Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Former TRDA guest artist luciana achugar 2010 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

I write you at the close of what has been an unforgettable year for me both personally and artistically. From the presentation of Franny & Zooey (2007) at the American Realness Festival last January 2010 at Abrons Arts Center to the premiere of a new work commissioned by the Zenon Dance Company at The Southern Theater in Minneapolis this Fall, this year has been filled with many significant opportunities for me to continue my work.

Most importantly, this year, we premiered PURO DESEO at The Kitchen in April; a duet by luciana achugar and Michael Mahalchick with lighting design by Madeline Best and Costumes by Walter Dundervill. We are so excited by the amazing reception this work received and, we are thrilled to announce that PURO DESEO and its whole collaborative team, received a 2010 New York Dance and Performance “Bessie” Award “for casting a spell on the audience and taking them into the dark, dark mysteries of the body and all its desires”.

“She wants, I think, to mesmerize us, which she does, and I don’t think she’d mind scaring the hell out of us. If I were to cede my ability to construct a sentence and moan my way down the page in syllables, I might better convey the visceral response this work induces. [...] PURO DESEO isn’t what people usually mean when they call something a dance. All the movement is guttural; gestures spew up from some dark, inner place.” Deborah Jowitt, The Village Voice.

We are very excited that we will get to perform PURO DESEO again in its entirety this January during APAP; and we invite you to experience this Bessie Award winning show again or for the first time in the amazing Abrons Arts Center Playhouse Theater as part of the American Realness Festival on January 7th & 9th!

For info and tickets click here:

http://www.henrystreet.org/site/PageServer?pagename=AAC_PERF_luciana_achugar_puro_deseo

During 2010 I was also very grateful and proud to be the recipient of a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grants for Artists Award, receive support from the Jerome Foundation, make new commissioned work on 8 dancers for the Zenon Dance Company of Minneapolis and to be selected for a second year Residency at BAX/Brooklyn Arts Exchange as a Research Fellow, where I am doing research on teaching dance technique as I begin working on my next project tentatively titled Feeling Form.

2011 is already shaping up to be a fruitful year. I will be working with 16 students from the New School to make a new work to be premiered during their April Concert at the Alvin Ailey CitiGroup Theater, I will continue my research Residency at BAX and begin development for my next work to be premiered in the WInter of 2012. I will also be traveling to Montevideo, Uruguay during the summer to perform PURO DESEO and to make new work with Uruguayan dancers as a way to continue my commitment to remain in communication with the dance community there.

Last, but not least, I would like to share with you that I will be featured in Dance Magazine's January 2011 "25 to Watch" article. I feel very grateful for this honorable mention and I was particularly moved by what Noemi Lafrance, who nominated me for this, had to say about my work..:

"luciana is doing something that has an edge, but it's also very clean, concise, together. I feel like her work,while experimental, is also accessible. You could see it if you hadn't been exposed to dance and still be moved. It has a touch of being universal.

As a performer, she's powerful without being arrogant; her power is very pure. She's a very down-to-earth human being- generous and natural.

Her last show, PURO DESEO, really brings you on a journey. It takes a little while to evolve. You hear this humming, this singing, and she goes into this very repetitive back-and-forth. But you feel as though the room is starting to get haunted. There's some kind of shamanic quality; the air is getting a little bit thicker. When artists are able to do that, they transcend the space with what they are doing.
I'm curious to see what she does next. She definitely has more intriguing work up her sleeve."
Noemi Lafrance for "25 to Watch", Dance Magazine.

____________

I am so grateful for the support of friends, collaborators and donors thus far! The success of my work is completely reliant upon your generosity.

As you plan your year-end charitable donations, we hope that you will consider making a contribution to luciana achugar dance. By giving a tax deductible donation to luciana achugar, you are helping to provide our company with the opportunity to grow creatively and financially. We hope you will consider donating before January 1st and lowering your tax burden for 2010.

