Category Archives: Arts

Insights from Choreographer Robert J. Priore

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I first saw Robert Priore dance with CityDance in February of 2011. He is a phenomenal dancer, now dancing with Company E and working as CityDance Conservatory’s Choreographer-in-Residence.

Photo: Theo Kossenas, Media 4 Artists Dancer: Dana Pajarillaga, CityDance Conservatory dancer

Robert began choreographing at Point Park University, where he received a BFA in Jazz Dance. He joined Dayton Contemporary Dance Company 2 after college under the direction of Shonna Hickman-Matlock. He was commissioned to set two full-length original works for Dayton Contemporary Dance Company’s 2010-2011 season. Robert continues to explore his talent for choreography as part of CityDance’s faculty by creating colorful, eclectic works like “Carnaval” and “Trees”.

Rob’s work will appear this weekend at the CityDance Studio Theater at Strathmore Hall in an evening of dance with CityDance Conservatory and Hubbard Street 2.

I had the opportunity to ask Rob a few questions about his experience with dance and choreography, focusing on this weekend’s performance.

Why did you choose to pursue a career in dance? 


Robert Priore: I often ask myself why I chose a career in dance, but the answer I’ve come to is that dance chose me. From a young age I was a mover and a shaker, constantly making up dances for my sister and I. It wasn’t until I was 13 when my parents put me in dance classes that I knew I absolutely had to be a dancer. No matter how much I have to struggle physically or financially – I will be a dancer.

Can you describe your inspiration for My Heart has Four Corners, which will be a part of this weekend’s performance?

Robert Priore: My Heart has Four Corners looks at the idea of supporting the one you love. The four corners of a square are strong and resistant and can withhold a lot of pressure. The same speaks for the boundaries of a committed relationship.

I’ve seen you dance with CityDance Ensemble and in videos online from Company E. You are a wonderful mover and performer. In your current position at CityDance, you have to move from performance to choreography. What do you like about choreographing and what are some of the challenges you may face?

Robert Priore: Dancing and choreographing are really like apples and oranges to me. When I am dancing and working with Company E I have to turn on one part of my brain, and when I am teaching and choreographing I need to activate another part. However with that being said, I believe that when I’m doing both at the same time it gives me an extra insight to share with the students that is different from most educators and choreographers. When I’m working with them at night, I’m also going through the same process during the day. As much as I love dancing, I have always felt myself to be more of a choreographer. There’s a rush you get when you watch your choreography on stage that can’t be replaced by any other feeling.

What can guests look forward to tomorrow at Strathmore?

Robert Priore: I think everyone will be in for a real surprise at this concert. Never in my four years of professional dancing experience or in my 10 years of teaching, have I seen young dancers move this way. I’m very excited to see how the audience responds to these dancers performing the work that I’ve created, as well as in the pieces others have crafted.

 Tickets are still available for tomorrow night’s performance, CityDance Presents Hubbard Street 2 and CityDance Conservatory Dancers at Strathmore at 8PM. I hope you are able to attend the performance – and let me know what you enjoyed most! If you can’t attend on Saturday, the cancelled performance tonight will be held as an open rehearsal with a suggested $20 donation. You can purchase tickets by visiting the Strathmore site or by calling 301.581.5100.

CityDance presents Hubbard Street 2 + CityDance Conservatory

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Photo credit: Todd Rosenberg. Dancers: Nick Korkos and Felicia McBride

As part of the second installment of CityDance’s 2012/13 Professional Artist Series, CityDance presents Hubbard Street 2 and the CityDance Conservatory.

Under the direction of CityDance Artistic Director Lorraine Spiegler, CityDance Conservatory provides high quality year-­round dance education to over 100 young dancers ages 12-19. Throughout the weekend, CityDance Conservatory dancers will join Hubbard Street 2 (HS2) in technique and repertory classes. What a fantastic experience for the CityDance Conservatory dancers to dance with some of Chicago’s finest dancers – I’m quite jealous!

I first heard of HS2, the apprentice company of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, in 2010, when they premiered “Harold and the Purple Crayon: A Dance Adventure” – the company’s first program-length work created specifically for young people and families – at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. I was there for an internship, but unfortunately wasn’t able to attend the performance.

