport Department of Dance are hosting a Dancers Intensive for gigh-intermediate and advanced contemporary dancers from July 7 to 11, 2008, at the State University of New York College at Brockport. Faculty will include Bill Evans, Don Halquist and Suzanne Oliver.

Bill Evans and Don Halquist have devoted much of their professional lives to developing educational methods and materials that allow dancers of all ages to become healthier, more articulate, more expressive and more well-rounded artists and human beings. The Bill Evans Dancers’ Intensive provides a learning environment that generates trust, self-esteem, peer support and physical, mental and spiritual regeneration. Overarching themes and underlying concepts unify all courses, so that students have multiple opportunities each day to experience transformative ideas in different dance and movement forms, allowing them to make quantum leaps of understanding and embodiment in a short time. Participants develop relationships with peers that provide networks of support throughout the year.

Brockport is a charming Victorian village located on the historic Erie Canal, 20 minutes from the Rochester International Airport. The park-like College campus, the world-class dance studios, and the genuine warmth of the faculty and returning participants all contribute positively to the regenerative qualities of the total experience for participants in this unique intensive workshop.

The daily schedule will include:

• 8:30 – 10:00, Bartenieff Fundamentals as Preparation for Dance Technique, Bill Evans
• 10:15 – noon, The Bill Evans Method/Laban-Based Modern Dance Technique, Bill Evans/Don Halquist
• 1:30 – 2:30, Laban-Based Dance Improvisation, Bill Evans
• 2:45 – 4:45, Evans Modern Dance Repertory, Don Halquist
• 6:45 – 8:15 (Monday – Thursday), Alexander Technique Lab, Suzanne Oliver
• 7:30 – 9:30 (Friday, July 11), an informal performance by faculty and invited artists, followed by a workshop party

To register for the Intensive there is a non-refundable registration deposit of $50. You can attend the entire workshop for $300, with options for morning courses only for $200, morning and afternoon courses for $275, and evening course and performance for only $75.  This workshop can also be taken for three graduate or undergraduate credits. In enrolling, tuition payment for three credits would be required in addition to the non-refundable registration deposit of $50. Other fees shown above would be waived. Moderately-priced housing will be available in a College at Brockport Residence Hall. For more information, email Bill Evans.

Doug Varone & Dancers performs at Brockport during 3-week residency

During a three-week residency, Doug Varone and Dancers will be performing on Saturday, June 7, 2008 at 7:30 pm at The College at Brockport’s Hartwell Dance Theater on the College’s campus. Three works from the the group's repertoire will be shown: “Victorious,” “Lux” and “Polonaise.” Of “Victorious,” The New York Times said, “Both the choreography and the score for ‘Victorious’ represent the two creators in a winter mindset ... They come into relative, then perfect, melodic harmony and pull away again continually.” Check out their MySpace page as well.

Tickets for this performance are $20 for general public, $10 for seniors and students. They are available by phone at (585) 395-ARTS or at the Tower Fine Arts Center Box Office, 180 Holley Street, Brockport, from Monday, June 2–7, from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm. Remaining tickets may also be available at the Box Office in Hartwell Hall one hour prior to the performance.

In addition to the ticketed performance on June 7th, the Doug Varone company will hold several other evening events, under the banner “Behind the Performance,” which is a look into the dance making process and choreography of Doug Varone. All of the following showings are free and open to the public and take place in the Rose L. Strasser Studio in Hartwell Hall at 7:30 pm. No reservations are necessary. The extra events are as follows (unfortunately, we've missed a couple from last week):

• Monday, June 2nd: Exploring Repertory II
• Tuesday, June 10th: Open Rehearsal
• Friday, June 13th: Work-In-Progress Showing

Come see, hear and FEEL Sankofa! African dance at its best

With color, rhythm and energy, the Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble will be exploding onto the the stage at Hartwell Dance Theater in performances, beginning Thursday, April 24th through Saturday, April 25th at 7:30 pm. There is also a matinee performance on Sunday, April 27th at 2 pm. Hartwell Dance Theater is located in Hartwell Hall, Kenyon Street, on the campus of The College at Brockport, State University of New York.

This year, Sankofa has Habib Iddrisu as the guest artist. Iddrisu is currently completing his doctorate at Northwestern University. His contributions to the concert include:

•   “The Village of Batiti,” a choreographic vision of tribal celebrations and rituals in a West African village.
• “Gumboot Dance” strives to see the aesthetic qualities in what was once the only means of communication amongst those forced to toil in South African mines. Gumboots were the rubber overshoes worn by the miners, in which they would embed links of chain or discarded bottlecaps, with which they would tap out messages—or just their proximity to one another—in the stifling, pitch-black mines where they were forbidden to speak.
• “Fumè Fumè” recreates a religious celebration of life amongst the Ga sect, found in southern Ghana.

Iddrisu’s time on the Brockport campus, serving as an adjunct during the fall 2007 semester, exceeded his expectations. “I had heard of the Sankofa program, and knew it was one of very few programs of its type on a college campus, but when I got here, I felt lucky to be a part of it.” When he returned to the campus for additional rehearsals, he found that the “support and enthusiasm was even greater than when I was teaching in the fall.” Visiting professor/guest artist Bill Evans has choreographed “Nubia,” along with his dancers. Reflecting on the piece, Evans said that “as I began to work on this piece, I shared a rhythmic sound and movement language I had generated with the dancers, and asked each of them to participate in creating the dance. In handing these sounds over to them, I drew upon my knowledge of rhythm tap and my studies with the great African-American choreographer Donald McKayle, who was strongly influenced by the dances of Caribbean cultures. He fused these influences with mainstream modern dance techniques to create a fluid, grounded and rhythmic style of contemporary dance.”