I look forward to welcoming you to the re-mounted version of PURO DESEO at Abrons Arts Center as part of the American Realness Festival!

http://tbspmgmt.com/AMERICAN_REALNESS_.html

Happy New Year!!!!

Sincerely,

luciana achugar
41 Withers St. #6
Brooklyn, NY 11211
Cell # 646.872.4192
www.lachugar.org

Friday, December 10, 2010

Voice and Character Performance Final

Please come to the Voice and Character Performance Final

A staging of excerpts from the poetic novel VANISHING POINT, by Australian writer Jeri Kroll

on Thursday, Dec. 16th, at 7 p.m. in Studio XX

All are welcome!!!!

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company: America’s Cloud

Join acclaimed choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess and his contemporary dance company as they debut their site-specific dance piece, “America’s Cloud”. more>

Monday, November 29, 2010

Dances by Dancers: December 8, 2010 at 7:30 PM – Building J Down

Dances by Dancers (choreography for 3 or more) – 14 students in the Dance Composition Class present original choreography for casts of 3 or more.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 7:30 PM – Building J Down

Trends in Performance Final Event (Title TBA)

Thursday, December 9, 2010 at 7:30 pm – Building J Down

FREE - Both programs are also requesting donations for a friend of Justin Balsamo, Business School, who died this past year. The Business School will send a representative to the programs to tell about this young person.

Movement Composition and Trends in Performance Art: Final Performance Dec 8/9

Join the Movement Composition and Trends in Performing Arts Classes in their final performance of the year!

This performance is FREE

Where: Studio J Dance Theater
Date: Dec 8/8
Time: 7:30 pm


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

GW Department of Theatre & Dance presents Fall DanceWorks 2010 Concert Director Anthony Gongora

The George Washington University Department of Theatre & Dance presents Fall DanceWorks 2010, featuring internationally acclaimed guest artist, Susan Rethorst, and GW student choreographers.

WHEN: Nov. 18, 19, 20; 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: The George Washington University
Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, Marvin Center 1st floor
800 21st Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20052
(Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro Station, Blue and Orange lines)

COST:
General admission is $15 for the general public. Admission for students and senior citizens is $10. Tickets are available online at www.theatredance.gwu.edu, by calling 202-994-0995 or by visiting the box office on the night of the performance. The box office is located next to the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre, on the first floor of the Marvin Center.

BACKGROUND:
Concert Director, Anthony Gongora, holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Maryland. Gongora has danced in the companies of Loretta Livingston and Dancers, Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, Bob Eisen Dance, Mordine & Company and Jan Ekert & Dancers. Gongora has presented his own work nationally and internationally.

Susan Rethorst, internationally renowned teacher of choreography, was born in 1951 in Washington, D.C. Ms. Rethorst’s work has been presented by The Museum of Modern Art, The Kitchen Center, Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project at St. Marks, The Downtown Whitney Museum, as well as at various dance theaters, universities and festivals throughout the U.S. Internationally her work has been produced by The Holland Festival, Spazio Zero Rome, The Kunsthalle Basel, The Aix-en-Provence Festival and Jerusalem’s Room Festival.

Ms. Rethorst has received many accolades in recognition of her choreographic achievements including two “Bessies,” the New York and Performance Award for Outstanding Achievement. She was the recent recipient of the 2010 Alpert Award in the Arts for dance. The yearly award is given to five artists working in the fields of dance, film/video, theatre and visual arts. She has published articles on her choreographic thinking in “Movement Research Journal” and “Choreographic Encounters” and is currently completing a book titled “A Choreographic Mind”.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

GWU Launches new MFA degree in Dance

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY LAUNCHES INNOVATIVE ADVANCED DEGREE PROGRAM FOR THE MID-CAREER DANCER

Unique Program Allows Performers to Continue Career and Further Learning Through Individualized Hybrid Learning, Video-Sharing and Global Collaboration

WASHINGTON- Contemporary dancers from D.C. to Dubai now have an opportunity to continue their education and not miss a beat. The George Washington University’s Department of Theatre and Dance (TRDA) will offer a new Master’s of Fine Arts degree for mid-career dancers, performers and choreographers across the globe. The advanced degree program will allow dancers to refine individual style, technique and repertoire while developing professional relationships with the larger international dance community.


