Displaying items by tag: College of Fine Arts

Congratulations to the graduating class of 2020! 

Your journey to this moment was herculean even before the pandemic, and that you made it to the finish line in spite of this life-changing reality makes you our heroes.
So, don your capes, turn up your volume, and enjoy this special graduation address from Dean John W. Scheib.  

Below it, you’ll find even more to celebrate, including a list of our students who are graduating with honors degrees, acknowledgement of our retiring and emeritus faculty members, and announcement of our esteemed Faculty and Staff Excellence Award recipients and a University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award.

To each and every one of you: thank you for all you bring to the University of Utah College of Fine Arts. And congratulations to our graduates!

Honors degrees 

The Honors College is celebrating another record-breaking academic year in terms of number of students graduating with an Honors Bachelor degree. Below are the College of Fine Arts students receiving honors degrees who contributed to the overall success:

Abigail Bowe
Department of Film & Media Arts
Tehua Clark
Department of Film & Media Arts
Morgan Cox
Department of Film & Media Arts, Entertainment Arts & Engineering 
Tony Elison
School of Music
Roxanne Fitzwilliam
Department of Film & Media Arts 
Erin Jackson
Department of Art & Art History
Sydney Porter Williams
Department of Art & Art History
Severin Sargent-Catterton
School of Dance
Michal Tvrdik
School of Music
Bryce Wallace
Department of Film & Media Arts, Entertainment Arts & Engineering 

Retiring and Emeritus Faculty

Ellen Bromberg
School of Dance

Distinguished Professor Ellen Bromberg is a choreographer, filmmaker, mediadesigner, curator and educator. A former dancer and choreographer with Utah’s Repertory Dance Theater, she has received numerous awards for her work including a Guggenheim Fellowship, three Bay Area Isadora Duncan Dance Awards, a Bonnie Bird American Choreographer Award, grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arizona Commission on the Arts, and the George Soros Foundation, among others. She has also been honored with a Pew National Dance/Media Fellowship, a UC Berkeley Townsend Humanities Fellowship, and two UC Davis Granada Artist-in-Residence Awards. Ellen’s screen works havebeen presented on public television stations, online channels, and at numerous national and international dance film festivals including Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera Festival,Cinedans Amsterdam, VideoDanza, Buenos Aires, and Dance Camera West, Los Angeles, to name a few. Recent work focuses on the integration of media in performance and she has designed video for stage and installations in her own work and in collaboration with other choreographers including Della Davidson, Zvi Gotheiner, Pat Graney, Deborah Hay, Stephen Koester, Victoria Marks, Douglas Rosenberg, Doug Varone among others. Ellen is a recipient of a 2012 Distinguished Innovation and Impact Award and is the founding director of the Universityof Utah International Screendance Festival, which began in 1999. Ellen has also designed the first Graduate Certificate in Screendance, in collaboration with the Department of Film & Media Arts, which is now in its seventh year.

Kathy Pope
School of Music 

Professor Kathy Pope has been active musically in the Salt Lake area for many years as a teacher, clinician, adjudicator, and performer. Professor Pope was the Principal Clarinetist for Ballet West and also performed frequently with the Utah Symphony. She has played with the Opus Chamber Orchestra, Utah Chamber Artists, and has been a soloist with the Salt Lake Symphony. She is the National Clarinet Repertoire Consultant for the Music Teachers National Association. Her compact disc recordings, "From Bach to Gershwin," "Clarinet Kaleidoscope," and "A French Soirée" have all received critical acclaim. The American Record Guide cited her most recent CD, "A French Soirée," as “absolute perfection” and The Clarinet said, “this recording is very worthy of anyclarinetist’s library.” Ms. Pope has been very active in the International Clarinet Association including soloing at theconventions in Stockholm, Salt Lake City and Washington D.C. She was the conference coordinator for the 2003 Clarinet Association convention at the University of Utah. She has served as coordinator for the Orchestral Audition and High School Competitions, and is the Utah State Chair. Ms. Pope is an artist-clinician for both Buffet Crampon USA and Rico International.