Hubbard Street 2 will perform works by Hubbard Street Resident Choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo and HSDC Company member Robyn Mineko Williams. CityDance Conservatory dancers will perform Choreographer Megan Adelsberger’s I Remember and Christopher K. Morgan’s Brutal Beauty, as well as works going nowhere, getting somewhere and My Heart has Four Corners by Robert Priore, CityDance Conservatory 2012/13 Choreographer-in-Residence.

Alexe Nowakowski, CityDance Executive Director, is excited about this partnership explaining, “we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to bring celebrated dance artists, like Hubbard Street 2, to the community. This performance fulfills our primary mission of bringing high-­level dance to the DC metro area, while also giving CityDance’s students
access to professional artists.”

I invite you to attend this performance at the CityDance Studio Theater and appreciate the energy of the dancers. Friday’s performance has been cancelled due to issues revolving around Hurricane Sandy. The performance Saturday, November 3 at 8PM is still on! You can purchase tickets by visiting the Strathmore site or by calling 301.581.5100.

If you can’t get enough dance, check out the CityDance performance schedule.

Christopher K. Morgan & Artists: Spiraling

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What I love most about Christopher K. Morgan & Artists, besides the amazing film promos, is that by simply watching the movement, I want to dance. The quality and organic nature of the movement, combined with partnering and altering of the physical space they are performing in with props or set design, creates an idea or emotion that always draws me into the work.

CityDance resident artist Christopher K. Morgan and his company, Christopher K. Morgan & Artists (CKM&A) will perform Spiraling, a concert featuring Morgan’s “forward thinking choreography” (Ballet-Dance Magazine) this weekend at the CityDance Studio Theater at Strathmore.  Christopher K. Morgan’s C’est le ton qui fait la chanson, a playful work set to nostalgic 1930′s French music will open the program.

Over the 2012/13 season, CKM&A has focused on collaboration and is demonstrating this focus by presenting CityDance Conservatory, along with the Dance Exchange in this concert.

Photo by Brianne Bland

CityDance Conservatory is debuting a new contemporary ballet work that Morgan was commissioned to create. Also, on the program is Morgan’s critically acclaimed piece, Rice, which was hailed by The New York Times as “charming and poignant.”

The Dance Exchange will present a work in progress excerpt of Ground Loss by their Resident Artist Sarah Levitt.  Closing the program will be the company premiere of Morgan’s 2012 work De-Generate. 

The performances this Saturday an Sunday will be followed by a discussion with the artists, providing audiences with a unique opportunity to deepen their understanding of the work, ask questions, and share their thoughts. You can order tickets online or call the office at 301.581.5100. Tickets are $20 for students and $25 for general admission.

JMU Alumni Dance Concert

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The dance program at James Madison University is no longer in asbestos-filled Godwin Hall, but rather in the swanky and contemporary Forbes Performing Arts Center across from the quad. This past weekend, my dance company, Dogwood Dance Project, along with other JMU dance alum performed at Forbes and shared insights into what they have done post graduation. I was able to hear about the dance companies and opportunities the JMU dance majors have landed or created for themselves in a panel and am proud of the achievements of these 355 ladies.

UpRooted Dance directed by Keira Hart-Mendoza

UpRooted Dance began with the idea of creating a contemporary dance company that could easily be uprooted and taken somewhere new. Uprooted Dance also explores performance and dance settings apart from the proscenium stage. Recently, these dancers performed on a rooftop in Washington, D.C. Most often, Keira runs the company as a project based pick-up company, but currently there are 7 members of the company and all are JMU dance alum! If you are interested in learning more about this dance company and helping to fund their 2012-13 season, please visit their Indiegogo campaign.

R.A.D.A.R. [Richmond Area Dance Artists Redefined]

RADAR is a modern dance company located in Richmond, Virginia. The company has been dancing together since 2006, when they were known as Z Mullins Dance Company. In the summer of 2011, Z Mullins Dance Company disbanded and the dancers decided to continue creating and performing work collaboratively as RADAR. There are 5 JMU dance alum in this collaborative company.

