Contemporary Dance / Fort Worth Previous Seasons

2013-2014 Season

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CD/FW Residency
Performances
at UT Dallas
October 24-26, 2013  
Family Celebration Weekend
Kimbell Art Museum
Piano Pavilion Lobby
Sunday Jan. 12, 2014  
Merge TCC District
Faculty and Guest
Dance Concert
Friday March 7, 2014  
Spring Break
Dance Workshops

March 12-14, 2014  
Spring Gallery Night
Rebecca Low Sculptural
Metal Gallery & Studio
Saturday March 29, 2014  
Live Bates: Structured
improvisations at the Modern
Art Museum of Fort Worth
Friday April 4, 2014  
11th Annual Modern
Dance Festival
at The Modern
July 11-July 25, 2014  
Bill Evans Institute

 
July 26-July 30, 2014  
Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth Residency Performances at UT Dallas
Thursday – Saturday October 24–26, 2013, 8pm
The Thursday evening performance is FREE to the general public, the Friday & Saturday shows are $15 general admission.   Ticket Information

Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth is a featured company “in residence” for the UT-Dallas Dance Ensemble’s fall concert at the University Theatre on the Richardson campus. The UT-Dallas Dance Ensemble will premiere the commissioned work “False Light” choreographed by CD/FW artistic director Kerry Kreiman to music by composer David S. Hamilton. The dance incorporates small hand-held lights resembling cell phones, and examines how current technologies are changing how people perceive themselves and interact with each other and society in a process of evolution and adaptation as our lives become increasingly intertwined with technology within an ever-expanding “web” of complexity. From privacy issues, to sleep patterns, to our posture as we sit or stand, our every move in the physical world is constantly altered by our rapidly evolving virtual world.
photo by Milton Adams
The CD/FW company will also present 3 notable solos:
Heima by Jessica Thomas (CD/FW company member)
Two by Courtney Mulcahy (CD/FW company member) in collaboration with Dallas composer Jon Johnston
Blind Faith by Tina N. Mullone (CD/FW associate artistic director)

Learn more about the composers at: www.jondavidjohnston.com and www.davidhamiltonmusic.com.
Kimbell Art Museum – Family Celebration Weekend
Sunday January 12, 2014, 1:30pm & 3pm
(There will be two thirty-minute performances.)
Admission FREE

Members of the CD/FW professional company and students from the CD/FW Dance Workshop Company will perform with local musician Austin Patton to present an interactive dance and music program for audiences of all ages. Drawing inspiration from the museum's architecture (both the Piano Pavilion and the Kahn Building), along with ideas from artworks on view, CD/FW will bring themes from the architecture and visual art to life through dance and creative movement. Even more fun — there will be opportunities for audience members of all ages to participate, too!

Photo by Milton Adams: CD/FW company members dancing with volunteers from the audience at the Kimbell in spring 2012.
Jessica Thomas working on heima during CD/FW's residency at UT-Dallas in Fall 2013.
photo by Milton Adams
Merge a TCC District Faculty and Guest Dance Concert

Friday March 7, 2014 7:30pm
WTLO Theatre Northwest Tarrant County College-Northwest campus
$5 General Admission, $1 Student w/ID

Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth will make a guest appearance on TCC-Northwest's Merge dance showcase. CD/FW company member Jessica Thomas will perform her solo heima.

Other guest artists/companies featured on the program include Brandon Mason, Nicholas Levingston, and Dark Circles Contemporary Dance Company. TCC dance faculty featured include Emily Boyd, Amanda Jackson, Jamie Perrin, Linda Quinn, Lacreacia Sanders, and Amy L. Sleigh. This is a great opportunity to see a diversity of dance in a showcase format. We recommend that you arrive early to secure your seat.
Spring Break Dance Workshops

Ages: High school through adult   Level: Intermediate/Advanced/Pre-Professional/Professional
Wednesday-Friday March 12-14, 2014
At Texas Ballet Theater: 1540 Mall Circle, Fort Worth, TX 76116
Texas Ballet Theater is located at the intersection of Green Oaks Road and Genoa Road, on the outer circle of Ridgmar Mall. TBT is in the same building as Pump It Up, which is across from the Dillards side of the mall.