The capstone of the concert is, as always, “Ijexa,” which brilliantly weaves the chanting, drumming and dancing that make a Sankofa concert what it is. The boisterous finale ensures that cultures that may be unfamiliar to Brockport audiences are honored. Clyde Alafiju Morgan, associate professor and artistic director of Sankofa, feels that “without ‘Ijexa,’ without ‘Sankofa’—which literally means that there is no going forward without looking past—without these things, we would have no idea how we got to where we are today, or how we can move on to tomorrow.”

Dance/Hartwell returns April 3-5 to showcase new Brockport choreography

It's time again for DANCE/Hartwell, presented by the Department of Dance on April 3rd-5th, featuring three exciting new choreographic works by Molly Christie, Cynthia Hermann, and Mark Schmidt—who are each candidates for a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance. The "students have crafted an impressive display of new choreography, brought to life by the most skilled and expressive young artists, from one of the country’s leading departments of dance,” notes Artistic Director and Assistant Professor of Dance at Brockport, Suzanne Oliver. Maura Keefe, assistant professor of dance and graduate program coordinator is Artistic Director responsibilities with Oliver for Dance/Hartwell.

The featured MFA works will include two dances by Mark Schmidt exploring a physical vocabulary inspired by the cultural practices and movement qualities found in the New York underground House dance scene. Originating in Chicago and New York, House is a musical genre and dance style with roots in African-American vernacular jazz-tap. “Socially,” Schmidt observed, “this dance form is an affirmation and celebration of cultural marginality through communal dancing.” The diverse cast celebrates, explores, recreates, and reinvents the rituals and social practices of house dance culture on the concert stage.

Molly Christie’s piece will explore the embodiment and transformation of encoded ritual movement and rhythmic languages from two sacred dance and music traditions. The traditional works are transformed for the concert dance stage. An original musical score by Clement Joseph, weaving both modern and traditional musical languages and instrumentation, has been commissioned to accompany the piece.

Cynthia Hermann will be working with two movements from Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, the Allegretto and the Allegro Con Brio. “Within my choreography,” said Hermann, “I hope to bring to life the energy and emotion that I feel when I listen to these two pieces of music. Beethoven's music is sophisticated and complex so my goal for the work is to choreograph two pieces that dance with the music rather than to it.”

The remaining dances in the concert will include choreography selected in an adjudicated process open to all graduate and undergraduate dance students. We hope you come out for a wonderful evening of dance!

Performances are being Thursday–Saturday, April 3–5, at 7:30 pm, Hartwell Dance Theater, Kenyon Street. Tickets for DANCE/Hartwell are $12 general/$10 seniors/$8 students and are available at the Tower Fine Arts Box Office on Holley Street. For more information, call (585)395-ARTS.

Brockport hosts the American College Dance Festival Association Northeast Conference

The College at Brockport is presenting the Gala Concert of the American College Dance Festival Association's Northeast Conference in two performances on March 16th. This year's conference is being hosted by the Department of Dance, which will enter one faculty-choreographed piece and one student-choreographed piece in the adjudication process. In the past three years, five of the six Brockport pieces that have been adjudicated at ACDFA conferences have been selected for culminating gala performances. Many other area schools, including Hobart and William Smith Colleges, SUNY College at Geneseo and the University at Buffalo, will enter pieces in the year’s conference adjudication process and may be represented in the Gala Concert.

The conference will begin on Wednesday afternoon, March 12, with a master class by the great rhythm tap artist Dianne Walker, who will be completing a guest artist residency in the Department of Dance. A Welcoming Concert on that evening will feature the three adjudicators. Over the following three and one-half days, the conference will feature more than 130 master classes in many dance forms, a number of panel discussions, five adjudicated concerts, two informal concerts and two faculty concerts. Local dancers are invited to participate in conference master classes for a fee of $15 per session. To register, please send an e-mail.

The gala concert will include eight to ten works that represent the highest artistic and technical standards of performance and choreography in the more than 30 college dance programs that will participate in the five-day conference. During five different adjudication concerts, performed on March 13–15, a panel of national experts will select the works to receive the honor of being performed in this culminating concert. All performers must be matriculating students in a participating college or university dance program or department. At least half the choreographers submitting works for the adjudication process must also be students.

Other choreographers will include faculty members at participating schools and professional choreographers/guest artists. The adjudication panel for this year’s Northeast Regional Conference is comprised of Gesel Mason, Richard Move and Claire Porter.

• Gesel Mason has performed nationally and internationally with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, Repertory Dance Theatre of Utah, Jacek Luminski of Silesian Dance Theatre, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange and Ralph Lemon. She was selected as Emerging Choreographer by the Bates Dance Festival in 2000, received two Metro DC Dance Awards, and a 2007 Millennium Stage Local Dance Commissioning Project from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
• Richard Move choreographs for and performs with his own New York City-based dance company, MoveOpolis. His works have been performed at Dance Theatre Workshop in New York City and at the Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival in western Massachusetts. He has appeared as a guest artist with the Centre Choréographique National de Tours in France, for which he created a choreographic work that premiered at Théatre de la Ville in Paris. He has choreographed for the Martha Graham Dance Company and has created an acclaimed theatrical dance work for Mikhail Baryshnikov and the White Oak Dance Project.
• Claire Porter’s work has been produced by Dance Theater Workshop, PS-122, Joyce Soho, The Bottom Line, NY Horticulture Society, The Knitting Factory, Danspace at St. Marks, Jacob’s Pillow, Southern Theater in Minneapolis, MN; Duncan Theater in Palm Beach, FL; Liberty Science Center NJ; Kitchen Theater in Ithaca, NY; Wooley Mammoth Theater in DC; Off Center Theater in Tampa, FL; Center Stage in Raleigh, NC; American Dance Festival, Lucille Ball Festival of Comedy, Holland Festival in the Netherlands, Tour of Comedy in Germany and the Korea International Festival in Seoul. She performed at the opening of the Peter Eisenman Building at the University of Cincinnati, was the hostess-comedienne-scene changer for the Minnesota Composers Forum’s New Music Concert and has appeared on staircases, boats, backyards, gyms, classrooms, airports, humor festivals, museums and soapboxes.