Dogwood Dance Project

Dogwood Dance Project was founded by 4 JMU dance graduates looking for ways to integrate their education and shared experiences into quality, ‘real-world’ art. There are now 6 JMU dance alum dancing with Terra.

Dogwood Dance Project meets for rehearsals in Richmond, Prince George, Gordonsville, Charlottesville, and Chesapeake, Virginia with the important mission–to bring innovative, unique and varied dance to audiences throughout the Commonwealth of  Virginia and beyond–without establishing ‘home’ in any one place. This season, Dogwood has started a Youth Ensemble as part of the education initiative to provide a pre-professional education experience for dancers interested in pursuing dance after high school.

rva dance collective directed by Jess Burgess and Danica Kalemdaroglu

rva dance collective sprung from the creative collaboration between the artistic directors and there are currently 2 JMU alum in this company, based in Richmond. rva dance collective offers a FREE modern technique class on Sunday mornings from 10-11:15am open to all dancers in the community. Classes are held at Dogtown Dance Theatre in historic Manchester in the main second floor space.

Shojorakudava

Shojorakudava is a U.S. based Japanese Butoh dance company founded by JMU Alum and now JMU adjunct professor, Julia Vessey. The company has worked with a few dancers from JMU and now works with Heather Lundy, another JMU alum. The company was created in coordination with Maro Akaji, the Tokyo-based Butoh master and founder of the world-renown dance company Dairakudakan. To give some background, Butoh was started in Tokyo as an artistic reflection to the horrors of the two atomic bombs dropped in Japan at the end of the second World War.

All of these dance companies performed as part of the JMU Alumni Dance Concert and I am very proud of these dancers for pursuing their art. Of course, the reach of JMU dance is not limited to these DC/VA companies I’ve highlighted today, but it was wonderful to share the weekend celebrating dance and professional performance with these lovely women. Best of luck to those still dancing away at JMU and remember that all the alum are here to help you get to where you want to go.

First Fridays: Thompson and Trammel Dance Company

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A Charlottesville dance icon, Miki Liszt, with her company presents the First Fridays dance series to showcase small contemporary dance companies and individual choreographers. After the performance, the dancers or choreographers invite the audience to participate in a discussion about the performance. In my experience, this is one of the best parts of the evening, as the crowd is very open to modern dance and willing to share how the work(s) made them feel.

First Fridays in October was particularly wonderful as the performance featured two professors from James Madison University.  Cynthia Thompson and Kate Trammell of thompson and trammell presented two solo works with very different themes.

Cynthia started the show with neither here… (2012). There was a strong sense of melancholy within this work, very different from the typical Cynthia style I know. The work was created by Mark Anderson and Isabelle Kralj, in collaboration with Cynthia Thompson. The dance focused around several teacups, probably thirty sets of cups and saucers. As the work began, Cynthia was caressing them as if they had an identity and eventually changed her demeanor towards them and placed them in specific rows as if it were her job to align them just so. Video featuring dangling teacups was incorporated into this work providing an additional element to the music, movement, and voice. At the very end of the dance, she dropped a teacup. Within the discussion following the performance, an audience member chimed in that she wished the teacup would have broken at that moment.

Cynthia shared with the audience that this piece was inspired by going through her parents belongings and finding great personal meaning in each object.  At the same time, she had to deal with the idea that these objects are just things, and have no meaning to anyone else.

Kate followed with HAPPEN CHANCE (2008) with choreography, text and costumes by Claire Porter. This was also a very different dance from typical Kate, but was very successful. After seeing Claire perform this dance, Kate approached Claire and asked if she would set this on her during the summer when she was at the White Mountain Summer Dance Festival at Sarah Lawrence College. This dance required Kate to memorize a long speech and incorporate movement into the story. As she referred to different characters, they were given different movements, so eventually she could dance their movement and we knew who they were!