Steve Roens
School of Music 

Dr. Steve Roens holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from Swarthmore College, a Master of Fine Arts degree in music theory and composition from Brandeis University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from Columbia University. He studied composition with Seymour Shifrin, Martin Boykan, Arthur Berger, Chou Wen-Chung, Jack Beeson, and Mario Davidovsky. He is the recipient of fellowships from the MacDowell Colony and the Composers' Conference, and a former visiting assistant professor at Wellesley College. Roens's writing is freely atonal, rhythmically fluid, and spare. It has been called by one critic, neo-Webernian. Primarily for chamber groups of varying sizes and soloists, pieces have been commissioned by the Stony Brook Contemporary Chamber Players, the Nova Chamber Music Series, the Intermezzo Chamber Music Series, and pianists Jason Hardink, and Rebecca La Brecque. His music is published by the Association for the Promotion of New Music and is available on the Centaur label. As a teacher of composition, while his background and practice are informed by the literature of atonal music, Roens’s approach to teaching helps students find their own voices and originality in whatever direction their stylistic predilections evolve. In addition to teaching music theory andcomposition, during his 30 year career at the University of Utah Dr. Roens took on a variety of administrative positions, serving at different times as Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts, as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Studies, as Director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program, and as Head of the School of Music Composition Area. Roens enjoyed dividing his time between teaching and his administrative duties and believes that these differenta ctivities can support each other in a variety of ways.He is also an avid photographer, amateur astronomer, and hiker.

CFA Faculty Excellence Awards 2020

Faculty Excellence in Research 

Jane Hatter
School of Music 

"Since her research transcends the field of Music and crosses over into Art and Culture, Dr. Hatter has an excellent record of engagement with scholars in the field of musicology as well as scholars in other research areas of Medieval and Renaissance Studies. In 2019 she presented her work at the Medieval-Renaissance Music Conference in Switzerland, the 25th Annual Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies and Medieval Association of the Pacific Joint Conference, and at an International Symposium at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.  In past years she also presented at conferences that are more broadly aimed at medieval and renaissance scholars, such as the conference of the Renaissance Society of America (in 2017 and 2018), and at the Medieval Association of the Pacific 50th Annual Conference (2016). She also has presented her work at important musicology conferences, such as the North American British Musical Studies Association (2018), and the Annual Meeting of the American Musicological Society (2018), which is the most prestigious U.S. annual meeting for musicologists."
- Faculty nominator 

Faculty Excellence in Teaching 

Carol Sogard 
Department of Art & Art History 

"Professor Sogard offers students a space to explore design in ways that they’ve yet been able to imagine, and helps them find the independence they need to become confident designers...Carol makes a point to teach her students that their work has an impact on the world around them. Her approach in the classroom is focused on connection and community building, and she makes a point to educate her students about important issues in or society, while also giving us the tools that allow us to use our design practice to create discussion and positive change. Her passion for sustainable design has been inspiring, and her efforts have helped my classmates and myself educate not only ourselves, but those around us."
- Graphic Design student nominator 

Staff Excellence Award 

Penny Caywood
Artistic Director, University of Utah Youth Theatre 
Department of Theatre 

"Penny Caywood's years of service to the College of Fine Arts via her leadership of Youth Theatre at the U has inspired thousands of young people and families via the unique and robust educational programming and performance opportunities she directs year-round. Mrs. Caywood’s positive energy, genuine approach to teaching and directing K-16 as well as her ability to adapt theatre teaching core content to meet the needs of diverse learners and students is truly remarkable. Her ability to sustain and create new community engaged partnerships across the college, campus, and state is impressive. She is an amazing asset to the college for providing high quality arts experiences for young people, which in turn creates a direct recruiting pipeline for the college and university as a whole."
- Nominator 

University of Utah Distinguished Teaching Award 

Beth Krensky 
Department of Art & Art History 

"Dr. Krensky has shown deep, enduring commitment to the development and implementation of cutting edge arts education curricula that pushes our arts teaching students to think inclusively and globally in an effort to forward the field of arts education. Presently, the community-based arts education research she is conducting is providing opportunities for select undergraduate and graduate students to experience the simultaneous ability to empower communities through art-making collaboration and partnership. These student researchers, through Dr. Krensky’s mentorship, are making important contributions to the field as they investigate global issues via art education, art-making, and community engagement. Dr. Krensky’s classes empower our arts teaching students to work authentically alongside young people and to utilize the community’s experiences as the inspiration for the creative work."
- Nominator 

Make sure you check out all our other Convocation 2020 virtual content:
 
Videos from our student convocation speakers, Jae Weit and Sydney May here
 CFA's Outstanding Seniors and Outstanding Undergraduate Researcher
 Don't miss out on an opportunity to share your memories, photos, and thank you's at our online message board!
We'll be cheering for you. Stay connected at @uofucfaalumni! 
 