“As dancers and choreographers, we have limited time to build a career and the process of receiving more education should not slow the process, it should enhance it,” said Dana Tai Soon Burgess, chair of GW’s theatre and dance department, one of the region’s preeminent choreographers and director of DTSB & Co., Washington, D.C.’s premier Asian-American Dance Company. “Dance is a fundamental form of communication which bridges cultural differences, and we look to this new program as a way to enhance global dialogues between artists.”

The program is designed for highly-skilled, practicing professionals with extensive dance experience and will incorporate highly-individualized distance and on-site learning. With matriculation slated for June 2011, the new rigorous 18-month program offers an initial eight-week residency at GW, two semesters of supervised distance learning for artists working full-time domestically or internationally and completion of a performance portfolio submitted via electronic media. Each student will work one-on-one with a GW TRDA faculty member over an intensive 18-month period to develop their performance portfolio.

“I am delighted that this innovative program will be drawing accomplished artists to George Washington from around the world with a curriculum designed to develop their talents still further,” said GW President Steven Knapp.

Collectively, GW TRDA faculty mentors offer more than 50 years of technical training and performance experience, bringing both a professional and scholarly structure to the program. Additionally, students will learn from the opportunities that exist through specialists in the areas of dance curation, management and advocacy who work in institutions including the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the U.S. State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Smithsonian Institution, the National Geographic Society and the National Endowment.

“This program is tailored uniquely for experienced and successful dance artists working with passion in the field today,” said Maida Withers, GW professor of dance. “A program that promotes and values association with other distinguished professionals from around the world.”

The advanced degree program strongly encourages applicants from the international dance community. George Washington University and its Department of Theatre and Dance value contributions that are made to the program by students from other countries and who bring a culturally diverse perspective to its program.

GW’s Department of Theatre and Dance

The Theatre and Dance department at the George Washington University is the premiere department of its kind within the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. In existence for more than 70 years, the oldest and most extensive visual arts department within the nation’s capitol has cultivated several prominent alumni in the arts. GW’s Department of Theatre and Dance offers a widespread curriculum in all repertoires of dance and all aspects of theatre including design and production. The department is one of a kind as it remains committed to research excellence through all forms of creativity. For additional information on GW’s Theatre and Dance department as well as program offerings, visit theatredance.gwu.edu.


MEDIA CONTACT: Courtney Bowe 202-994-5631; cmbowe@gwu.edu


Thursday, November 11, 2010

Modern Dance Mentorship: Dana Tai Soon Burgess wins grant to run Asian American youth dance program

Modern Dance Mentorship

GW dance professor Dana Tai Soon Burgess and his company recently won a grant from the mayor’s office to run an Asian American youth program. read more

Monday, November 8, 2010

New book based on Allyson Currin's Kennedy Center play, UNLEASHED!

Unleashed: The Lives of White House Pets (The Kennedy Center Presents: Capital Kids)

The White House is off the leash! The third book in the Kennedy Center Capital Kids series based on Allyson Currin's Kennedy Center play, UNLEASHED! Published by Simon and Schuster! Release date January, 2011!

Allyson Currin, Playwright/Actress
AEA, SAG
www.allysoncurrin.com

Monday, October 25, 2010

The Washington Post: Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company perform 'Charlie Chan and the Mystery of Love'

DANCE REVIEW
Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company perform 'Charlie Chan and the Mystery of Love'
By Sarah Kaufman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, October 25, 2010


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/10/24/AR2010102402665.html

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Contemporary Chilean Dance

Contemporary Chilean Dance 4595.11


This course is an international choreographic exchange program with the University of Chile's Dance Program. GWU students and University of Chile Students work in tandem to create dances which are then shown via video conferences and ultimately are performed live in DC and Santiago. This variable 1-3 credit course culminates with a trip and performance in Santiago in May 2011. Students are responsible for their plane ticket and are housed and hosted by Chilean dancers in Santiago. A chance to understand and communicate with South American artists through the medium of contemporary dance. This one time program is limited to 12 students.