The discussion after the performance was very interesting to me. While I was focusing on the humor and talent that Kate had in delivering the monologue and remembering which move went with what, others in the audience were applying the performance to life today. One of the audience members brought up the idea that the dance spoke to how fast we move through life focusing on something only momentarily before moving onto the next thing. Think about technology: we moved so quickly – from giant computers, to desktops, to laptops, to smart phones, to tablets – always in search of the next big thing.

I invite you to join my dance company, Terra Dance Project, at the November 2 First Fridays Dance Series at McGuffey Arts Center in downtown Charlottesville.

Dancer Spotlight: Kate Folsom

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Kate Folsom

I danced with Kate in college at James Madison University and we performed together in the Virginia Repertory Dance Company. She graduated in 2011 and has already immersed herself within the D.C. dance community. Over the summer, Kate was temporarily serving as the Interim Executive Administrator and this month is starting as Programs Associate at Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance.

With Dance/USA you helped plan the 2012 Annual Conference in San Francisco. What were the top lessons you learned in planning an arts conference?

April Gruber, Director of Programs, and myself inherited a lot of work initiated by other people. We found that honoring the relationships Dance/USA created, as well as being as prepared prior to the conference were extremely helpful. We were striving to put all the labor in before we left, so that the conference would ‘fall into place’ so to speak. Events of this caliber are impossible to be perfect, but I believe preparation, minute-by-minute planning, and professional & genuine attitudes are skills I will use in future event planning, as well as my creative partnerships.

What were some of your key takeaways from the conference, either in coordinating the event or participating in workshops?

The dance world is huge and small. Huge in the fact that comprehending the budget size of some companies, or the staffing it takes to run performance venues was not a concept I had experienced first hand before. It was humbling to know what there is to look forward to in my future, as well as scouting the type of positions I would like to hold in my professional career.

The dance world is small in that so many of the professionals in attendance had long term ties with so many colleagues and have relationships they’ve built initiated by the Dance/USA Annual Conference. I know I will see familiar faces when I return to the conference in Philadelphia, and will continue to see these folks throughout my life and hope to generate good working relationships from the full scope of the dance field.

What are some things you are learning now about arts administrators or dance in the “real world” that surprised you?

Arts administrator is a far reach from the movement-based college experience I had. I am dancing significantly less and find myself having to mentally push myself to go to classes and train on my own time. I had been told “you’ll miss having these classes everyday,” or “you’re lucky to get one class a week in the real world.” I’m finding that to be true in many ways, but it’s certainly possible to be in arts administration and dance at the level you’re capable of. It’s difficult, and I’m still figuring out that balance.

Working at Dance/USA was my first experience in an office setting and it has taught me so much about professionalism, the scope of dance advocates, and the importance of administrators in the continuance of the dance field. The hours and nature of the work is something for me to get used to as a kinetic person, but I know the importance of what I’m doing and it encourages me to keep up that work for the field of dance, and to keep being an advocate for dance for my own future as well.

I hope I will continue to be surprised about the world of dance.

I’ve spoken with Keira Hart about having so many JMU alumni in UpRooted Dance. It’s great that the JMU dance community is making moves in D.C. What are some differences from the college dance setting and professional dancing?

Being in UpRooted Dance has allowed me to transition and adjust to the dance scene in DC smoothly. I am dancing with women I danced with in college and have a group of like-minded people to go to other performances with, explore my artistic voice in this area, and have a home base of artists to converse with about where we came from and where we want to go. I’m fortunate to get to continue friendships and creative partnerships that allow me to grow in an existing family and encourage me to branch out to artists that are new to me. I dance significantly less than I did in school, but it makes our rehearsals that much more potent and valuable. Every show is a blessing, and each person that comes out to support our work is truly an advocate, whereas in school… they might have been forced to go and write a paper about it. Both are valid reasons for experiencing dance, but I know that the development into a true dance supporter is what makes the professional world of dance so much more meaningful.

Kate is successfully pursuing dance in the real world through working, performing, and being involved in the arts space. Working with Dance/USA has taught her about the politics and administrative side of dance, while rehearsing with companies, like UpRooted Dance, have given her professional performance experience.