We are about to graduate a class of brilliant, creative and remarkably resilient students during a global pandemic. This is a first. And it’s not without sincere disappointment and loss. While this moment presents unique challenges, as artists, we are no strangers to creative thinking, and the leadership of the College of Fine Arts is undeterred in our drive to celebrate the momentous achievements of the graduating class of 2020!   

What will make these celebration powerful is if you participate — as students, faculty, family and friends.
We will be rolling out a full week of celebrations starting on 4/27 on our blog, our social media, and via email.  

To our graduating class, if you haven’t already, please send us a photo or video of your favorite moment, people, or place at the U.
Upload your memory to this UBox or send to this email address by Monday, 4/20 to be included in the virtual celebrations.
Click 'Join Folder' on the top menu bar to access the 'Upload' feature.
Please include a brief description of your memory when you upload your file. Descriptions can be added under “File Properties” section on the righthand side of the window once your file is uploaded.

You have been making us proud for years now, and we can’t wait to see how you continue to shine.

You are cordially (nay, enthusiastically!) invited to join us to celebrate the College of Fine Arts at the CFA Gala.

On September 25th, Kingsbury Hall will fill to the brim as current students, faculty and staff, alumni, generous donors, and valued members of our community join together to celebrate a vibrant history and a promising future.

The new CFA Gala combines the former Distinguished Alumni Awards and Scholarship Event in one exuberant evening, celebrating generations of success under one roof -- complete with exciting performances and highlights of the creative work and research of our talented students and faculty.

Here’s all you need to know:
Doors open at 6:30 pm
Gala show starts at 7 pm
Dessert reception to follow

“Kayak”
Performed by School of Music Jazz Ensemble students 

Art & Art History presentation
Professor V. Kim Martinez 

DRACULA, THE MUSICAL (excerpts)
'How Do You Choose'
'Fresh Blood'
Performed by Musical Theatre Program students 

“Le Jardin Anime”
Performed by Ballet students

Film & Media Arts student film "Tea Time”
by Taylor Mott and Lorena Mendoza 

Dessert reception to follow -- (that’s right, FREE dessert.) 
Classy comfortable attire (wings optional)

Please let us know by September 18, 2019 if you’ll be in attendance: .

And since you are curious, a bit about our fantastic 2019 Distinguished Alumni:
 
TAUNA HUNTER, Legacy Award

Tauna Hunter is a retired Professor and Chair of Dance at Mercyhurst University (1994-2019). She began her dance training with Willam F. Christensen and continued at the University of Utah where she earned her BFA and MFA degrees in ballet performance and choreography.

During her affiliation with Ballet West, she worked under the guidance of Bruce Marks and Toni Lander and received critical acclaim as one of the company’s leading ballerinas. She toured internationally and danced as a guest artist with numerous regional companies throughout the United States.

In 1985, she co-founded DANSOURCE, a national networking and information service that connected dancers and companies for over ten years. As its’ Managing Director, she was highlighted in “Megatrends 2000” and featured in “Success” Magazine as a trendsetter in the future of the arts.

Ms. Hunter has appeared in all the major roles of the classical repertoire and has taught for companies, universities and private schools throughout the United States and in China. She has staged numerous full-length classical ballets and choreographed over twenty-five contemporary works. For 10 years she acted as Guest Artist in Residence for the Interlochen Arts Academy summer dance program. She has been honored with the Chautauqua Artist Teacher Award, Erie Arts and Culture Life Time Achievement Award, and was highlighted in the July 2017 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine. She served on the University of Utah Artistic Advisory Council and currently serves on the Advisory Boards of Ballet Concerto (TX) and Dance Now Miami! (FL). She acted as artistic advisor to Lake Erie Ballet for eighteen years as well as serving as President and Chairman of the board for the Erie Dance Consortium (Erie, PA) from 2000-2010. She is an active member of DanceUSA, the CORPS de Ballet International and serves on the boards of Erie Arts and Culture and the National Association of Schools of Dance.