There will be two public Gala Performances on the mainstage of the Tower Fine Arts Center, on Sunday, March 16, at 12:30 pm and again at 3:30 pm. Tickets are available at the Tower Fine Arts Center box office, (585) 395-ARTS, $12 General/$10 Seniors/$8 Students. The conference is being coordinated by Department of Dance Adjunct Instructors Kelly Ferris and Heather Roffe, with a planning committee consisting of Assistant Professor, Anne Burnidge, Visiting Professor Bill Evans, Associate Professor James Hansen and Assistant Professor Maura Keefe.

Come out and experience dance at Dance Awareness Days

SUNY Brockport’s Department of Dance and Student Dance Organization are excited to be presenting Dance Awareness Days again, which returns February 21st through 23rd. Members of the community who are 16 years and older are invited to participate in classes with Brockport faculty and guest artists. Join us for this special opportunity to brush up on your dance skills, learn a few new steps, and have some fun. During DAD, the distinguished alumni, faculty and staff of SUNY Brockport will teach more than 40 classes in various dance styles, including ballet, tai chi, yoga, tap, Pilates, modern, capoeira, Irish, African and African/Caribbean, body articulation, improvisation, Jazzercise, Brazilian Samba and folk, tango, composition, plus Katherine Dunham technique and more. Except for Reiki and massage sessions, all classes and activities are free of charge and open to the public to celebrate all aspects of dance and extend to the greater community opportunities to share in the dance experience.

Members of the community who wish to participate in Dance Awareness Days activities are required to register each day. Proof of age (participants must be 16 years and older) will be required at time of registration. Parking permits are required to park on the Brockport campus during DAD and are available for $2/day at the Raye H. Conrad Welcome Center, located at the corner of New Campus Drive and Commencement Drive. Plan to arrive early, as daytime parking on campus is limited. Registration and classes will be held in Hartwell Hall, Kenyon Street, on The College at Brockport campus. For more information, including a complete schedule of classes, call the Department of Dance at (585) 395-2153 or click here for an online copy.

Additionally, during DAD, Six Flag’s Darien Lake performer auditions for dancers are scheduled for Thursday, February 21 from 5 – 7 pm in rooms 231/240 Hartwell Hall. On Friday, February 22, undergraduate and graduate dancers will present an informal choreographic showing from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in Hartwell Dance Theater followed by the BSG sponsored poetry/dance event First Wave Spoken Word featuring Mayda del Valle with a performance by Christopher Walker (a 2004 alum).

FOBD Newsletter: Notes on the New Dancers Showcase

The following notes on November's New Dancers Showcase were prepared by Assistant Professor Dr. Suzanne Oliver:

The New Dancers Showcase was presented Thursday through Saturday, November 1-3, 2007 at 7:30 pm in the Rose L. Strasser Studio.  This undergraduate debut performance provided graduate dance students the opportunity to experiment choreographically while giving the first year students a taste of rehearsal and performance at the college level.

New Dancers Showcase was directed by graduate student, Kelly Kavanaugh and advised by me, Suzanne Oliver. Choreography by graduate students ranged from work influenced by Jamaican dance hall style to a contemporary piece that explored the concepts of "change, self-doubt, overcoming fear, and the value of challenging oneself." A technique demonstration based on movement developed in my new dancers' modern dance technique class was also featured.

Graduate students and faculty involved in the production were impressed with the technical and expressive range demonstrated by these young dancers. Though they come from a variety of backgrounds and influences, the basic love of dance is clear, as is their openness to new ways of analyzing, understanding, and exploring their personal relationship to movement.

In response to the increasing popularity of this show, the performance was presented on three nights. Admission to the performance was free, but contributions to a new scholarship fund for undergraduate dance majors were accepted at the door.

Friends of Brockport Dance Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 2008)

FOBD Newsletter: Notes on Dance/Hartwell

The following were notes for the FOBD Newsletter from Assistant Professor Anne Burnidge:

Again we had a very successful DANCE/Hartwell concert this fall. Each semester the students have the opportunity to have their work adjudicated by faculty members and student representatives to be selected for the student choreographed concerts in Hartwell Hall and Strasser Studio. This fall we showcased Jenny Showalter’s MFA Thesis work, “Gridlocked Velocity” as part of the Hartwell concert. Jenny’s research involved studying the effects of physical training on a dancer’s ability to execute athletic dance movement. She gave her dancers different conditioning tasks such as running and lifting weights and tracked their success. Her choreography wove together dynamic athletic movement with shapes and forms that one might observe at different athletic events.

Filling out the concert were works by undergraduate and graduate choreographers. These pieces range from the upbeat and energetic “Perseverance” by Brittany Falcon, to the intimate “We Don’t Live Here” by Sarah Moore, to the meditative and enigmatic “Sepia Enduring” by Melinda Planey, to the physically challenging “Breakthrew” by Marcia Vanderlee. These pieces were a strong reminder of the range of styles that exist in modern dance and of the breadth of talent of SUNY Brockport’s student choreographers and dancers.