"Yoga For Dancers" with Jessica Thomas
Wednesday March 12, 2014 — 1pm to 4pm Thursday March 13, 2014 — 1pm to 4pm
$25 for 1 day or $40 for BOTH

"Self Expression Play Day with Leslie Duran Graves
Friday March 14, 2014 11am to 1pm — "Dance Improvisational"
2pm to 5pm — "Small is BIG" Choreography Workshop
$20 for "Dance Improvisational", $25 for "Small is BIG" Choreography Workshop Or $35 for BOTH

Read full descriptions of the workshops and link to online registration forms here.
Jessica Thomas
photo by Milton Adams
Leslie Duran Graves
photo by Tiffany Medrano
Spring Gallery Night performances at Rebecca Low Sculptural Metal Gallery & Studio
Saturday March 29, 2014, performances at 5:30pm and 7pm
Admission FREE

CD/FW has been invited to make a return appearance at Rebecca Low Sculptural Metal Gallery & Studio during spring gallery night on Saturday March 29. CD/FW company members will perform a new version of the "Sculpture Dance" which will travel through the outdoor garden, highlighting and reflecting themes of many of the sculptures on display. Denton-based musician Westin Portillo will provide live accompaniment during these structured improvisations. Each performance will be unique, since the dancers will be making impromptu choices within the choreographic structures. The performance will begin outside near the east door between the gallery and the garden, and will travel throughout the garden and continue around the building to the north.

Shows will start at 5:30pm and 7pm and are free as an addition to the local Spring Gallery Night sponsored by the Fort Worth Art Dealers Association. FWADA 2014 Spring Gallery Night Program
Dancers in Sculpture Garden Dancers in Sculpture Garden
CD/FW dancer in Rebecca Low’s sculpture garden in Fall 2012. Photos by Milton Adams.

Featured Guest:
Westin Portillo (Denton) is a dance musician originally from El Paso, Texas. He holds a degree in Modern Languages in Russian from the University of Texas at San Antonio. His music experience ranges from All-Region Jazz bassist, to metal and rock band collaborator, singer-songwriter, and even musical theatre actor. He currently serves as a dance musician for the dance programs of TWU, UNT, and Tarrant County College Northwest. His compositions for dance works have been presented at TWU, UNT, Tarrant County College Northwest, and recently at the South-Central American College Dance Festival 2014. He has also performed live at the Texas Dance Improvisation Festival in 2013. His principle instrument is an acoustic steel string guitar paired with effect and looping station pedals. He also uses vocals, piano, saxophone, doumbek, and music and synthesizer programs through his iPad.
Westin Portillo
Live Bates: Structured improvisations inspired by the David Bates exhibition
Friday April 4, 2014, 5pm-8pm
Admission FREE to performances
Admission to the galleries is $10, $4 for students and seniors, free for Modern members


Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth will present structured improvisations inspired by the works on display in the David Bates exhibition – the dancers will perform on the front patio and the porch overlooking the reflecting pond. Appearances will be scattered periodically throughout the First Friday event, 5-8pm. With original costumes by Crickett Pettigrew, themes from the works on display (at both The Modern and The Nasher) will be reflected in movement sequences and still life arrangements in the format of a "happening."

More about the David Bates exhibition at The Modern

More about the David Bates exhibition at The Nasher
Bill Evans performing at The Modern in 2012 on the CD/FW Dance Exchange concert
photo by Milton Adams

11th Annual Modern Dance Festival at The Modern
July 11-25, 2014 at the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (3200 Darnell St., Fort Worth, TX 76107)
For directions to The Modern and other visitor information, please visit their website at www.themodern.org.


CD/FW and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth are delighted to once again celebrate dance!