Ms. Hunter has been married to Michael S. Gleason for 32 years and they have a 25-year-old daughter, Caitlin. She enjoys traveling with her family, gardening and spending the cold months in their pied à terre in Florida. As a breast cancer survivor, she actively supports breast cancer awareness.

CLAYBOURNE ELDER, Horizon Award

Claybourne Elder is a Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel nominee. Originally from Springville, Utah, he earned his Bachelor's degree in dramaturgy and directing from the University of Utah. He starred on Broadway in “Bonnie and Clyde,” “Sunday in the Park with George” (with Jake Gyllenhaal) “Torch Song” and “Sondheim on Sondheim” at the Hollywood Bowl. He can be heard on the cast recordings of “Bonnie & Clyde,” “Road Show,” “Venice” and “Sunday in the Park with George.”

Off-Broadway, Elder appeared in the original companies of Stephen Sondheim's “Road Show,” Tennessee Williams' “One Arm” (Drama Desk Nomination Best Actor), and in the revivals of “Allegro” (Lucille Lortel Nomination Best Actor), “Two by Two” (with Jason Alexander), and “Do I Hear a Waltz?” He has premiered works by Stephen Sondheim, Frank Wildhorn, Bill Finn, Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens.

His regional credits include George in the Helen Hayes award winning Signature Theatre revival of “Sunday in the Park with George” (Arlington, VA), Wolf/Prince in Moises Kaufman’s “Into the Woods,” “Angels in America” (KC Rep, dir. David Cromer), “Oklahoma” (Curly), “West Side Story” (Tony), “Cinderella” (Prince), “Passion” (Giorgio), and “Pippin” (Pippin).

Elder was a series regular, Pete O'Malley, on the WB's “The Carrie Diaries.” Film credits include “Flatbush Luck,” and “It Could Be Worse.” He made his cabaret debut at 54 Below in NYC and his solo show “You and Me and Sondheim” has played to sold out houses around the country and in London.

He lives in New York with his husband Eric Rosen who is a playwright and director. They have one son, Bo, who is two years old.

JONATHAN HALE, Arts Educator

Jonathan Hale is a visual arts educator and licensed art therapist with specialization in special education. Hale earned his BFA in painting and drawing at the University of Utah and his MFA in drawing from Colorado State University. Following a growing interest in arts-integrated learning, Hale went on to earn a Masters of Education with a concentration in Art Therapy & Art Education Certification from Wayne State University.

During his pursuit of his Masters of Education, Hale taught at Woodmont Academy, a public charter school in Detroit, Hale incorporated coursework that sampled 2-D and 3-D techniques facilitating self expression in elementary and middle school students.

Returning to Utah in 2012, he developed a therapy and art education hybrid classroom at Provo Canyon School where the art education curriculum and state standards served as a framework for teaching self-awareness and processing personal experiences.

Since 2015, Hale has taught in the Canyons School District through the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program using arts-integrated coursework to teach core concepts for students K - 5th grade, behavioral special education units, students with multiple and severe disabilities of elementary, middle school, high school, and students of transition age.

Additionally, Hale developed and facilitated “Art Integration, Art Inclusion” research which allowed students with severe disabilities from Jordan Valley School to participate in mainstream art integration classes with peer partners at Sprucewood Elementary.

He is the recipient of the Sorenson Legacy Award for Excellence in Arts Education, and the Sorenson Award for Excellence in Art Education for the Canyons School District. In 2018, Hale became an Adjunct Instructor of drawing back at the College of Fine Arts at the U.
 
2019 Scholarship recipients
Michael Judson (Film & Media Arts)
Nadia Sine (Theatre)
Ryan Stroble (Dance)

We look forward to celebrating these exceptional members of our community along with our scholarship recipients, connecting with new and old friends, sharing our gratitude and reveling in that thing we all share: love of the arts.