GW Department of Theatre & Dance presents William Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST directed by guest director, Clay Hopper

GW’s department of theatre and dance presents William Shakespeare’s The Tempest, directed by this year’s guest director, Clay Hopper. Associate artistic director at Olney Theatre Center (OTC), Mr. Hopper has directed for National Players, the classical theatre touring component of OTC as well as their Summer Shakespeare Festival since 2003. Credits include Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, The Tempest, Othello, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo and Juliet and Amadeus.


The Tempest tells the story of the magician Prospera and her daughter Miranda who must take refuge on an enchanted island. Prospera, who has magical powers, releases the spirit Ariel from a spell and meets the savage Caliban. Prospera then uses her powers to create a tempest that shipwrecks those who caused her exile.


Performances run October 28, 29, 30 at 7:30 pm and October 31 at 2:00 p.m.


Purchase tickets and season subscriptions online at: http://theatredance.gwu.edu
or for information call the TRDA promotions office at 202-994-0995.

Monday, October 11, 2010

TRDA dance faculty Irina Wunder at the 20th annual conference of the International Association of Dance Science and Medicine

Irina Wunder will present her study at the 20th annual conference of the International Association of Dance Science and Medicine (IADMS) in Birmingham, UK. The study was undertaken to examine neuromuscular activity of the abdominal and spinal muscles during a complex ballet movement, arabesque. Arabesque is an ultimate test of the dancer’s classical line. While dance students can find ample advice on the performance technique of arabesque in ballet class and/or ballet literature, the actual muscular behaviour during the movement has not been previously investigated. Electromyography (EMG) was used to record signals produced by the active abdominal and spinal muscles during arabesque. The findings of the study indicated that in contrast to traditional models instructing that dancers “pull up” in the lower back, it were the abdominal muscles that first responded with a “burst” like activity. The spinal muscles reacted with a slight delay, after which the pattern of activity between the abdominal and spinal groups became steady, continuous and coordinated in nature. Such phenomenon may indeed be explained by the anatomically functional role of the core muscles in maintaining balance as well as their agonistic/antagonistic action in arabesque. Consequently, the abdominal/spinal strategy would be preferable to the isolated “pull up” action in the lower back. The study suggests that measurements of EMG output can provide objective evidence in support or refutation of the conceptual theories that have been passed down as a legacy inherent to dance instruction. The findings may be of practical interest to dance educators and dancers themselves.

Friday, October 1, 2010

DanceTeacher Magazine: Dana Tai Soon Burgess

Face to Face: Dana Tai Soon Burgess

By Nancy Wozny

Dances the Asian diaspora


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Choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess places the intersection of art and culture front and center in his dancemaking. “It’s important for us to use our history as a lens for viewing contemporary life,” says the son of a Korean-American mother and a Scottish-Irish-American Asian history scholar father. read the full article

Thursday, September 9, 2010

SPRING MUSICAL AUDITIONS: Sondheim's 'Anyone Can Whistle', Sept 13-14

Auditions for the Spring Semester musical, a joint production with the Department of Music, will be held in the Fall Semester, on Mon., Sept. 13th and Tues., Sept. 14th in the Marvin Center music studio.

Call-backs will be held on Wed., Sept. 15th. This is to give us a jump on learning the music and doing some early character exploration, etc.; although regular rehearsals won't begin until the Spring Semester.

The production, Stephen Sondheim's Anyone Can Whistle, which launched the Broadway musical stardom of Angela Lansbury, with book by Arthur Laurents (of Gypsy and Westside Story fame), will be performed in late February, 2011.

