Displaying items by tag: School of Dance

by Molly Powers 

Ballet students from America and Korea gathered in Incheon, Korea in August for three weeks of rigorous ballet training and rehearsal in the state-of-the Art University of Utah Asia Campus studios. The International Ballet Summer Intensive, or IBSI, provides a unique opportunity for U of U students to pair high caliber training with travel and cultural exchange. School of Dance Professor Jay Kim created this program with a focus in Russian Vaganova ballet training and gathered a faculty whose careers span the globe in prestigious companies including Kirov/Mariinsky Theatre, Royal Swedish Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, Zurich Ballet, National Ballet of Spain, Universal Ballet, Boston Ballet, and Tulsa Ballet Theatre. IBSI Directors Jay Kim and Oleg Vinogradov were joined by renowned international faculty Sasha Lunev, Dragos Mihalcea, Seh Yun Kim, Victoria Stocki, and Michelle Armstrong.  

The program came to a close on August 16 with a Gala performance that was attended by 1,600 Korean ballet fans. The evening highlighted the skills developed by students over the course of the Intensive, and included roles in variations, excerpts, and character dances from the classical ballets of Don Quixote, Swan Lake, Le Corsaire, and Paquita. Professor and IBSI General Director Jay Kim served as Master of Ceremony of the performance along with Oleg Vinogradov, former 23-year Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg Russia, and three Korean national government representatives who enthusiastically spoke as key note speakers in support of the ballet event. The program also included a special performance by the fabulous breaking fusion dance crew “Heima”, who were Finalists on NBC’s World of Dance season 3.
IBSI students and faculty on their Incheon Global Campus tour
Incoming U of U Freshman Megan Lynch is a double major in ballet and history, and was one of IBSI participants. When she was invited to attend the program she said she could not let the opportunity to study ballet abroad pass her by. “I enjoyed the diverse group of dancers,” she explained. “We had fun cultural exchanges happening every day inside and outside of class.” Days were filled with enriching training, says Lynch. “We started each day with a bit of conditioning before technique class, followed usually by Pointe, Variations or Men’s class, a lunch break, and then Gala rehearsal.” 

IBSI is not all work and no play; outside of the studio, students got the chance to visit Incheon and Seoul and enjoy Korean culture, history, fashion and cuisine. “Almost every night we are able to explore, and each Sunday we went to Seoul. Some of the most memorable places I have been to are Chintatown and the Sinpo International Market."

With the successful completion of the first summer of IBSI, Director Jay Kim is looking forward to the future of the program. “The Incheon, campus, and ballet communities were generous in their excitement and praise of the IBSI program and Gala acclaiming it as comparable to a professional company. It is very rewarding that success came to fruition after this past year of preparation and hard work in creating this program,” said Kim. “The fabulous facility, wonderful leadership, faculty, and training, combined with talented American and Korean students, within a culturally enriching environment, resulted in a very unique and high caliber educational experience. IBSI student feedback was overwhelmingly positive, expressing that it was an unforgettably enriching experience in their lives and ballet careers. We hope to continue to expand the program to many other countries in the future.” 

For more info about IBSI, visit dance.utah.ed/ibsi

This month, the studios of the Marriott Center for Dance will be full of young dancers honing their craft at the Ballet Summer Intensive. Utah Ballet Summer Intensive, or UBSI, is a month-long training program geared toward ballet dancers aged 15 – 23. From 6/17 – 7/12 dancers will have a chance to learn from master teachers and will gain insight into what life is like as a ballet major at the University of Utah.

This year, UBSI welcomes an incredibly diverse and experienced group of guest teachers, including directors of companies and dance professors from esteemed dance programs across the country.

 “We want to expose students who take the program not only to potential work opportunities and the real-world level of training they will be required to have in this business, but also to some of the best teachers out there,” said UBSI Director Maggie Wright Tesch.