As you know, we had some unexpected scheduling difficulties getting our third candidate here to campus, but we're pleased to announce that we've successfully arranged his return. Thank you all for your patience and participation. We’d love to have you join us for his public presentation:

Shawn Brixey
Dean, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
York University
Monday, May 8  |  2:30 - 3:45 pm
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
Dumke Auditorium

By Emerging Leaders Ambassador and Guest Writer, Rachel Luebbert

The notes of the saxophone flood the air, quivering like a butterfly’s wings. Then, the piano paints the space in a melodic portrait. The percussion pulses the room with rhythmic vibrations. The music is soft and tender, but at the same time driving and powerful. It demands all of your attention, all of your presence. Suddenly, the trumpet calls out, dancing with new, spontaneous notes and the other instruments follow this line of improvisation as they embark on a new journey. This is jazz music.

On Thursday 2/16 at 7:30PM this jazz music will flood the walls of Libby Gardner Hall during the Jazz Spotlight Concert. Denson Angulo will conduct three different groups; the Jazz Ensemble, a large band of 17 musicians, the Red Hot Jazz Quintet, and the Jazz Repertory with 10 musicians. Each of these students auditioned to be a part of these bands at the beginning of the school year.

John Kim, a fourth year student studying Jazz Bass Performance will be performing with the Jazz Repertory Band on Thursday. Kim explained that this is his first year performing with a larger group, “A big band is a very different experience and my role as a bass player is to be rock solid in time and feel.” The Repertory Band will be performing arrangements created by Kris Johnson, which are standard selections with an added twist of metric modulation and his own flair. The show will also feature exciting sections of improvisation. The Repertory Band, for instance, will transition between order and spontaneity where the improvised sections will be predetermined in length and instrument, yet there will still be a freeness and a sense of play as the musicians create new strands of notes in the moment.

Jazz music runs deep through the veins of the United States. Christopher Kaukali a senior studying Jazz Guitar Performance describes jazz as “the Great American art form”. This music was not adopted from another country but was born on our very soil. John Kim explains a common misconception, “Often people group jazz and classical music into one lump of ‘historical music’. However, jazz music is the music of our past as Americans. It is a never-ending protest. More than ever, it is important to not forget what this music is saying.” So come to the Jazz Spotlight Concert, to play an active role in keeping Jazz alive and continuing the never-ending protest for social justice and individual expression.

Date: 2/16 at 7:30PM
Location: Libby Gardner Hall
Tickets: UofU Students tickers are free with ArtsPass (Ucard), Other Students are $3, General Admission is $9, UofU Faculty, Staff, and Seniors are $3.

This February, the School of Dance at the University of Utah is honored to welcome Gino Grenek of the Stephen Petronio Company for an exciting residency with dancers from both the Modern Dance and Ballet programs. Grenek's work with the company spans over 17 years, and he will work with the dancers to reset Petronio’s seminal work, MiddleSexGorge. This will be the first time the work has ever been performed by a university, and the school is alive with anticipation of this powerful part of the Gala program.

The inclusion of work in the Gala by the groundbreaking company, which celebrated its 30th anniversary just a few years ago, is a wonderful way to celebrate our start as the new School of Dance. It is without question an incredible honor for our students to have the opportunity to perform Petronio’s MiddleSexGorge.

Since founding SPC in 1984, Petronio has created over 35 works for his company and has been commissioned by some of the world’s most prestigious modern and ballet companies, including William Forsythe’s Ballett Frankfurt (1987), Deutsche Oper Berlin (1992), Lyon Opera Ballet (1994), Maggio Danza Florence (1996), Sydney Dance Company (2003, full evening), Norrdans (2006), the Washington Ballet (2007), The Scottish Ballet (2007), and two works for National Dance Company Wales (2010 and 2013).

His career has been greatly influenced by his work with Steve Paxton, as well as his time with the Trisha Brown Dance Company (1979 to 1986), of which he was the first male dancer. He has gone on to build a unique career, receiving numerous accolades, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship, awards from the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts, New York Foundation for the Arts, an American Choreographer Award, a New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award, and most recently a 2015 Doris Duke Performing Artist Award.

Stephen Petronio Company is now working on an unprecedented program, Bloodlines, which will honor a lineage of postmodern dance-masters. Over the course of 5 years SPC will perform choreography from influential artists along with creations by Petronio. Dedicated to the concept of artistic lineage, SPC will be the first contemporary American company to perform these iconic works outside of their original choreographer’s companies.