Friends of Brockport Dance Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 2008)

FOBD Newsletter: Notes from Bill Evans, dance faculty liaison to Friends of Brockport Dance

During the summer of 2007, the founding officers and directors of Friends of Brockport Dance were elected. Officers are:

• Cynthia Cable, president;
• Dr. William Hauser, vice president;
• Gregory Bell [your humble webmaster], secretary; and
• Dr. Jerry Fisher, treasurer.

Directors are:

• Joyce DeHaan,
• Dianna Leach,
• Mary Markusen,
• Thomas Markusen,
• Manuel Rivera-Ortiz,
• William Rock (also special advisor to the executive committee),
• Peter Scribner and
• Dr. Frances Maroney Whited (also special advisor to the executive committee).

The fall semester of 2007 was perhaps the busiest ever in the Department of Dance:

• There were a total of 27 faculty, professional staff and teaching assistants serving our students. Dr. Suzanne Oliver, former chair of dance at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, joined the faculty as a new assistant professor, and Don Halquist, visiting assistant professor in the Department of Education and Human Development, began teaching a course in intermediate/advanced modern dance technique in the Department of Dance. Habib Iddrisu served as a visiting lecturer, filling in for associate professor Clyde Morgan, who was on a very exciting sabbatical leave. (He promises to write about his sabbatical activities in our next newsletter.) Kelly Ferris, Heather Roffe and Courtney World (who completed their MFA studies in our Department just last spring) joined the adjunct faculty.
• I was on a 2/3 leave for the fall semester, to complete a major choreographic project funded by
  National Endowment for the Arts at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle. To partially cover my absence as a teacher, Francis Short, Dean of the School of Arts and Performance, made it possible for us to engage four renowned guest artists: B. J. Sullivan, from the faculty of the Department of Dance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, creator of a revolutionary modern dance technique, called Safety Release; Clay Taliaferro, former principal dancer with the José Limón Dance Company, recently retired from a faculty position in dance at Duke University; Travis Gatling, about whom Maura Keefe has written some remarks below; and Julia Sasso, one of Canada's most sought-after teachers and choreographers, who teaches at both York University and the Professional Program of the School of the Toronto Dance Theatre. Each of these four remarkable teachers brought unique and exciting pedagogical and artistic ideas and practices to our lucky students, who were stimulated by and deeply appreciative of these opportunities.
• Our department offers more performance opportunities for our majors than any other that I know of. The fall 2007 performance season included:
• September 16-- Season Preview Symposium, Strasser Studio, featuring assistant professors Anne
  Burnidge and Suzanne Oliver, organized by Bill Evans
• September 18-20-- David Dorfman Dance, professional dance company Hartwell Dance Theater,
  sponsored by the Brockport Student Dance Organization
• October 25-27-- DANCE/Hartwell*, Hartwell Dance Theater, Anne Burnidge, artistic advisor
• November 1-3-- New Dancer Showcase*, Strasser Studio, Kelly Kavanaugh, director, Suzanne
  Oliver, advisor
• November 14-17-- DANSCORE: Moving to Make Things Whole*, Hartwell Dance Theater, Bill Evans,
  artistic director, Suzanne Oliver, assistant director
• November 29-December 1-- DANCE/Strasser, Strasser Studio, Maura Keefe, artistic advisor
• December 6-7 -- Dime-A-Dance, Strasser Studio

Dr. Darwin Prioleau served as producer of all productions. Graduate student Kristi Faulkner served as concert coordinator for all productions. Christian Tucker served as director of dance production and as lighting designer for the Hartwell Dance Theater performances. Sandra Cain served as costume designer and/or advisor for all productions.

• Since last summer, Kelly Ferris and Heather Roffe, co-coordinators, and Anne Burnidge, Bill Evans, Jim Hansen and Maura Keefe, faculty advisors, have been planning the Northeast Region American College Dance Festival Association Conference, which will take place on our campus from March 12-16, 2008.
• Friends of Brockport Dance are invited to attend one of the ACDFA Gala performances, Sunday, March 16, Tower Theatre, 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. Please tell your friends about this exciting concert. Anyone joining FOBD by March 16 will be given a free ticket to the ACDFA Gala of their choice, and their membership will last through the entire 2008-2009 season.
• Current members of FOBD will be guests of the Department at the Friday, April 4, for a performance of DANCE/Hartwell, which will feature choreography by master of fine arts candidates Molly Christie, Cynthia Hermann and Mark Schmidt. The 7:30 p.m. concert will be followed by a reception. Please plan to attend. Call (595)395-ARTS to reserve your seats and obtain your free FOBD tickets.
• As part of my service in helping the Department of Dance and SUNY College at Brockport develop a "friends" organization, I have compiled and edited this, the first issue of the Friends of Brockport Dance Newsletter. We are in the process now of selecting a Brockport dance graduate student to become lead writer and editor of this publication beginning with the next issue.

Friends of Brockport Dance Newsletter, Vol. 1, No. 1 (January 2008)

DANSCORE showcases the diversity and talent of the Department of Dance Faculty

Once again, on November 14th through 17th, the SUNY Brockport Department of Dance showcased its talent in DANSCORE, the annual faculty choreographed dance concert.  Though the choreographers displayed their immense diversity from various forms of modern dance to African and tap, as a former student of this unmatched Department, I will focus on the caliber of technique and performance.