UBSI’s guest artist list includes:  
Susan Jaffe Former Principal with ABT, Dean of Dance, UNCSA
Lauren Anderson Former Principal with Houston Ballet
Kevin Thomas Artistic Director, the Collage Dance Collective
Katherin Baum-Hofer State Ballet School Berlin
Tamara King Principal of the Boston Ballet School, Newton Campus
Elizabeth Johnson Assistant Professor, University of Florida
Nick Mullikin Associate Artistic Director of Nashville Ballet
Anthony Krutzkamp Executive Director, Sacramento Ballet
Sara Webb Former Principal with Houston Ballet
Natalie Desch Dancer, teacher, choreographer

Along with University of Utah Faculty:
Maggie Wright Tesch Associate Professor Lecturer
Rob Wood Professor Lecturer
Justine Sheedy-Kramer Adjunct Assistant Professor
Luc Vanier Director, The School of Dance
Rosie Banchero Adjunct Assistant Professor
Christine Moore Adjunct Instructor
Pablo Piantino Assistant Professor
Jennie Creer King Adjunct Professor

The four-week intensive is designed to give students a taste of the curriculum offered by a University level Ballet Program, and to show what makes the U’s program unique. It is a great way to see if the U’s program is the right fit for training after high school.“The biggest difference between our summer program and others is the amount of time spent in the area of creative research, which in our field is considered choreography” explains Tesch. “We bring in instructors who are experienced teachers of choreography and they spend time teaching the craft. The students aren't just choreographed on, as in most summer intensives, which has its value, and we do that as well, but we teach them the craft. That element of our profession is grossly overlooked in student's training below the university level.”

The summer intensive is meant to be rigorous, and to push dancers to learn and grow. Tesch explains that participants should come ready to dance, be prepared to be faced with a lot of new information and experiences in a short period of time. “Dancing in a university setting is just as challenging as any other pre-professional training program, but here, they will be working towards a degree. I hope they leave with a taste of how challenging our program is and how much they will learn and experience here, from classical work to contemporary, technique in both ballet as well as modern, African and jazz. We try to show what creating movement is. Not something to be afraid of, but another form of expression they should perhaps explore. Most young students are only ever told how to dance, or what steps to do and how.... We want them leaving with a small taste of how to find their own voice in dance through choreographic exploration and critical thinking skills.”

Over 75 University of Utah dance students are set to perform in the annual School of Dance Gala opening 4/11. The Gala is a chance for the entire school to come together on stage at the Marriott Center for Dance, and this year includes more guest artists than usual including a collaboration with SALT Contemporary Dance, a local professional dance company gaining recognition. Audiences will be able to see two distinct programs from April 11-20, 2019. The School of Dance program features choreographers Anouk Van Dijk, Penny Saunders, Stephen Koester, Rick McCullough, and Christopher Alloways-Ramsey. A second program also features Anouk Van Dijk, Penny Saunders, in addition to SALT Contemporary Dance resident artists. In this collaboration with SALT, students in the School of Dance have the unique opportunity to work alongside professionals in the field.

Headlining the concert, international choreographer Anouk Van Dijk works with a cast crossing over from both the modern and ballet programs. After years of working with renowned professional dance companies all over the globe, this is the first time Van Dijk is working with a University to create a new dance on a group of students. The School of Dance is pleased and honored to welcome Van Dijk as she works intensively with 24 students on a punchy new work.  

Stephen Koester, a pillar of the modern dance department for 20 years, premieres his final  dance piece as a Professor at the University of Utah. His retirement marks a significant shift in the School of Dance and his newest work, Mass and Celebration, honors his time in dance and as a faculty member at the U. In addition to teaching improvisation, composition, technique, and graduate seminars, Koester has choreographed extensively both nationally and internationally. Mass and Celebration will be performed by an intimate group of six students, and there are rumors that Koester himself will make a cameo appearance.  

Guest Artist Penny Saunders brings in a fresh collaboration with SALT Contemporary Dance. Forget Me Not examines parenthood and time with ballet and modern dancers from the School of Dance and SALT company members performing together. For three of the Gala performances, SALT presents additional resident company choreographers including Joni McDonald, Garrett Smith, Nick Palmquist, Christian Denis, and Peter Chu.

Visiting Professor Rick McCullough brings classical ballet technique with a contemporary aesthetic. McCullough, whose career included dancing with Harkness Ballet and Netherlands Dance Theater, is an award-winning choreographer. His latest work, Journey, explores timeless issues of confrontation and support through a contemporary ballet lens.