This year's festival will culminate with the CD/FW Dance Exchange: A Choreographers Showcase concerts on Thursday July 24 and Friday July 25 at 8pm in the Grand Lobby, including special guests Bill Evans, Don Halquist, and the Bill Evans Dance Company.
SCHEDULE
Weekend 1
  Some Assembly Required Saturday July 12 at 1pm & 3pm
Sunday July 13 at 3pm
  Dance On Camera Program A Saturday July 12 at 2pm
Weekend 2
  Dance On Camera Program B Saturday July 19 at 1pm
  Modern Dance 101 + Intro to Tanztheate Saturday July 19 at 2pm
  One Day Pina Asked... (film) Saturday July 19 at 3pm
Week 3
  CD/FW Dance Exchange: A Choreographers Showcase Thursday, July 24 & Friday, July 25 at 8pm

To Support the 2014 Modern Dance Festival at the Modern please visit our Raffle Page.


Weekend 1
Some Assembly Required
A community celebration using found objects, instruments, and movements
Saturday July 12 at 1pm & 3pm
Sunday July 13 at 3pm
Grand Lobby
CALL FOR "INGREDIENTS"
If you'd like to contribute an idea or "ingredient" to the project, you're invited to submit movement suggestions for the dancers/choreographers by posting photos, videos, or descriptions of found/observed movements/shapes to CD/FW's Facebook page timeline, or the related Event pages for the project. If you’d like to donate a found object for consideration as a musical instrument / found sound generator, you can also submit your suggestion via a posted photo or message, and contact CD/FW to arrange a delivery. CD/FW is still accepting last minute ideas, and will even consider objects / ideas for inclusion immediately prior to each show as part of the chance elements. The creators cannot guarantee that all submissions will be included, but will do their best to include all suggestions within the structure or as a chance variable which might be drawn from a bucket.

If you'd like to donate a found object for consideration as a musical instrument/found sound generator, you can also submit your suggestion via a posted photo or message, and CD/FW reps can then contact you to arrange a delivery.

(Last minute donations of instruments/movements will be considered on site prior to each performance, but we would prefer to receive suggestions and contributions earlier during the development and rehearsal process. The creators cannot guarantee that all submissions will be included, but will do their best to include all suggestions within the structure. The sooner you submit your suggestions, the more likely they will be integrated into the formal choreographed phrases and musical composition. (If you submit by June 30, and your contributions are selected for inclusion, your name will be listed in the printed program as a contributor to the creative content.)
Fort Worth musician/composer Austin Patton is collaborating with members of the Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth company to create an interactive music/dance work which allows opportunities for community participation before and/or during the performances. Drawing inspiration from a variety of artistic traditions rooted in the collection and assembly of objects and movements to create artistic works, the collaborators invite guests from near and far to contribute their own found objects or movements from now through the premiere of the work. Combining elements of modern day technology-based crowdsourcing with elements of post-modern aesthetic traditions (found object, ready-mades, collage, combines, trash art, junk art, art brut), Some Assembly Required enables people with adventurous spirits from anywhere around the world to contribute to a community-based art project through social media connections.

Jump
Photo by Milton Adams

CD/FW costume designer Crickett Pettigrew has worked with the dancers to create a unified vision for the project, combining both found and ready-made clothing items with original hand-made designs, thus working to further stitch together the many pieces and parts into a unified whole.

The performances are intended to be a celebration of community art-making with a "stone soup" approach which allows audiences of all ages to play a part. Many of the traditional stories of "stone soup" or "nail soup" involve traveling swindlers who try to trick villagers into providing ingredients for their soup so they can eat a good meal. The swindlers would loudly comment, "If only we had a little this or a little that for the flavor, then it would be just perfect!" Gradually, and sometimes reluctantly, bystanders would start contributing out of curiosity so that they could get a taste of the soup. Eventually they had everything they needed and more. In the end, everyone goes home happy that they have eaten the best soup they ever tasted. Of course, the most magical ingredient in the story is that everyone chipped in to create a shared community celebration. Social media operates in a similar fashion in that the websites ask you to contribute your personal property/content to the social soup of virtual community conversation, dialogue and interchange. The end results can be horrifying, amazing, or inspirational. The "swindlers" may still be getting exactly what they want, but for believers in the positive possibilities for this virtual interchange there is a recurring underlying theme – as individuals we often do not have the awareness or foresight to understand what is truly possible when we work together as a group.

Composer Austin Patton said of his quest for found sounds: "For a number of years now I’ve been collecting a variety of metal objects which make interesting sounds. Ever since I was a kid, I've been fascinated by all sorts of sounds in daily life. I'm interested in learning about what types of sounds other people find interesting in the objects around them, so I look forward to hearing suggestions!"