Watching the dancers as a new professional in the field was a completely different viewpoint for me. I have danced with many of these performers for a couple of years and I was surprised when I had a hard time recognizing each dancer! This being the first and only time seeing the pieces, when I would usually see them many times, I found myself overwhelmed with pride for this group of performers. Knowing the dancers packed schedules, and living it for three years, makes me appreciate the DANSCORE dance concerts even more. Auditions for DANSCORE occur in late August and rehearsals begin immediately, averaging three to six hours a week. Brockport dancers work on up to three pieces on top of rehearsals for other concerts, choreography and, of course, school work in and outside the Department of Dance.

Brockport dancers stand out among other college dancers because of their well-rounded dance technique, natural performance qualities, and the high level of professionalism. Though many of the dancers entered the Department with these innate qualities, the faculty highlights and heightens each dancer’s talents. After being on the inside of this process for a few years, I know that each rehearsal is treated as a professional company’s rehearsal. Each faculty member expects the dancers to come in warmed-up, prepared to work, and possibly give movement. The energy has to be up at all times, and the atmosphere must allow for creativity and exploration. A Brockport dancer is trained for a professional career in dance, whether it be performing, choreographing, teaching, or administration of a dance company.

This post is by Kylee Pike, who received her MFA in Dance at Brockport this year, and was introduced here.

See where it begins . . . Come out to SUNY Brockport before or after Garth Fagan as budding choreographers and dancers showcase their new work at Dance/Strasser

While its distinguished emeriti Garth Fagan's troupe is performing in Pittsford, you can make it a dance two-fer by coming out to the campus in Brockport at the Rose L. Strasser Studio to watch student choreographers in the Brockport Department of Dance see their visions realized. There will be a talkback session following each concert, during which the audience can play a part in helping the dancers and choreographers to continue developing and refining their already stunning work.

Performances will be this Thursday through Saturday, November 29th through December 1st, starting promptly at 7:30 pm. Tickets are $12 General Admission, $10 Seniors, and $8 Students.There will be a post-concert reception on November 30th. Tickets may be purchased at Tower Fine Arts Center Box Office at SUNY Brockport. Box Office Hours: Monday-Friday: 9:30am-5pm and Saturday: 10am-4pm. Call the Box Office at (585) 395-2787. Credit card reservations and remaining tickets will be available at the Hartwell Box Office one hour prior to scheduled performance times.

Check out the article on DANSCORE 2007 in Rochester's City Newspaper...

Just dropping a quick post to let you know about the great article on DANSCORE 2007 Moving to Make Things Whole in Rochester's City Newspaper.  Our post on DANSCORE is here.  Come out and support the dancers on November 17th!

DANSCORE 2007: Moving to Make Things Whole . . . Come out on the 17th (or the other nights) and support the dancers!

SUNY Brockport’s Department of Dance and Bill Evans, artistic director, are soon to present DANSCORE 2007: Moving to Make Things Whole. This year’s DANSCORE will include performances on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 and continues through November 17, 2007. The performance on Saturday, November 17th is a gala concert followed by a reception hosted by the Department of Dance and the Friends of Brockport Dance. The proceeds from the gala will benefit the scholarship funds being raised by the Friends for gifted and deserving Brockport dance majors.

Moving to Make Things Whole will showcase the world-class artistic achievement of several artists who are full-time members of SUNY Brockport's dance faculty. You can expect a wide variety of both entertaining and thought-provoking choreography, music, and visual design. All works will be performed by the most gifted and dedicated Brockport dance majors, who were selected for this opportunity through an audition process. The dances being performed will include:

• Assistant professor Anne Burnidge is creating a new modern dance work in collaboration with resident composer, Mark Olivieri. The music will be performed live by a professional string ensemble.
• Professor Jacqueline Davis will perform a new solo, the third in a series of recent vignettes that range from witty to introspective, lively to quietly sustained, and from traditional to the unexpected.
• Visiting professor Bill Evans will present his modern dance classic Craps, one of the dances he recently restaged at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle under a grant from the American Masterpieces Dance–College Component program of the National Endowment for the Arts. In this exciting and light-hearted piece, the five athletic dancers will take considerable physical risks set to music in seven-count phrases, played live by professional percussionist Greg Ketchum and bassist James J. Kaufmann. I'm really looking forward to this one as I'm somewhat of a jazzhead and, as set out in this article on DANSCORE from the Spencerport-Hilton Post, this piece has a pretty cool jazz history behind it.
• Associate professor James Hansen, whose choreography was recently described by The New York Times as a highlight of the International Dance Festival, will contribute a thoughtful mediation on group dynamics in a new work which blends moments of tender gesture with dynamic and athletic partnering.
• Guest artist Habib Iddrisu will perform Growing Up in a West African Village, which explores the oral tradition and ancestral wisdom of his people, who combine dance, storytelling and music in their cultural expression.
• Adjunct lecturer Eddie Murphy and Bill Evans will perform in their new collaboration Los Gringos, a spirited fusion of Irish and rhythm tap dancing with a hint of flamenco, to music by Isaac Albeniz, played live by Mark Olivieri.
• Assistant professor and assistant artistic director Suzanne Oliver will share her work entitled Haiku. Through text and dance, she has explored themes of change, loss and the nature of love. 
• Professor, Chairperson and Graduate Dance Program Director Darwin Prioleau’s modern dance, Woman: Claiming Courage, Breathing Spirit, is inspired by a recent visit to Gambia, West Africa. This piece draws on the beauty, confidence, pride and clear sense of self of the African woman as the prototype for all women who maintain dignity regardless of the challenges they face. Music is by West African singer Soni and Department of Dance African Music Specialist Khalid Saleem, who will play live. Scenic design for this piece is by Adrien Tucker.
• Associate professor Juanita Suárez will contribute Hidden Messages, which looks at water as a presence that contains life, memory and intelligence. Based on Dr. Masaru Emotos’ original research on water, this work tries to capture the mysterious response of water to thoughts, words and pictures. Music for this piece will include live drumming by Khalid Saleem and vocalization by Juanita Suárez, as well as recorded music by Christopher Reba and Mark Olivieri. The set designer for Hidden Messages is Michelle Harris.