Rounding out the concert with classical ballet, Visiting Assistant Professor Christopher Alloways-Ramsey restages Le Jardin Animé, a section from Petipa’s full-length ballet Le Corsaire. This iconic piece highlights the beauty of dancing bodies set in a garden.

“The Gala is richly varied this year and has a work for every audience member,” says concert director Christine McMillan. With new collaborations, international artists, and state of the art theater facilities, the School of Dance promises to inspire questions and conversations. The Gala only comes once a year, and audiences have two weekends to see two distinct programs. Catch the concerts 4/11 – 4/20 at the Marriott Center for Dance.

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Ten Modern Dance Program seniors will present the first weekend of their Senior Concert show, Xx, a show that highlights variability, exponential growth, and the undefined. Each evening of dance will culminate in a performance of guest choreographer Lauren Edson’s new work created with the senior class.

Xx represents the 2019 graduating class of Modern Dance Program seniors, a group of twenty rising women artists—all with two x-chromosomes. Beyond the aptness in its description of the graduating class, Xx also embodies the spirit of Senior Concert; involving change, power, and development. Xx celebrates the artistic, choreographic and technical prowess the senior class has cultivated during their time at the University of Utah.

Natalie Anderton’s piece begins with movement taken from traditional hip hop and other street styles. The piece has transformed into a style of movement she has never experienced before and Anderton is excited to see how her dancers take on this “alien” inspired piece.

Alli Ball investigates the paradox of emotion throughout daily life. She asks how we are able to feel two contrasting emotions simultaneously.

Jessica Baynes presents a lively, contemporary quartet inspired by the mechanics of trains and explores the following actions: attack, respond, and follow-through. It is performed to a Flamenco-inspired sound score and experiments with risk, athleticism and contact.

Elissa Collins explores how mental health affects the way that we physically respond to our world.

Kaelin Kaczka pays homage to the #MeToo Movement, drawing inspiration from the Sirens of Greek mythology and using movement to kinesthetically narrate the personal experiences of so many.

Ali Lorenz research involves the similarities between our world’s natural phenomena and our own emotions, working with concepts that work deep within the earth and as well as within ourselves.

Madaline Maravillas’s piece has become an intimate look into how we view certain people in our lives and the visceral responses conjured by those people: people you miss, people you need and people you love.

Aileen Norris focuses on joy in absurdity, conflict in connection and resolution in chaos.

Ruby Pfeiffer explores self-empowerment and how we are all fighting to find who we are while at the same time using people around us as a gauge. There is uniqueness in all of us, not just as a lone being but also within a community.

Eliza Zenger’s piece brings three words to mind: individuality, bounce and flow. She is interested in the dancers’ pathways, individually and collectively, and how that frames space.

This evening of new dance ends with a performance by the senior class in a work choreographed by Boise-based Lauren Edson. The work explores themes of hope, desperation, and community.

When: 2/28 at 5:30P, 3/1 at 5:30P and 3/2 at 7:30P
Where: The Marriott Center for Dance.
Tickets: Senior Concert I: Xx is free to University of Utah students through Arts Pass. General admission tickets are $12. 

The University of Utah Ballet Program proudly presents La Fille Mal Gardée, a full-length comedic ballet gracing the Marriott Center for Dance Stage. Based on a 1789 French ballet the School of Dance will present a new interpretation by Bruce Marks, with staging by Mercyhurst University Professors Tauna Hunter and Michael Gleason. This dynamic adaptation breathes new life into the classic story.

La Fille Mal Gardée or the “Poorly Guarded Girl,” will transport audiences to an idyllic pastoral countryside where a love triangle creates comic chaos. In this romantic comedy, Lise, the only daughter of the overbearing Mother Simone, attempts to free herself from a marriage with her uninterested fiancé, in order to be with her true love Colas. The engaging and lighthearted storyline is propelled by the mischievous antics of the cast as they hilariously navigate the ballet’s three acts. This up-beat production features a lively succession of scenes of gossiping villagers, maypoles, and hay wagons, all paired with Marks’ intricate and challenging choreography.

“It’s been an amazing experience to have Bruce Marks here working with our students. He is warm and generous, and giving, of his time and his knowledge,” said ballet Program Head Melissa Bobick. “The students have really grown in their confidence, having the opportunity to work with him.”