Some Assembly Required challenges the artists involved to create a new whole which is greater than the sum of its parts, while also acknowledging that the roles of chance and indeterminacy lead to new discoveries and possibilities. The performances will blend pre-determined structures with elements of improvisation and spontaneous invention in such a way that each performance will be unique. By inviting an extended group of outsiders to contribute to the creative process, the artists are forced to stay open and curious to the many possibilities inherent in the donated materials.


Dance On Camera: Dance Shorts (Program A)
See the local premieres of short films from New York City's 2014 and 2013 Dance On Camera festivals, including the Scottish Ballet's "Healah Dancing"
Saturday July 12 at 2pm
Museum Auditorium
Dance On Camera films are presented as part of the touring program for the Dance Films Association's annual Dance On Camera festival, which is co-sponsored by the Society of Lincoln Center and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Program A lineup
  • Painted (Canada, 2012, 5:13m)
    Painted is the first in a trilogy of screendance films about our tug-of-war with wilderness. Here we explore a building's decay. The choreography and original score are both in decrescendo to illustrate the building's retreat from the physical world, and Nature's advance on it.

  • Brighter Borough (UK, 2012, 4:18m)
    Brighter Borough draws you in with the nostalgic sound of an old Kodak Carousel slide machine, projecting abstract images onto floating silks in a rundown theatre. Resting on a final image we dissolve to a London roundabout. Here the drama unfolds as three contemporary dancers bring to life the gowns of Louisa Parris. The bold, graphic designs are complimented and slowly revealed through movement and percussive beats, all held together by the arresting location.

  • Arthur & Aileen (USA, 2012, 15:00m)
    This short documentary takes place in a tiny New York apartment which can barely contain the combined energy of dancer Arthur Aviles and his mentor, Aileen Passloff. Arthur is a BESSIE & Brio award-winner who danced for many years with Bill T. Jones /Arnie Zane Dance Company, and is currently director of BAAD! Aileen is an octogenarian teacher and choreographer who was a dance pioneer at the Judson Church with James Waring and others. Their candid conversations touch on process, dance history and what matters in dancing.

  • Scottish Ballet's Healah Dancing (UK, Scotland, 4:55m)
    A study in motion as two Scottish Ballet dancers connect and disconnect; bodies are drawn together, close, intense as these muscular forms ignite. Soft, sensual movements are captured in this intimate portrait. A voyeuristic insight into the physical relationship of dance.

    Commissioned by Scottish Ballet for the critically acclaimed Dance Odysseys programme at Edinburgh International Festival 2013, this short film is the centrepiece of a trilogy, featuring Principal Dancer Erik Cavallari and Soloist Eve Mutso, cut to a contemporary folk soundtrack from artist Keaton Henson.

  • The Next Step Is (USA, 2012, 5:25m)
    Stuck in the tunnel of time, the only place to escape is in the same time, because time is imaginary. Fear of the future creates uncertainty in the present and so we set ourselves free by studying Albert Einstein's theory of relativity. Removing the boundaries of time and space allows fluidity through different dimensions, as a human brain would travel through thoughts. When brain activity becomes accelerated, the heart rate increases, and once the thought occurs that time is accelerating, it is realized that in reality time travels in a circle.

  • Dervishes (USA, 2012, 3:17m)
    A study of movement and physical architecture based on the characteristics of circular movement.
Painted
Painted
Photo: Christophe Collette; Dancer: Dorotea Saykaly
Brighter Borough
Dancers: Charlotte Broom, Aurelie Poles & Laura Caldow
Arthur & Aileen
Arthur & Aileen
Aileen Passloff, Arthur Aviles
Scottish Ballet's Healah Dancing
Scottish Ballet’s Healah Dancing
Eve Mutso and Erik Cavallari. Photo: Eve McConnachie
The Next Step Is
The Next Step Is
Photo: Victoria Sendra
Dervishes
Dervishes
Photo: RJ Muna, Dancers: Katherine Helen Fisher, Jaime Verazin

Weekend 2
Dance On Camera: Dance Shorts (Program B)
More local premieres of short films from New York City's 2014 and 2013 Dance On Camera festivals
Saturday July 19 at 1pm
Museum Auditorium
Dance On Camera films are presented as part of the touring program for the Dance Films Association's annual Dance On Camera festival, which is co-sponsored by the Society of Lincoln Center and supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Program B lineup
  • Homegoings (USA, 2013, 5:00m)
    Inspired by the award-winning documentary Homegoings, which explores the African American way of death, dancers from the Bill T. Jones/Arne Zane Dance Company perform an original piece choreographed by Janet Wong with music by Daniel Roumain.