Sandra Cain is the costume designer for this year’s production of DANSCORE. Christian Tucker is responsible for lighting design and production.

All performances begin promptly at 7:30 pm at Hartwell Dance Theater, Kenyon Street, on the SUNY Brockport campus. Tickets for the November 14–16 performances are $12 for general public, $10 for seniors, and $8 for students. Tickets for the Saturday, November 17 gala performance are $35 per person, and includes an invitation to the post-performance Friends of Brockport Dance reception. Tickets are available by phone at (585) 395-ARTS or at the Tower Fine Arts Center Box Office. If available the evening of the performance, tickets will also be available at the Box Office in Hartwell Hall one hour prior to each performance. The Friends hope to see you on the 17th (or if you can't make it then, please see one of the other evenings' performances of DANSCORE).

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.

Come out to the Dance/Hartwell performances October 25-27

SUNY Brockport’s Department of Dance will begin its 2007-2008 season with a DANCE/Hartwell performance, featuring the MFA thesis work Velocity choreographed by graduate teaching assistant Jenny Showalter on Thursday, October 25, 2007 at 7:30 pm and continuing on Friday and Saturday, October 26 and 27 at 7:30 pm in the Hartwell Dance Theater. There will be a post-concert reception on October 26.

Velocity is the product of Ms. Showalter’s research on the effect of physical training on a dancer’s capacity to fulfill choreography. In preparation for the demands of the piece, each dancer participated in a physical training program. Through solo work and group interaction, the athletic capabilities of the thirteen dancers are highlighted, and a sense of risk, trust, and community is revealed as the fluctuating velocity of the dance unfolds. The music for the piece will be performed live by New York City composer Daniel Felsenfeld.

Other works performed in this concert are new modern dance pieces created by MFA students and undergraduate choreographer, who began the process of creating these works in their composition classes during the spring semester. The pieces were selected by an adjudication committee made up of student members and faculty coordinators, Anne Burnidge and Maura Keefe, selecting works with original ideas, inventive movement vocabulary, and diverse approaches to modern dance.

Tickets for Dance/Hartwell are $12 for general public, $10 for seniors, and $8 for students. All performances are in the Hartwell Dance Theater on Kenyon Street on the SUNY Brockport campus. They are available by phone at (585) 395-ARTS or at the Tower Fine Arts Center Box Office, 180 Holley Street, Brockport. Tickets may also be available at the Box Office in Hartwell Hall one hour prior to each performance.

Save the dates for these great dance performances at Brockport!

October and November will be exciting months in the Brockport Department of Dance with several major performances.  We hope you'll get in your calendars now and come out to support Brockport Dance and the dancers:

• DANCE/Hartwell will be performed Thursday-Saturday, October 25-27, with breathtaking and inspirational works by faculty or graduate student choreographers and performed by students in the Dance Program. Features MFA thesis work by Jenny Showalter.  The performances will be at 7:30 pm in the Hartwell Dance Theater. Tickets are $12 (General), $10 (Seniors), and $8 (Students). There will be a post-concert reception on October 26.
• New Dancers’ Showcase will be performed Thursday-Saturday, November 1-3. The performances will begin 7:30 pm in the Rose L. Strasser Studio. Donations will be accepted at the door. There will be a post concert reception on November 2.
• DANSCORE will be performed Wednesday-Friday, November 14-16, the perfect opportunity to see pieces created by faculty and guest artists, who Rochester’s City Newspaper says can "boast some of the top names” in dance. Performances will begin at 7:30 pm in the Hartwell Dance Theater Tickets are $12 (General), $10 (Seniors), and $8 (Students). There will be a post-concert reception on November 16.
• Special performance of DANSCORE on Saturday, November 17 will raise funds for scholarships for incoming freshmen. Please watch for a mailing from the Friends of Brockport Dance regarding this exciting event! There will be a post-concert reception at this special event on November 17th.
• DANCE/Strasser will be performed Thursday-Saturday, November 29-December 1, helping student choreographers see their visions realized. With the talkback sessions following each concert, the audience plays its own part in helping the dancers and choreographers refine these stunning pieces. The performances will begin at 7:30 pm in the Rose L. Strasser Studio. Tickets are $12 (General), $10 (Seniors), $8 (Students). The talkbacks follow each performance. There will be a post-concert reception on November 30.

Put these in your calendar NOW and come out to support the dancers and even meet some of the Friends!  We will post more information on each of these performances closer to the dates.

Student Dance Organization presenting David Dorfman Dance

The David Dorfman Dance group is being presented Tuesday-Thursday, September 18-20, 2007 in the Hartwell Dance Theater by the Student Dance Organization. Since its founding in 1985, David Dorfman Dance has performed extensively in New York City and throughout this hemisphere and in Great Britain and Europe. The company’s dancers and artistic collaborators have been honored with eight New York Dance and Performance ("Bessie") Awards. Dorfman, a native Chicagoan, is the recipient of a 2005 Guggenheim Foundation fellowship and has also been honored with four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, three New York Foundation for the Arts fellowships, an American Choreographer's Award, the first Paul Taylor Fellowship from The Yard, and a "Bessie" for the group's community-based project Familiar Movements (The Family Project). Performances are at 7:30 pm in the Hartwell Dance Theater. Tickets are $20 General/$8 Students and available at Brockport Student Government Box Office Box Office, (585)395-2487.