Bruce Marks received his performing arts training at the New York High School of Performing Arts, Brandeis University and The Juilliard School. In 1956 he joined the corps de ballet of the Metropolitan Opera Ballet and in 1958 became premier danseur. Marks joined American Ballet Theatre in 1961, soon being promoted to principal dancer. In 1971 he became the first American principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet where he remained for five years. By 1976 Marks became Co-Artistic Director of Ballet West at the invitation of its founder Willam Christensen and in 1978 became the prestigious company’s Artistic Director. In 1985 Bruce Marks assumed the position of artistic director of Boston Ballet, a position he held until 1997. A founding member of Dance/USA, Marks was chosen in 1989 to replace the late Robert Joffrey as chairman of the International Jury of the USA International Ballet Competition, a position he still holds. He has created of thirty original ballets over the course of his career. He has coached and staged ballets for companies like the American Ballet Theatre, Royal Danish Ballet, National Ballet of Canada, and many others.Join the School of Dance for La Fille Mal Gardée, February 2/7 – 2/16 at the Marriott Center for Dance at the University of Utah. Tickets are available online, by phone at 801.581.7100 and at the door 30 minutes prior to curtain. For more information please visit here.

Eight ballet dancers from the School of Dance and Associate Professor-Lecturer Vedrana Subotic from The School of Music will fly to the city that never sleeps to make their New York City debuts at New York Live Arts, one of the City’s premier dance venues, February 19 - 25. The dancers will perform as part of BalletNext, a small troupe of internationally renowned ballet dancers created seven years ago by former American Ballet principal Michele Wiles. School of Music's Vedrana Subotic will be performing solo works by Haydn and Bach which Wiles has created original choreography to accompany. 

“Our dancers are trained for professional careers in ballet,” said Luc Vanier, who has headed the School of Dance since 2016. “This semester’s partnership with BalletNext, a company of stellar performers, has presented our students with a series unprecedented experiences, challenges and opportunities, both inside and outside the studio. Over the past semester they have worked with Michele Wiles, a world class ballerina, on new works which they will perform in New York before some of the world’s most discerning audiences and demanding critics.”

Selected by Wiles, who has been guest teaching at U’s School of Dance this past semester, the selected Utah performers will be seen in two New York premieres by Wiles: “Hey Wait” and “Birds of a Feather.”

“Hey, Wait,” featuring all eight of the rigorously-trained Utah students, is set to “Vibrer” by master jazz trumpeter Tom Harrell, who performs it live with Luis Pedromo on piano. Embodying the spirit of its ever-changing jazz score, the ballet slyly shifts from duets to octets to trio to solos to quartets. “Hey, Wait” marks Wiles third collaboration with Harrell.

“Birds of a Feather,” created by Wiles in Salt Lake this fall, is set to a series of Haydn’s last piano sonatas, to be played at NYLA by the U’s Dr. Vedrana Subotic. Mauro Bigonzetti’s “La Follia,” a duet commissioned and premiered by BalletNext in 2011, will be danced at NYLA by Wiles and Danielle Dreis, a senior in the ballet division.

In addition to Dreis, the Utah dancers include seniors Tia Sandman, Sydney May, Amy McMaster, Sarah Murphy, and sophomores Emma Anjali, Juliana Godlewski and Lauren Wattenburg,

“It was an exciting revelation to work with such a crop of exquisitely trained, talented and versatile young performers,” said Wiles. “Their willingness to work hard, their focus and their commitment is nothing short of top dollar professional. The ballets they are performing are technically and musically challenging, and these dancers are up to it.”

Additional season highlights feature guest appearances by internationally celebrated dancers New York City Ballet principal Maria Kowroski and former New York City Ballet principal Amar Ramasar in “Bachground” by Mauro Bagonzetti. Originally choreographed for and premiered by BalletNext in 2012, the duet is set to Bach’s Solo Piano, which will be performed by pianist Dr. Vedrana Subotic.

ABOUT BALLETNEXT
At BalletNext, the search for innovation trumps convention. In 2011, Michele Wiles, one of New York's most acclaimed dancers, founded the company with the vision to provide a platform for leading dancers, choreographers, and musicians. As a result, new work is produced and performed in an environment that promotes experimentation, creative problem solving, and a focus on process. 

ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH SCHOOL OF DANCE
The School of Dance at the University of Utah, founded by William Christensen in 1952, was the first Ballet Department in an American university. Christensen, who founded the San Francisco Ballet with his brother Lew, applied same rigorous demands to the training of the Utah students as he did to the professional dancers at the SFB. Committed to fostering future generations of artists in technical, educational and scholarly excellence, the school’s curriculum ensures a well-rounded liberal arts education. Its dancers have graduated into top-ranking ballet companies world-wide and are heading dance departments at prestigious colleges and universities. The School of Dance includes a Modern Dance Program, which adheres to the same values as its Ballet Program. The New York Live Arts performances mark the re-establishment of the School of Dance’s connection to New York City, and exposure to discerning audiences and critics in a city known as the dance capital of the world.

ABOUT NEW YORK LIVE ARTS
New York Live Arts is a center of diverse artists devoted to body-based investigation that transcends barriers between and within communities led by world-renowned artist Bill T. Jones. We are a place that brings people together to explore common values through live gathering and performance reminding us of our humanity and elevating the human spirit. https://newyorklivearts.org

by guest blogger Syndey Joy.

From the School of Dance emerges a bevy of new voices. Burgeoning student choreographers share with the Salt Lake City dance community a performance entitled XI: eleven perspectives on dance, showcasing not only their flourishing choreographic skills but also a vulnerable glimpse inside the minds and experiences of young artists. Many of the pieces focus on the idea of resilience, and the ways in which everyone moves through life. The eleven contributions are both the students’ interpretations of the human experience and an expression of who they are as choreographers and artists. Whether exploring concepts of gathering strength through community, finding pure joy in music and movement, or growing through the process of loss and acceptance, each new work is honest and sincere. These impassioned young artists show immense promise as they navigate the transitions from dancer to choreographer, follower to leader.

Each piece in the program differs from the others simply because of the choreographers’ expansion upon their individual voices. From start to finish their unique processes shape and mold the work they create. For choreographer and junior, Alexa Knutzen, her initial inspiration came from the beloved children’s book, The Giving Tree. While her piece may not follow the storyline that Shel Silverstein laid out, Knutzen says it is about how, “as human beings we tend to spread ourselves a little too thin.” Just as the namesake tree finds itself feeling empty, small, worthless, and ultimately lost, we can also find ourselves in the same situation. Her piece, “Lost Yet Found,” explores those parallels as well as the concept that “once we are pushed to our breaking point, it is then where we can start to build ourselves up from the bottom up.”

Many choreographers often find inspiration within music, including senior Madeline Driver. Her new work, “Groove,” began just as it sounds. “I have to find music that invites me to move before I even think about creating a new work,” says Driver, adding that her process has majorly been focused on “diving into the fascinating culture of 1940s America and learning other ways to look at the many purposes of dance.” With lively swing music and an actual record player on stage, Driver and her dancers invite us all to remember the power that social dance had on the communities of that era. This core value has not informed the formation of her choreography but also how she works with her dancers, not only building a community in the performance but in real life as well. Driver’s focus on keeping the movement natural and instinctual allows the dancers to inflect their own voices and personality to the piece, bringing them into the choreographic process and adding authenticity to the display of social dance.

Fellow choreographer and senior, Brendan Rupp, also played with the idea of a community, but rather where we all fit in a community. Within his process he played with “the way a person has to navigate life to continually find the mythical “place” they belong, whether that means meeting somebody else, going off on your own for awhile, or perhaps sticking with a group of like minded people.” He incorporated these ideas into his choreography by also working with his dancers to find a natural fit between the movement, music, and individual bodies. His piece “wander/wonder” plays with the notion of whether or not the grass is always greener on the other side, and as Rupp noted, “sometimes it really is.”

These three exciting new works are simply a glimpse of the culmination of emerging ideas, voices, and choreographers presented in XI. This performance is not only a chance for the audience to experience the revelations of young artists, but also a thrilling opportunity for those artists to push beyond familiarity and share a vulnerability with each other and the audience.

XI: eleven perspectives on dance runs 11/29, 11/30, and 12/1 at the Marriott Center for Dance at the University of Utah. Tickets are available online, by phone at 801.581.7100 or at the door 30 minutes prior to curtain. For more information please visit here.