Auditionees should prepare one minute of a song they feel demonstrates both their singing and acting abilities. They need to bring the sheet music to the audition; we will provide the accompanist. We look forward to seeing you there!!!!

Sign-up sheet posted on the TRDA call-board

Friday, September 3, 2010

AUDITIONS: DanceWorks Fall 2010

Date: September 8th, 2010
Time: 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm
Location: J Dance Studio (on the main campus of GWU)

Open auditions for Fall 2010 DanceWorks featuring guest artist Susan Rethorst with faculty and student choreography. Concert Director, Anthony Gongora.

Dancers arrive at 6:30 pm to complete paperwork

Dancers will audition barefoot

NO DANCE SHOES PLEASE

for more information please visit:
http://theatredance.gwu.edu
or call (202) 994 0995

Monday, August 30, 2010

Auditions: The Tempest - September 1 & 2 from 6:30pm to 10:00pm in Building XX

William Shakespeare's The Tempest
Directed by Clay Hopper

Auditions will be held on September 1 & 2 from 6:30pm to 10:00pm in Building XX, 202.
If needed, there will be callbacks held on September 3.

Actors are to prepare any Shakespeare monologue no longer than 2 minutes.
Sign up sheets are posted on call-board.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Welcome back! from the Dept. Chair

Looking forward to seeing everyone back at GW next week! I can't wait to start teaching classes again and to welcome the Freshman dancers to our Department. See you soon!

All the best,
Dana

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Bourgeon article by TRDA Dance major Kathryn Boland

http://bourgeononline.com/2010/08/university-and-professional-arts-collaborations-mind-the-gap/

Kathryn Boland is a rising Senior at the George Washington University, majoring in Dance. She is also minoring in Art History, Theater, and English. Originally from Newport, Rhode Island, she is fascinated with anything and everything artistic. A former intern, she is currently an editorial assistant for Bourgeon.

Monday, July 26, 2010

Maida Withers performs in Las Vegas in celebration honoring Alwin Nikolais

MAIDA WITHERS DANCE CONSTRUCTION COMPANY

Performs at 12th Annual Dance in the Desert Festival, Las Vegas, Nevada,
Honoring Alwin Nikolais
Maida Withers, former guest teacher for famed multimedia/dance artist Alwin Nikolais, joins with other dance colleagues to celebrate the 100th year of Nik's birth. Maida Withers, Ayo Okunseinde, new media, and Steve Hilmy, composer/musician, will perform Fare Well - The End of the World As We Know It OR Dancing Your Way to Paradise! on Friday, July 30, 2010 at the Nicholas J. Horne Theatre in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Exciting Alumni Update: Nicholette Routhier

Many of you may remember a wonderful PSA dance / theatre student who graduated from GW in 2004 by the name of Nicholette Routhier. She has just completed her MFA in physical theatre. If you have the time, please visit her new web page. Impressive.

http://www.nicholetterouthier.com

Nicholette was very involved with the DC Dance Improvisation Festival when it was co-sponsored by GW. She handled all the classes taught. She is a beautiful dancer/actor. I am so very proud of all her accomplishments.

Best regards,
Maida

Friday, June 4, 2010

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Courtney Coughlin Honors Thesis photos taken by GW alum, Adam Peiperl





Adam Peiperl CCAS BS '57, is a kinetic light sculptor, photographer, and videographer.
Guide to the Adam Peiperl collection
at the Special Collections Research Center, The Gelman Library

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Washington Post review: The Dancing Princesses (by Allyson Currin and Christopher Youstra)

Set in the Roaring ‘20’s, the show is a new musical take on the old Grimm’s tale. After the death of his beloved Queen, a grief-stricken King banishes dance from all the land, much to the distress of his people, including his two daughters, Lara and Lena. But the girls find their way to a magical world where jazz music, the Charleston and their mother’s indomitable spirit are alive and well. Finally, the girls, his loyal lieutenant and a muckraking newspaper man bring the King to his senses. He lifts the ban and everyone rediscovers the joy of living.