See what's coming: Preview of the Brockport Dance 2007-2008 Season

Sorry about the summer silence on this site, but the dancers are lacing up the shoes for another season of dance brought to you at State University of New York College at Brockport (ok, these dancers have no shoes...but you know what I mean...)  After its organizational meeting at the end of July (more on that in another post), the Friends of Brockport Dance are looking forward to this season as we begin raising funds to support this outstanding dance program.

Join the faculty and students of the SUNY Brockport Department of Dance, and the Friends, for a preview of the 2007-2008 Season on Sunday, September 16th, from 2:30–4 p.m. in the Rose L. Strasser Studio at Hartwell Hall, SUNY College at Brockport, Kenyon Street, Brockport, NY. The performances will include:

• An excerpt from Craps, a jazz-inspired, high-spirited contemporary dance, choreographed by Bill Evans, visiting professor/guest artist in the Department of Dance, to music by jazz greats Joe LaBarbera and Mark Johnson, performed live by two MFA students and three BFA students
• An excerpt from Life Shrinks, an exploration of how athletic movement is integrated into modern dance, choreographed by third-year MFA candidate in dance and departmental graduate teaching assistant Jenny Showalter to music by Danny Felsenfeld, and performed by 14 undergraduate and graduate dance majors.
• African Drumming Rhythms, by Khalid Abdul N’Faly Saleem (African music specialist and music director/co-artistic director of SUNY Brockport’s Sankofa African Dance and Drum Ensemble). This will be an entertaining opportunity to experience the universal language that is dance.
• Intimate previews of new works by co-hosts Anne Burnidge (assistant professor of dance, artistic director for DANCE/Hartwell 2007, dancer, choreographer, certified Laban/Bartenieff movement analyst and teacher of ballet and modern technique, repertory, dance kinesiology and conditioning for dancers) and Suzanne Oliver (assistant director of DANSCORE 2007, assistant professor of dance, dancer, choreographer, certified teacher of the Alexander technique, teacher of ballet and modern technique and repertory).

There will be a reception following the performances. Come out and see the wonderful dance and find out meet other Friends of Brockport Dance. 

There's a whole lotta dancing going on this Saturday! Come join us. . . .

Just a reminder that this Saturday, August 11th, at 7:30 pm, internationally-renowned dancer and choreographer Bill Evans, who is currently serving as a Visiting Professor/Guest Artist in the SUNY Brockport Department of Dance, will be present a wonderful concert of contemporary dance performed by distinguished and mature performing artists from around the country. Tickets to the performance will be available only at the door and are: Patrons $20, Adults $10, College Students $8, and Children $5. Please enter the southwest door of Hartwell Hall, off the circle driveway connected to Kenyon Street, just south of Monroe.  Check out a few posts down from this post for more details, or click here.  Please remember that this is also the weekend of the Brockport Summer Arts Festival, which should be over by the time this starts.  Perhaps you might drop by and check it out as well.

Come check out Bill Evans and Friends: An Evening of Contemporary Dance on August 11th!

On Saturday, August 11th, internationally-renowned dancer and choreographer Bill Evans, who is currently serving as a Visiting Professor/Guest Artist in the SUNY Brockport Department of Dance, will present a concert of contemporary dance performed by distinguished and mature performing artists from around the country.  Highlights of the concert will include:

• A new version of Three Gershwin Preludes, a fusion of rhythm tap and contemporary dance choreographed and performed by Bill Evans. This work received its premier performances on July 13 and 14 at the New Mexico Tap Dance Festival in Albuquerque, where it was received an extended ovation. This poignant and lyrical work captures the moods and rhythms of Gershwin’s famous preludes in Evans’ unique style.  Mr. Evans’ ground-breaking tap/modern work is the subject of a major article in the most recent issue of On Tap, the journal of the International Tap Association. Evans was named one of three favorite tap artists in the most recent Dance Magazine Readers Poll (along with Savion Glover and Brenda Bufalino). 
• A revival of What’s Your Story, Morning Glory?, a fusion of modern dance and 1930s vernacular jazz, choreographed by Bill Evans to music by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra and performed by Don Halquist, principle dancer of the Bill Evans Dance Company (based in Seattle and then Albuquerque) for 20 years. Mr. Halquist brings subtle humor and pathos and his signature lyricism to this multi-layered work.
• The premier performance of Too Busy to Notice, choreographed by Debra Knapp and performed by Knapp and Jessica Garcia. Debra Knapp is Director of Dance at New Mexico State University and has also been on the dance faculties of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana University in Bloomington, the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and the Palucca School Academy of Performing Arts in Dresden Germany. She has danced professionally with the Bill Evans Dance Company in Albuquerque and the Semperoper Ballet Company in Dresden Germany. She will be teaching in the Evans/Brockport Teachers Workshop, August 5 – 12. Jessica Garcia is a dance graduate of New Mexico State University and a free-lance artist/teacher in Denver, Colorado.
• The northeast premiere of In a Sacred Manner We Dance, choreographed by Seattle choreographer, and founding member of the Bill Evans Dance Company, Shirley Jenkins. This new work was inspired by a Navajo song and a deep desire to heal. It will be performed by Deborah Birrane, Seattle-based dancer/choreographer, who is a participant in the Evans Modern Dance Technique Certification Program that will hold a training session and SUNY Brockport from August 12 through 17.
• The world premiere of Prime Movers: A Fractured Visual History of Modern Dance, choreographed by performed by Kerry Kreiman to music by the Bee Gees. Kreiman is the Executive/Artistic director of Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth, a company which she co-founded in 1990.  She has choreographed over sixty works for professional and civic dance companies, universities, theater productions, outdoor festivals, site-specific projects, and more. She taught on the faculty of the Texas Christian University Department of Ballet and Modern Dance for eight years and holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a certified teacher of Evans Modern Dance Technique and will be teaching in the 2007 Evans Technique Certification Program.
• Dance faculty artists from Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Donna Davenport, Michelle Ikle, Cadence Whittier and Cynthia Williams.  Mr. Evans extended invitations to these artists after serving as an external evaluator for—and being extremely impressed by—the annual HWS dance faculty concert in April.  He is delighted that Brockport/greater Rochester audiences will be able to experience the work of these exciting artists.  Davenport and Ikle will perform the strikingly visual Inside the Box;  Whittier will perform her whimsical solo, Off, and Williams will perform a new work which she has based on movement phrases created for her by several dancer friends.
• Heather Roffe, adjunct lecturer in dance at SUNY Brockport and HWS Colleges, will perform the stunning solo she created and performed this past spring for Signatures in Motion, a concert choreographed by SUNY Brockport MFA candidates.
• James J. Kaufmann, Rochester-based pianist and musician for the Brockport Department of Dance and the Evans Summer Dance Intensives, will join the eleven dancers for the closing work, Right Here/Right Now.