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The University of Utah College of Fine Arts is thrilled to have three faculty members presenting at the National Communication Association’s 104th annual conference this November. Sarah E. S. Sinwell, Ph.D faculty member in the Department of Film & Media Arts, Kate Mattingly, Phd and Molly Heller, MFA, both faculty members in the School of Dance, are representatives of the groundbreaking creative and scholarly research currently being conducted in the CFA.

The National Communication Association (NCA) advances communication as the discipline that studies all forms, modes, media, and consequences of communication through humanistic, social scientific, and aesthetic inquiry. NCA serves the scholars, teachers, and practitioners who are its members by enabling and supporting their professional interests in research and teaching. Dedicated to fostering and promoting free and ethical communication, NCA promotes the widespread appreciation of the importance of communication in public and private life, the application of competent communication to improve the quality of human life and relationships, and the use of knowledge about communication to solve human problems.

“The CFA's faculty and graduate students are actively creating new knowledge and disseminating timely, relevant, and innovative research far and wide,” said Melonie B. Murray, Ph.D., the CFA’s Associate Dean for Faculty & Academic Affairs. “The fact that more than one discipline from the CFA will be represented (Film & Media Arts and Dance) at the upcoming National Communication Association conference reflects the range and impact of our college's research.”

Sinwell’s presentation title is: To Queer Things Up: Sexing the Self in the Queer Documentary Web Series. Sinwell addresses the ways in which queer documentary web series such as Losing It With John Stamos, To Queer Things Up, and The Peculiar Kind construct confession as queer by mapping it onto ideas of celebrity, intersectionality, and political activism. In an effort to utilize “third and fourth screen” practices, these web series attempt to reach a new audience, viewers who watch videos on their laptops, tablets and cell phones. Appearing on sites such as Yahoo Screen, YouTube, and Vimeo, these series reimagine new ways of telling stories about sex, desire and the body by questioning the relationships between the verbal, the visual and the confessional. Investigating terms such as queer, gay, lesbian, androgynous, transgender, monogamous, etc., these web series also explore how ideas of celebrity, intersectionality, and advocacy are tied in with understandings of queer sexuality. Sinwell’s focus is on how queer documentary web series reimagine the relationships between sexuality, the self, the other, and the camera as a means of further exploring the construction of queer sexual confessions in contemporary media culture.

As new faculty members in the School of Dance, Molly Heller and Dr. Kate Mattingly applied to present their research at the NCA’s 104th annual convention because it’s a place where they can engage with scholars across the disciplines and across the country. Since the theme of this convention is “Communication at Play,” they plan to both present research on dance as embodied play and also engage in a playful dialogue about their different perspectives and their intersections.

Their panel, made in collaboration with Michelle LaVigne, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Rhetoric and Language at the University of San Francisco, is entitled "Playing with/while/within Dancing: Communicating for/with/about Dance." Molly Heller, an Assistant Professor and interdisciplinary artist, creates performances that highlight the emotional and narrative elements of embodied play. In her presentation, Heller will explain the choreographic processes that enable her performers to access modes of being that reveal inner landscapes. Kate Mattingly, Ph.D., an Assistant Professor, will present part of her current book project that traces how dance critics and historians have attempted to transfer dance’s sensorial engagement into linguistic interpretations, and what this transfer does to dance as embodied play. Together with LaVigne, Heller and Mattingly will explore how writing for/with/about dance is a kind of play that can happen between dancers, writers, and choreographers.

Panels take place 11/8 at 8A and 11/10 at 9:30A in the Salt Palace in the Salt Palace Convention Center. For more information please visit here.

by  Rachel Luebbert.

“Starting from the Point Where It Stopped” is a show of celebration and risk. This diverse concert features the choreography and performance of the 2018 modern dance seniors. These 20 individuals have spent the last four years dancing and creating. This show will be a culmination of their individual and collective movement explorations that together celebrate their progressions and exciting creations.