The School of Dance is thrilled for this unique engagement with the Stephen Petronio Company and looks forward to sharing this exciting program with the Salt Lake community.

Please join us for the School of Dance Gala on 3/23 – 4/1 at the Marriott Center for Dance.

By Emerging Leaders Ambassador and Guest Writer Rachel Luebbert

From February 2nd-17th the Gittins Gallery featured a collaborative exhibition organized by Assistant Professor in Sculpture Intermedia, Wendy Wisher, and Associate Professor in Computer Science, Erik Brunvand. This exhibition brought together six researchers from different departments at the University of Utah surrounding the discussion of the significance of water in the Western US.

The spirit of this exhibition was inspired by a collaboration that occurred 50 years ago. In 1966, Bell Laboratories funded 10 artists, dancers, musicians, and engineers for “9 Evenings: Theatre and Engineer” in New York. This marked the first large-scale collaboration between artists and engineers. Similarly, Liquid Collaboration serves as a collaborative anniversary and highlights an effort to foster new relationships.

The goal of Wendy Wisher and Erik Brunvard was to create an installation that was truly collaborative, unlike other projects that have just hired another partner to do the coding. Wisher explained, “We made a piece that is at first glance an installation that presents visual and audio components about water. But in a deeper way, it’s about how people need to come together and collaborate to solve these large and complex problems.” In their installation, Collective Currents, viewers came together and collaborated within the exhibition. Bronze casts of hands mark each side of the installation and viewers had to physically create a human chain, a sort of circuit. This physical collaboration caused the distant, garbled water sounds to become the babbling of fast flowing water, while the video fragments began to connect together to create a comprehensible video picture. The water depicted transitions from oily blackness to an imperfect cleanness. Wisher described this symbolism, “When we try to restore our water, it will never go back to its initial state and it cannot fully be returned to perfection.” However, through such collaborative work, we can come together to ensure that we have access to clean water.

In the piece Casual Nexus, Artist Tatiana Larsen and Computer Scientist Peter Jensen created a large suspended sculpture, which consists of a large, central, transparent sphere connected to six smaller spheres. The water level constantly changed responding to the number of people in the gallery as well as their distance to the piece. This installation inspired conversations regarding how draining water from one water source can affect other water sources negatively.

The third and final work, Words are Water is a multimedia installation with Tim Grant’s audio and Justin Watson’s visuals. The video is built on purely sonic and visual experiences connected to water— the viewer then constructed their own narrative without any specific voiceover or text. This installation uses drinking water and audio sourced from glaciers to discuss the mutually destructive effect of not preserving water.

Liquid Collaboration raised important environmental questions and challenged viewers to recognize their own role in the matter of Water in the West.

*Liquid Collaboration was funded by URC and the College of Fine Arts

The search for a new Dean of the College of Fine Arts is moving right along, and at the end of this month, we’ll be bringing the top three candidates to campus to share their vision for the College with us.

Join us to meet the candidates! These presentations are open to the public and we encourage attendance from students, faculty and staff.

John Scheib
Director, School of Music
University of Kentucky
Monday, March 27 | 2-3:30 pm
Marriott Center for Dance
Hayes Christensen Theatre

Shawn Brixey
Dean, School of the Arts, Media, Performance & Design
York University
Monday, April 3 | 2-3:30 pm
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
Dumke Auditorium

Ivan Pulinkala
Chair, Department of Dance
Kennesaw State University
Tuesday, April 18 | 9-10:30 am
Utah Museum of Fine Arts
Dumke Auditorium

View the candidates' CVS

This year, the School of Dance has had the inspiring opportunity to welcome Art and Art History MFA Student David Habben, into the dance studios for a unique collaboration. Illustrator and fine artist in the Art Department, Habben’s works created with and inspired by the dancers over the past year, will be on display 3/20 – 3/28 in the Alvin Gittins Gallery, located in the Art & Art History Building.