Read this great article in the Post's Weekend section!

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/28/AR2010042804633.html

Check out the Facebook page for more outstanding reviews!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dancing-Princesses-by-Allyson-Currin-and-Christopher-Youstra/104981839536833?v=info#!/pages/The-Dancing-Princesses-by-Allyson-Currin-and-Christopher-Youstra/104981839536833?v=wall&viewas=1620154467

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Senior Thesis in Modern Choreography: Trials of Terpsichore

Courtney Coughlin has always been enchanted by Terpsichore and the myths and legends of the muses. As a young girl she thought Balanchine's Apollo should have been less about the guy in tights and more about those magical creatures who stole the show. Trials of Terpsichore is a bit like that--its a look at a few mythical women and the stories that surround them, putting real dancers in their place, and seeing what happens when they start to dance.
Designed to be performed onsite at the Capitol Columns of the National Arboretum, the work recalls the world in which Corinthian columns were originally designed, as well as every artist since that time who has ever idealized that world and its inhabitants. At 3:30 on Saturday, May 1 surrounded by acres of grassy meadow and blooming azaleas, Courtney and her dancers will be celebrating that artistic tradition, and she would like for you to join them.
The National Arboretum is accessible by via public transportation (Metro to Stadium/Armory and bus B2), but Courtney is coordinating alternative transportation departing from campus. If you or someone you know has a vehicle available to bring others to the performance. please contact Rick Westerkamp (rick1987@gwmail.gwu.edu) or Whitney Fetterhoff (whitney.fetterhoff@gmail.com).

Monday, April 12, 2010

Dean Barratt's blog

If you haven't already seen it, you might want to check out Dean Barratt's blog about attending opening night of Evening of Beckett.

http://blogs.columbian.gwu.edu/deansblog/

Enjoy!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Senior, Emily Murphy, awarded Claeyssens Prize

We were just informed that the Claeyssens Prize* (through the English Department) has been awarded to Emily Murphy, a graduating senior majoring in Dramatic Literature and minoring in Theatre.

Hurray!

*Astere E. Claeyssens Prize—Established in 1981 by the Trustees of the Bess and Arthur Dick Family Foundation. It is awarded for the best original work in playwriting by a student enrolled in the University.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Allyson Currin: The Dancing Princesses
















The Dancing Princesses
Book by Allyson Currin
Music and Lyrics by
Christopher Youstra
Directed by Kathryn Chase Bryer

In the Annette M. and Theodore N. Lerner Family Theatre at Imagination Stage

April 17-May 30
Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 & 4:00
Saturday at 11:00 (May 8 & 15)
Single tickets: $10-$21
Group discounts for parties of 10+
Call For Tickets at 301-280-1660

Set in the Roaring ‘20’s, the show is a new musical take on the old Grimm’s tale. After the death of his beloved Queen, a grief-stricken King banishes dance from all the land, much to the distress of his people, including his two daughters, Lara and Lena. But the girls find their way to a magical world where jazz music, the Charleston and their mother’s indomitable spirit are alive and well. Finally, the girls, his loyal lieutenant and a muckraking newspaper man bring the King to his senses. He lifts the ban and everyone rediscovers the joy of living.

Enjoyed by ages 4 and up.

Monday, March 22, 2010

Mary Buckley in "There Is An Elephant In This Dance"

Saturday, March 27 at 8pm
Sunday, March 28 at 7pm

The elephant is a rich and contradictory image that choreographer Lionel Popkin puts front and center in There Is An Elephant In This Dance. Set around a human-size elephant costume, Popkin refers to both the obvious and the unspoken—from religious iconography to personal cultural heritage to the arrival of parenthood. The work is an evening-length dance in which choreographer/performer Lionel Popkin is interrupted by and entwined with his own group of dancers as well as local DC dance artists. The piece features original music by Obie and Bessie winning composer/cellist/vocalist Robert Een .