  • No More Worry, No More Blue (USA, 2013, 3:30m)
    Music video by Kathy Rose – Visual interpretation of a ballad by Greg Boyer. The visuals interpret the lyrics in a non-literal, abstract, fanciful way creating a poetic dimensionality.

  • Kuduro NYC (USA, 2012, 3:52m)
    This short documentary takes place in a tiny New York apartment which can barely contain the combined energy of dancer Arthur Aviles and his mentor, Aileen Passloff. Arthur is a BESSIE & Brio award-winner who danced for many years with Bill T. Jones /Arnie Zane Dance Company, and is currently director of BAAD! Aileen is an octogenarian teacher and choreographer who was a dance pioneer at the Judson Church with James Waring and others. Their candid conversations touch on process, dance history and what matters in dancing.

  • Je Ne Sais Plus Quit a Fait Quoi (Benin/France, 2013, 8:32m)
    The idea for this project originated in Benin, the expression of our explosive will to express feelings and impressions. The movie is about the absurdity and necessity of attempted unity for the human race, the near-impossible and yet terribly urgent task of trying to understand each other. The underlying message is a call to go beyond the illusion of relationships where truth and the power are all too often defined from one point of view only.

  • Widow (USA, 2013, 12:14m)
    Widow is the video adaptation of a solo movement-based performance that features an iconic, enigmatic woman encapsulated in a stark, futuristic environment. With an intense interiority the nameless woman gradually reveals the evolving mystery of her psychological condition through suspenseful stillness, sharp gestures and emotional extremes. Precisely choreographed gestures merge with layered costume, music and sound to create a shifting tableau of surreal images evocative of personal loss and the struggle for transcendence.

  • Wild Like Kylie (Australia, 2012, 3:18m)
    On a small property in rural Australia, a woman grieves for her departed daughter through the ancient and spiritual practice of pottery making.

  • Tap Tap Tap (Canada, 8:30m)
    Tap Tap Tap is a humorous parody of the infamous sex scandal of US Republican Senator Larry Craig, told through a Busby Berkeley styled dance extravaganza. The American Senator was notoriously arrested in an airport men’s room for soliciting sex through a system of a toe-tapping code to an undercover officer.

    Featuring an all-male cast of some of Canada’s finest dancers and Choreography from Shay Kuebler of the 605 Collective, this film was produced with the support of Bravo!FACT and The Canada Council for the Arts’ Dance on Screen Program.

  • Rules of the Game (USA & Canada, 2013, 8:15m)
    Trust between four factory workers dissolves under the unremitting surveillance of the management.
Homegoings
Homegoings
No More Worry, No More Blue
No More Worry, No More Blue
Image: Kathy Rose
Je Ne Sais Plus Quit a Fait Quoi
Je Ne Sais Plus Quit a Fait Quoi
Photo: Antoine Renouard
Widow
Widow
Photo: Valerie Barnes
Wild Like Kylie
Wild Like Kylie
Photo: Bhenjamin Ra - Carina Serray
Tap Tap Tap
Tap Tap Tap
Photo: Matteo Di Iorio
Rules of the Game
Rules of the Game
Photo: Joshua Fraiman

Modern Dance 101 + Intro to Tanztheate
An introduction to modern dance and expressionist dance theater traditions from Rudolf Laban to Pina Bausch
Saturday July 19 at 2pm
Museum Auditorium
CD/FW artistic director Kerry Kreiman and members of the CD/FW company will present a lecture-demonstration providing a brief overview of the philosophies and traditions of modern dance, with special emphasis on "tanztheater" and expressionist dance theater traditions which emerged in the teens and 20's in central Europe and have continued to influence movement artists a century later.
One Day Pina Asked...
A film by Chantal Akerman/Courtesy Icarus Films
Saturday July 19 at 3pm
Museum Auditorium
Pina Poster
Image courtesy Icarus Films
An encounter between two of the most remarkable women artists of the 20th century, ONE DAY PINA ASKED... is Chantal Akerman's look at the work of choreographer Pina Bausch and her Wuppertal, Germany-based dance company. "This film is more than a documentary on Pina Bausch," a narrator announces at the outset, "it is a journey through her world, through her unwavering quest for love."