The project began when Habben was introduced to Professor Brent Schneider in the Modern Dance Program by one of his faculty advisors. Schneider invited Habben to visit the School of Dance’s technique classes to see what would come of it, and with the particular support of Schneider, Visiting Assistant Professor Daniel Clifton, and musicians Wayne Coons and Michael Wall, a rich collaborative process began.

“As an illustrator, my initial reaction is always to draw something, but the movement of the dancers was so powerful, I felt the need to try a different approach. The brush and ink work started as an experiment and evolved into something that both I and the dancers were able to find a connection in.”

Habben describes his work with the dancers as a documentation of movement through illustrative impressionistic drawings. Using ink and a variety of brushes, Habben is “intent on capturing the subtleties of motion that the dancers utilize to form their compositions. The idea centers around seeing ourselves through other people's eyes, communicating more effectively, and also bringing our unique voices to more productive dialogue.”

At his show, observers will have the opportunity to see nearly 50 works created in the dance studios, including one large piece that stands 8ft tall by over 20ft long. This larger work was created by the dancers themselves during the course of a technique class, the dancers responding to their classmates’ movements and to the energy still resonating within them as they stepped off the dance floor to transition to painting. Visitors to the gallery will also hear a recording of the sounds of the dance studio during that particular collaboration, bringing them multi-texturally into the unique experience of that class.

Reflecting back on his experience, Habben shares that he didn’t have any expectations going into the process and believes that “that's one of the reasons it has been so rewarding. To walk into those studios as an outsider and end up becoming so involved with the faculty and students was an amazing opportunity. I've been able to learn so many things, but I particularly felt a renewed sense of the power of personal expression and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable to new experiences. As part of the process, I was actually able to take a class myself and learn firsthand the effort, focus, and endurance that are required of these dancers. Their talent and enthusiasm was truly inspiring.”

“Be Somewhere” by David Habben runs 3/20 -3/28 in the Alvin Gittins Gallery, Art & Art History Bldg. Artist Talk 3/24 at 5PM in Rm 158 with a reception from 6-9PM.

By Emerging Leaders Ambassador and Guest Writer, Rachel Luebbert

Student leadership opportunities in the College of Fine Arts (CFA) are the veins that pump new ideas and collaboration among the different disciplines. The College offers countless leadership positions each year which provide students a way to build vital skills toward their professional careers.

Lien Fan Shen, Associate Professor in Film and Media Arts recommends that students take advantage of the countless opportunities outside of the classroom, “It takes more than simply course work to be an active student.” Shen recommends supplementing your class load with different experiences at the University from leadership roles to fellowships to research opportunities to even volunteer experiences.

The Emerging Leaders Interns who create programing to better your arts education, hosted the Business of Arts Symposium and Annual Networking Luncheon on March 4th with a seminar from the Personal Money Management Center on the importance of early budgeting. This was followed by a lecture from Aaron Garret of Non-Profit Legal Services of Utah who shared important recommendations for artists such as the necessity to involve a written contract in all freelance jobs. Also, a representative from Lassonde spoke about the role of artists are entrepreneurs. These informative seminars were followed by a networking luncheon where students had the opportunity to speak with various arts organizations in the community.

The Ambassadors are also interns within the College and help with freshman orientation, administrative tasks, and guest writing for the Finer Points blog. This is an exciting position to have your perspective shared through writing about the endless events and collaborations occurring in the CFA. The Ambassadors not only interview students, faculty, and guest artists on campus but also have the chance to establish their own creative voice through their blog posts.

Another leadership opportunity in the College is the Emerging Leaders Council (ELC)—an annually established cohort of first year and continuing second year students that are involved in collective leadership and collaboration. On March 8th, seven of the most involved members were invited to the ELC Dinner which provided students the opportunity to network with faculty, professors, and advisors within the College. Amelie Bennett (Ballet major), acknowledged that her involvement in the ELC has allowed her to become a part of a supportive artistic community in just her first months at the university.

The ELC is currently working to create a collaborative film that represents every academic unit in the CFA. Bennett for example is creating the choreography. While, William Liu (EAE Major), is producing the film. Liu explained, “Being involved in the ELC has helped me to understand my leadership skills.” For Liu, the ELC workshops help develop connections and leadership potential. Don’t miss your chance to engage outside of the classroom and involve yourself in the exciting CFA leadership positions.

Apply Today!