The modern dance seniors received Fine Arts Fee Grant funding to commission Ihsan Rustem, the resident choreographer of Northwest Dance Project, to create an original dance work that will close each night of the show. This piece is a collection of solos, duets, and group sections that are woven together to feature the individual movement expressions of these dancers. This piece was born out of an intensive two-week rehearsal process. Rustem began by prompting movement exercises to generate a collective group aesthetic. He asked students to move separate body parts together while accentuating the movement between these spaces. Where is the body taken if the knee and shoulder are moved together? What if the elbow and heel meet? This detailed exploration was applied to both solos and duets to create enough material for an 80-minute work. Through insightful editing, Rustem layered different phrases within the structure of a three-part sound score. First, there is a calm, Zen melody, followed by a driving, pounding phrase, that ends with the eerie song “Until We Bleed” by Kleerup.

The two weekends present completely distinct shows, with each weekend showcasing the choreographic work of half of the seniors. Noriko Bell, Jilliam Shipman, and Leah Gultrand are just a few of the seniors whose work will be premiered during the first weekend. Bell’s “The Bonds Between” is born from the exploration of the physical residue of human relationships. In her creative process, Bell and 10 dancers created movement that physicalized the essence of different human connections in their lives. Bell explains, “This piece explores past, present, and future relationships that are formed throughout life and how these relationships create our journeys.” “The Bonds Between” creates an intricate web of conversations between dancers, movement, and different relationships that are so inherent to the human experience. 

Shipman has spent the past few months researching the connection of the body and the ground. Using floorwork as a stimulus, this piece considers the effect of an audience’s gaze on movement. Shipman has explored the dialectic of what is seen and unseen and how this influences the creation and performance of movement. The four dancers in this piece will be wearing black halter leotards and their limbs will be painted. This paint intends to draw the audience’s gaze to the arms and legs as they push in and out of the floor. This work presents an intriguing awareness to the presence of the audience and this relationship to the performed movement.

Gulstrand’s piece “Shine On” is a solo inspired by the early 1970s. Not only does this time period inform the musical score of this work, but Gulstrand also dives into the social and political issues of this time and their relationship to social movements today. There is an intriguing dialogue that transcends time and space to acknowledge the continual marginalization experienced in the U.S.. “Shine On” gives voice to the complex struggle of different identities for human rights. Through the creative process, Gulstrand acknowledged the experiences of African Americans, women, Native Americans, and immigrants in the 1970s and today.

Each senior has spent months developing ideas, pursuing creative research, and fine tuning their pieces. Together this show presents a collage of dance works that showcase athleticism, humor, narrative, and artistry. Come join us for a night of art and dance that celebrates risk and creation.

First Weekend - April 5 at 5:30PM, April 6 and 7 at 7:30PM
Second Weekend - April 12 at 5:30PM, April 13 and 14 at 7:30PM
Marriott Center for Dance, Hayes Christensen Theatre
*Free with U Artspass (Ucard) for U of U students
$12 Adults, $8 Other Students, Faculty, Seniors

 This year’s Gala concert will bring together amazing talents from the School of Dance ballet and modern dance programs as well as artists from the U’s School of Music, March 16th and 17th at 7:30PM. This eclectic program features traditional pieces, faculty works and new creations by world renowned guest artists Michele Wiles and Matthew Neenan, whose original choreography will be performed by talented UofU dancers accompanied by live music at the iconic Kingsbury Hall. 

 Former American Ballet Theater Principle Artist, Michele Wiles, will not only choreograph new work for the Gala, but will also perform on stage with the UofU dancers in her new piece “Bach + 8.” As part of the cast, Wiles has worked closely with the dancers, creating a sense of intimacy in the performance. Wiles and her cast will be joined on stage by pianist, Dr. Vedrana Subotic, an Associate Professor-Lecturer of Music at the University of Utah.

“’Bach + 8’ is a flirtatious and charming piece with a surprise ending. The work places eight female dancers in a playful comedy suggestive of a modernized version of Edgar Degas’ masterpieces depicting ballerinas.” says Wiles. “My hope is that each student will be able to express and experiment with their artistic voice in the solos, duos and trios that show both individuality and the ability to come together as a group.” 

  Wiles is the founder of New York City based BalletNext a company which pairs classically trained dancers with performing artists from diverse backgrounds and interpretations. Wiles was a Princess Grace Foundation, U.S.A. Dance Fellowship recipient for 1999–2000 and won the Erik Bruhn Prize in 2002. She joined American Ballet Theatre's Studio Company in 1997 and later joined American Ballet Theatre in 1998. Wiles was promoted to soloist in 2000 and to principal in 2005. In 2011, she founded BalletNext and has been choreographing on BalletNext dancers since 2011, to critical acclaim.