Insights from Choreographer Christopher K. Morgan

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Typically when we go to dance shows, we watch the dances and make up our own ideas about the work to figure out what it means to us. There isn’t a whole lot of understanding about how the piece came to be or what it was inspired by as we sit in the theater. In my experience, having the opportunity to talk to the choreographer or dancers can be eye opening, as you may not have looked at the work from their perspective.

While beneficial, it’s not often that you have the chance to hear the choreographers’ perspective about what their work means and how it was conceptualized and created in words. Most often you learn about the work through just the movement and imagery on stage.

I was fortunate enough to hear from Christopher K. Morgan about his first full-length piece, Limited Visibility, and now have the opportunity to share his insights.

How did you come up with the idea for Limited Visibility?

Christopher K. Morgan: The idea for the piece began over 2 years ago.  I had the good fortune to be having my work presented in beautiful, large venues, which was wonderful and exciting.  But it made me wonder, how could I create a greater sense of intimacy in a large space, so audiences would literally want to move forward in their seats?  My answer to this was to use lighting.  And the more I thought about this, the more I wanted to create a piece where the dancers controlled the lighting.

How has Limited Visibility transformed and changed over the past year?

Christopher K. Morgan: The workshop version last year was probably the first time I looked at a work of mine onstage and realized there was more to be said in the piece.   In finishing it’s statement in the last several months, new sections have been added, other lighting sources, new pieces of music as well.  And of course with new dancers come new ideas and movement vocabularies to best suit each performer.

When I saw the beginning of the piece last year, it made me both excited and uncomfortable because of the athleticism, imagery and the fact I felt like I was intruding on a personal intimate moment. What kind of emotions did you aim to draw from the dancers and the audience?

Christopher K. Morgan: That is exactly the range of responses I hope to elicit! I also really hope that as the imagery of the work washes over the audience, they find themselves in the work at some point and see their own story within the performers onstage.

The lighting for this performance is not traditional, what was your goal or inspiration?

Christopher K. Morgan: In addition to creating an intimate space where the audience feels close to the work, I want there to be a clear sense that the dancers are designing and in charge of their environment.  I also really enjoy when a familiar object that we all know well, such as fluorescent tube lighting, can be used in way that might surprise us, or make us look at the object differently.

I absolutely love your movement vocabulary and quality of movement. Do you set specific movement on the dancers or did they take part in the creation of the work?

Christopher K. Morgan: It’s both.  I create lots of movement whenever I make a piece.  I have a particular aesthetic and movement vocabulary that my body of work has been developing for years; strong balletic use of the lower body, a sinuous use of the spine, an urgency of momentum, spreading weight into the floor and gesture.  Frequently in the creative process I’ll create movement phrases, then give the dancers compositional assignments and ask them to reference the phrase work.  This way they can invest themselves into the work, but it still maintains a cohesive aesthetic and identity. I also invite them to write about the subject matter of the work, and that then influences directions we chose to go in with the piece, and sometimes is a source of movement inspiration.

What is your favorite part of Limited Visibility?

Christopher K. Morgan: There are so many! Which makes me realize that I really love how you get an opportunity to see each dancer in the piece as an individual.  Despite the “Limited Visibility”, they are all seen clearly.

If you want to see this work in its entirety, Christopher K. Morgan & Artists: Limited Visibility will be performed at the CityDance Studio Theater at Strathmore on Saturday, April 21 at 8:15pm and on Sunday, April 22 at 3pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by going to http://www.strathmore.org or by calling 301.581.5100.

Christopher K. Morgan & Artists: Limited Visibility

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Christopher K. Morgan & Artists

Photo by Brianne Bland

What do we hide from public view? Are we different people when we are behind closed doors? Christopher K. Morgan & Artists explore this idea in the evening length work, Limited Visibility.

Limited Visibility exposes and brings to light the secrets and emotions held closest to us as the dancers investigate methods of sharing personal moments with the audience. Morgan worked with the dancers to look within to reveal their struggles and create movement and themes that those watching will be able to connect with in some way.

“Each of us – performers and audience members alike – has struggles with our identity, family, values, loneliness and feelings of inadequacy,” says Morgan. “These are themes that any audience member can relate to, and yet they also have specificity to their point of origin.”