Popkin’s dances are characterized by his blend of humor, subtle sensuality, precision, sly wit, and raw physical power that The Village Voice says, “yields first to the senses” and then to “intimate adventures”. His work comes from a deeply sensory and unabashed kinesthetic curiosity that places vibrant individuals within an imagistic or abstract landscape.

Mary Buckley , George Washington University Professor and former Board Member of Dance Place, will dance the role of the Elephant. Other performers include recent MFA graduate from George Mason University Adriane Fang, and Carolyn Hall.

Buy tickets at www.danceplace.org

Monday, March 15, 2010

The Washington Post: Lord Arthur Savile's Crime

The Washington Post:
"a pleasingly lighthearted adaptation, by Largess himself, of Oscar Wilde's novella Lord Arthur Savile's Crime. The production, which features a suitably foppish James Konicek as the unctuous, utterly clueless Lord Arthur, is a palate-cleansing way to inaugurate the Stage Guild's new life, in the undercroft of a Methodist church on Massachusetts Avenue, a block from the Convention Center. Largess, who also directs this world premiere, does a swell job of converting the ripostes of Wilde's novella into dialogue. With all these gentle ministrations, the guild genially takes up where it left off." -Peter Marks.

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Afgahni vocalist and celebrity, Mozhdah Jamalzadah, visits GW

Mozhdah Jamalzadah.

Mozhdah Jamalzadah is the most famous female vocalist in Afghanistan and Thursday, after she sang for President Obama at the White House, she visited the Dance and Community Settings class to talk about the power of art and its ability to help women in Afghanistan. She launches her new nationally televised talk show this year from Kabul. The students asked sophisticated questions regarding global politics and the place of art as a transformative medium. She finished her question and answer session by singing to the class in Farsi. She was phenomenal and we look forward to following her show and videos on YouTube and on her website!

Website: www.mozhdahmusic.com

Much thanks to Jill Staggs and the State Department for arranging this wonderful moment at GWU! Dana

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

UNEVENLANE AT THE KENNEDY CENTER Mary Lane Director

October 28 and 29, 2010 - 6:00pm

Mary Lane, Director of Unevenlane, has been selected selected for the John
F. Kennedy Center 10th Annual Local Dance Commissioning Project Award. The
Kennedy Center created the Local Dance Commissioning Project (LDCP) in 2001
to foster new dance works by local artists, and present these artists to the
widest possible audience via the Millennium Stage and the internet
web-casts. A select number of Washington, D.C. metro area choreographers are
chosen each year from a pool of more than 50 applicants. The project
provides funds for each artist to create a new piece, a venue to premiere
the work, as well as rehearsal space and technical assistance. Past LDCP
recipients have included Nejla Yatkin, Jason Hartley, Ed Tyler, Boris
Willis, Meisha Bosma, Ludovic Jolivet, Helanius J. Wilkins, Aysha Upchurch,
Gesel Mason, Karen Reedy, Vincent Thomas, and Cassie Meador.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