 The Gala program also includes work from world renowned choreographer, Matthew Neenan, whose new work “in the cold light of day” includes a cast of 18 dancers from both the modern dance and ballet programs. He pairs beautiful, flowing choreography with jolts of interruption that bring to mind the idiosyncratic moments that disrupt the fluidity of our daily lives and beg for closure and resolve. 

 “I have forgotten who in my cast is a ballet major and who’s a modern dance major. They have really come together and formed a comradery, which has been such a blessing for the piece. I can see the variety in their training from the U, and I really wanted to exploit that variety in the work. These students are exceptional talents. Their futures are very bright, these are dancers you will be able to follow for the rest of their careers.”

Celebrated artist and BalletX co-founder, Matthew Neenan is currently the Choreographer in Residence at Pennsylvania Ballet and his work has been featured and performed by BalletX, The Washington Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Ballet West, Ballet Memphis, Milwaukee Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theatre, Tulsa Ballet, Ballet Met, Oklahoma City Ballet, Juilliard Dance, New York City Ballet’s Choreographic Institute, Sacramento Ballet, Nevada Ballet Theatre, Indiana University, Opera Philadelphia, and LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts (NYC), among others. He has received numerous awards and grants for his choreography from the National Endowment of the Arts, Dance Advance funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Choo San Goh Foundation, and the Independence Foundation. 

Molly Heller, assistant professor in the modern program, will premiere “The Middle,” a new dance for five.

“The middle way/path in Buddhism is a term for a place with no reference point. It's not going left or right, a place with no real solidity. It is also a place where openness exists - an opportunity for becoming unstuck. "The Middle” incorporates textural projections, tennis shoe couture costuming, and an athletic vocabulary that challenges the performers' endurance while creating opportunities for "becoming unstuck." says Heller.

 Heller’s choreographic work is an extension of her interest in health and wellbeing, as well as an interweaving of theater practices and dance. Her work has been presented in venues such as: Eccles Regent Street Blackbox Theater, Kingsbury Hall for TEDx SaltLakeCity, Gowanus Art + Production, Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church, Movement Research at the Judson Church, Green Space, DUMBO Dance Festival, The Mahaney Center for the Arts, Balance Dance Company, Boise State University, Westminster College, Sugar Space Studio for the Arts, and the Ladies’ Literary Club.

Eric Handman will present new work entitled “Galatea Prime” for the Gala audience. The piece will include five dancers and one flying drone, and will draw connections between Freud’s essay on “The Uncanny”, E.T.A Hoffman’s short story “The Sandman” and the Ballet classic “Coppelia.” Handman is also interested in using “Galatea Prime” to highlight and complicate the presentation of gender in modern fictional artificial intelligence narratives in films such as “Ex Machina,” “Solaris,” “Blade Runner” and “Westworld.”

Handman is an associate professor at the modern program of the School of Dance. He has taught, performed and shown his choreography throughout the United States as well as Costa Rica, England, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and Hungary. His work has been shown at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He has served on the board of directors of the Congress on Research in Dance and is presently on the board of the American College Dance Association. Handman is a Fulbright Specialist and a member of the Entrepreneurial Faculty Scholars at the University of Utah for his work on mobile technology and choreographic thinking. 

The Gala program adds a classic touch with Act II of the love story, “Swan Lake,” reimagined by Jan Clark Fugit, adjunct professor in the School of Dance. Act II features the iconic flight of swans, their enchanting queen, a handsome prince and the evil sorcerer. Composed in 1875, “Swan Lake” remains a timeless favorite among ballet audiences across the world. Act II will be accompanied by a live orchestra performance by the University of Utah Philharmonia, led by conductor Dr. Robert Baldwin.

On the evening of 3/16, there will be a special pre-performance talk by Kate Mattingly, assistant professor in the School of Dance, dance writer, researcher and historian, at 7PM in the Legacy Gallery.

Don’t miss this vibrant evening of music and dance on the Kingsbury Hall stage!Purchase your tickets in advance at online.