I saw the beginning structure of the work last February at the show ‘Hold Your Breath Until the End’ when Christopher K. Morgan worked with the CityDance Ensemble before they disbanded in the spring. In the first draft of the dance, the dancers turned on different forms of light onstage to show the audience their secrets. The dancers revealed intimates moments with the audience using costumes, props, and set pieces. Shadows cast by the unconventional lighting kept the viewer’s somewhat in the dark as we watched and drew connections with ourselves. The movement was bold and athletic; the dancers didn’t hold anything back.

Christopher K. Morgan & Artists worked for over 18 months on Limited Visibility, Morgan’s first evening length piece that premiered at the Alden Theatre in March.  Incorporating Morgan’s twisting, graceful movement, the work uses design, music, and athleticism to highlight the dancers’ unique abilities and stories.

Christopher K. Morgan & Artists: Limited Visibility will be performed at the CityDance Studio Theater at Strathmore on Saturday, April 21 at 8:15pm and on Sunday, April 22 at 3pm. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by going to http://www.strathmore.org or by calling 301.581.5100.

Company E and the Imperfect Dancers Company of Italy

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Nothing about dance speaks to me quite as much as the ‘universal language’ aspect of the art form. Be it traditional, cultural dance or more disciplined and technical dance, it is universally understood because anyone, anywhere can do it. I don’t think any other performing art can transcend language and cultural barriers in quite the same way because everyone on earth was born with the tools for dance—their own body and a drive to move in their everyday lives. Recognizing how dance can be a tool for international education and communication, acclaimed choreographer and artistic director Paul Gordon Emerson has launched Company E in Washington, D.C.

Emerson, probably best known in the district for his 15 years as founder and artistic director of CityDance Ensemble, sees Company E as the next step in promoting cultural exchange and partnerships through dance. While CityDance most certainly began this process with its tours to places like Russia and the Middle East, Company E picks up the reins having already worked internationally in countries including Peru, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Israel, Russia and China with the support of the US State Department, presenting the work of world-class, cutting edge choreographers from across the globe and teaching master classes, workshops and performing lecture demonstrations along the way.

While the company’s performance calendar has them in Israel, Switzerland and Belarus in early 2012, they will open their 2011-12 season this weekend in D.C. as presenters instead of performers. Presented in partnership with The Embassy of Italy/Italia Cultural Institute, the Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) and RED International Performing Arts (an Italian cultural association under Artistic Director/President Bruno Valentino Perillo), Company E kicks off their season with Sacre: The Imperfect Dancers Company of Italy.

Based in Rome, the Imperfect Dancers Company is led by Artistic Directors Paola Catalani and Walter Matteini. Having received critical acclaim from the European press, the company is enthusiastic about an American debut, where they will showcase Matteini’s ‘signature’ work, Sacre, a bold and physical piece set to Igor Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.

The Imperfect Dancers will also perform Thinking Outside the Box, another work of international origins having been developed in residency at the National Choreography Centre in Nantes and then premiered at the International Tanz Festival in Regensburg, Germany. The piece, which explores the tensions of free will and love, is at the same time softly expressive and intense as the dancers move fluidly, punctuated with convulsive extensions and quick footwork.

Bringing The Imperfect Dancers to D.C. is a perfect beginning for Company E’s international season, proving right from the start the reciprocal benefits of what dance exchange can do for communities. “The DC scene needs to take in new art and see new things,” Emerson says. “Thanks to the work that Company E is doing, I see dance literally all over the world now, and I wanted to begin to share that with DC audiences.”

Sacre: The Imperfect Dancers Company of Italy, will be performed at the Lansburgh Theatre – Harman Center for the Arts, 450 7th Street NW in D.C. on Saturday, December 10th at 8pm and Sunday, December 11th at 2pm. Tickets are $18 for general admission, $12 for students and seniors and can be purchased at the Harman Center for the Arts Box Office, by phone at (202) 547-1122, or online at www.shakespearetheatre.org. Patrons are advised that the performance contains partial nudity.

Guest post written by Ilana Burger