Tickets to all performances will be available only at the door, half an hour before performance. Prices are: Patrons $20, Adults $10, College Students $8, and Children $5. Please enter the southwest door of Hartwell Hall, off the circle driveway connected to Kenyon Street, just south of Monroe. For more information, please email Mr. Evans.

But Wait . . . There's More . . . Dance on July 1st

SUNY Brockport has announced some additional performances have been added to the performance by Jolene Bailie of her piece private i on July 1st. In addition, there will be:

• "Walking thru myself" (2004) with choreography by Joe Laughlin. Performance by Jolene Bailie and music by Sheila Chandra and the Ganges Orchestra.
• Classic tap suite choreography: Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Dorothy Wasserman, Charles "Honi" Coles, Cholly Atkins, Buster Brown. Performance by Bill Evans and Adrienne Wilson, with music by Duke, LaTouche, Fdsetter/Raskin, and Mercer.

The performances will be at the Strasser Studio in Hartwell Hall at SUNY Brockport.  Tickets are $10 ($20 patrons, $8 students, and $5 children) and are available (cash or check only) at the door before the performance.

Go "eye" the private i . . . Jolene Bailie Dancing at Strasser Studio

A reminder that Canadian dancer Jolene Bailie will be appearing on July 1, 2007, at 7:30 p.m. in a light-hearted, full-evening-length performance of private i.  As a reviewer wrote of private i:

The young woman wearing earphones is lost in a private groove to a song on her white iPod. She looks like a shallow ditz, bopping and posing to an inaudible soundtrack. Her glittery high heels are a fashion crime. Like who does she think she is, Paris Hilton? In life, you never get to find out what's between the ears of such a cardboard passerby. She remains flat and illusory, like the tricky, hologram like figure who appears at the start of the show. When Winnipeg dance soloist Jolene Bailie, 29, approached Calgary choreographer Denise Clarke, 50, to create a work especially for her, the result was private i, a piece that spills out the melodramatic passions and heartaches of such as iPod princess, an impressionable things who hasn't ye discovered cynicism - or good taste . . . . Bailie who has never spoken before on stage, gains a whole new dimension as  a performer in private i. Her naive but striving-for-wisdom character speaks in an airhead voice into a microphone at a lectern. She introduces the most adored songs on her playlist - occasionally kissing the iPod - and throws herself into sincere, borderline goofy dance numbers woven out of delightful ballet, jazz and showbiz cliches. . . .Bailie is a virtuoso who holds nothing back, in her muscles or in her heart. . . . Alison Mayes, Winnipeg Press, May 6, 2007.

The performance of private i will be at the Strasser Studio in Hartwell Hall at SUNY Brockport.  Tickets are $10 ($20 patrons, $8 students, and $5 children) and are available (cash or check only) at the door before the performance. 

Moving Art: Dance, Live Music and Photographic Art Coming July 6th

Bill Evans, Visiting Professor/Guest Artist in the SUNY College at Brockport Department of Dance,  announces Moving Art, a concert of contemporary dance and live music in the beautiful Strasser Studio, Hartwell Hall on the campus of SUNY Brockport. The performance will be on Friday, July 6, at 8:30 p.m.
Moving Art will also include an exhibit of the photographic images of Cynthia Cable, photographer and visual artist, which may be visited before and after the concert.  One of her images is reproduced here in this post.

  A string ensemble of six professional musicians from the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Cornell University will play for the featured work of the evening, Brahmsiana. This lyrical modern dance work to music by Brahms intertwines the artistry of four individuals in dynamic solos, duos, trios and quartets. The choreography was created and will be performed jointly by members of the Elizabeth Clark Dance Ensemble (Clark and Christina Taylor) from Rochester, and the Bill Evans Dance Company (Evans and Don Halquist) formerly from Seattle and Albuquerque. They have collaborated on every level in the creation of this piece, which blends the very different Clark and Evans styles. The first portion of this work was previewed last summer. This will be the premiere performance of the completed work, which is more than 20 minutes in length. New costumes have been designed and executed by Sandra Cain. The musicians are:

• Juliana A