ATTN: TIME CHANGE: The South Africa Project, Feb 5th at 12:00 pm

Created under the Apartheid regime in the early 1950's, and situated about 30 miles northwest of Pretoria, the sprawling rural township of Winterveldt, South Africa (population of over 700,000) is plagued with the challenges of extreme poverty, including a 50% unemployment rate and 25% HIV/AIDS infection rate; family violence; teen pregnancy; lack of education and opportunity. Yet despite these problems, the community is actively working to heal and restore its population, with contributions from various civic and religious organizations and private individuals. One of the most effective community organizations, the Bokamoso Youth Center, works with at-risk youth to bring focus and hope to their lives, and to get them into school and training programs. Since 2003, Professor Leslie Jacobson and colleague Roy Barber from St. Andrews Episcopal School, often accompanied by several GW students on undergraduate fellowships, have worked with the youth from Bokamoso in Winterveldt, S.A. Each summer, they have developed plays and songs that address social problems in their community. Since 2004, youth from the Bokamoso Youth Center have traveled to the U.S., staying with GW students for three to four days, attending classes, and performing at the Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre of the George Washington University, to benefit the Center's Scholarship Fund. This past summer, three GW students, Elizabeth Acevedo, Caroline O'Grady, and Scout Seide, partially funded by Gamow and Luther Rice Undergraduate Fellowships, accompanied Prof. Jacobson to Winterveldt. Together with Roy Barber and the youth of Bokamoso, they created a new play about the meaning of success, Halfway to Somewhere. The Feb. 5th performance features this play, followed by the performance of traditional African song and dance, and a guest appearance by the GW Troubadours.

Sponsers:
GW Department of Theatre and Dance, with the support of the Department of Music, Africana Studies, Women's Studies, and the Multi-Cultural Students Association; and by St. Andrew's Episcopal School and The Seekers Church.


Where:
The George Washington University
Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre
Marvin Center 1st Floor
800 21st Street, NW, Washington, D.C.
(Foggy Bottom-GWU Metro Station, Blue and Orange lines)

When:
Friday, February 5, 2010 at 12:00 p.m.

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Guest Artist Jodi Melnick in NY Times

Dear Colleagues:

In the Sunday New York Times, January 24, 2010, Jodi Melnick, our current TrDA DanceWorks guest artist, was featured in a story about a new work she will be performing for choreographer, Jon Kinzel, at the Kitchen this weekend. The Kitchen is a dance space usually involving new media and technology with dance.
We are so delighted with the residency of Jodi. She is such a brilliant performer, an inspiring choreographer, and an accessible person. I met Jodi in Russia in 2005 where I was in residence creating Thresholds Crossed and she was teaching an amazing class for the TsEKh Summer School. We are so delighted with her work for nine of our dancers.
Best regards,
Maida
DanceWorks Concert Director, 2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/24/arts/24weekahead.html

Monday, January 25, 2010

DanceMotion USA

This past Friday, January 22, the Department of Theatre & Dance hosted a Showcase Event, DanceMotion USASM, presented by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).

DanceMotion USASM is a cultural exchange program designed to reach out to international audiences by sharing and exploring the contemporary dance experience. Welcome and introductory remarks were made by Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Department Chair, and Peg Barratt, Dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, followed by Karen Brooks Hopkins, President of BAM, Joseph V. Melillo, Executive Producer, and Maura M. Pally, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Professional and Cultural Exchanges Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs for the U.S. Department of State.

The program featured presentations and repertory excerpts by three inaugural DanceMotion USASM companies, URBAN BUSH WOMEN, ODC/DANCE, and EVICENCE, A DANCE COMPANY.

A Q&A moderated by Dana Tai Soon Burgess followed the presentation.


Thursday, January 21, 2010

DanceMotion USAsm



Driving in my car today, I heard “George Washington University” mentioned on the radio: it was an interview of the former President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg by Mark Plotkin, and he was being asked some serious questions like “why did you deserve such a large salary?” “why is the students’ tuition so expensive?” “how do you respond to the rankings of schools in the U.S. News & World Report ‘Best Colleges’ issue?” and my favorite “I’ve heard that GWU was called a ‘lackluster’ school decades ago. Is this true?”

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Study Dance in Peru This Summer

TRDA 195. 10
Study Dance in Peru This Summer Professor: D.T.S. Burgess
This is a summer immersion course in Lima, Peru where students learn about the culture and history of Peru from the Incas to present day through dance! No Spanish required, but a sincere interest in travel and the arts are a must.
To apply contact: Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Chair Theatre and Dance Department
dtsb@gwu.edu
202-994-1660
(on Campus: 5/17-5/23 & abroad: 5/25-5/31)