Bausch, who died in 2009, was one of the most significant figures of modern dance, and the pioneer of a unique style drawn from the German theatrical dance tradition known as tanztheater. Her striking dances and elaborate stagings explored personal memory and the relationships between men and women, among other things, through a mixture of movement, monologue and narrative elements that drew upon explosive, often painful emotions.

Capturing the company's rehearsals and performances over a five-week European tour, Akerman takes us inside their process. She interviews members of the company, who Bausch chose not only for their talents, but for certain intangible personal qualities as well. The dancers describe the development of various dances, and the way that Bausch calls upon them to supply autobiographical details around which the performances were frequently built.

Akerman also shows us excerpts from performances of Bausch dances, including Komm Tanz Mit Mir (Come Dance with Me) (1977), Nelken (Carnations) (1982), Walzer (1982), and 1980 (1980), all recorded with Akerman's singular visual touch. "When I watched one of Pina's performances for the first time a couple of years ago, I was overcome by an emotion I can't quite define," Akerman says. ONE DAY PINA ASKED... is an attempt to define that emotion by traveling deep into Bausch's world.

"Akerman's film is a work of modestly daring wonder, of exploration and inspiration. With her audacious compositions, decisive cuts, and tightrope-tremulous sense of time-and her stark simplicity-it shares, in a way that Wenders's film doesn't, the immediate exhilaration of the moment of creation. Akerman's film is of a piece with Bausch's dances. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker

Week 3
Tango
Don Halquist and Leanne Rinelli in Tango
Photo by Nick Eckert
See You Around
Bill Evans and Don Halquist in See You Around
Photo by Matt Yeoman
CD/FW Dance Exchange: A Choreographers Showcase
More local premieres of short films from New York City's 2014 and 2013 Dance On Camera festivals
Thursday, July 24 & Friday, July 25 8pm
Grand Lobby

The Bill Evans Dance Company (NY) celebrates its 40th anniversary this year, and members of the company are special guests for the CD/FW Dance Exchange showcase concerts.  A sampling of Bill Evans’ choreographic work will be highlighted:

Three Bach Dances

Sarabande
performed by Kathy Diehl

Saintly Passion
performed by William (Bill) Evans

Gigue
performed by Don Halquist and Kathy Diehl
Tango
Music, Valeria Munnarriz. Performers, Don Halquist and Kathy Diehl.

Climbing To The Moon (1997)
An encore performance by Don Halquist. Originally commissioned by Cava/Parker Dance. Based on a poem and drawing by William Blake, the dance is a lyrical spatial journey which displays Halquists' virtuosic clarity of spatial intent and controlled flow. Halquist has performed it for over 16 years and has made it his signature piece. He performed it to great acclaim at the 2010 festival at The Modern. Many audience members commented on how beautiful this solo was, and that they would love to see it again,and we are truly thrilled to present it in 2014. It is not only a stunning representation of Bill Evans’ choreography, but it is also a loving tribute to the work of Seattle composer/pianist Michael Cava, who died of AIDS in 1997. Each time this solo is performed, it is a glorious celebration of Cava’s music and his contributions to the dance world.”

In addition, the North Texas  premiere of See You Around (2013) - a humorous performance art duet created by Claire Porter with Sabatino Verlezza for William (Bill) Evans and Don Halquist, will feature live spoken text.  Porter is an internationally-recognized choreographer who was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013.

Also featured on the program:

Pleasure Garden

Choreographed and performed by Kathy Diehl (NY) - Guest choreographer/performer Kathy Diehl will perform a solo from her own body of work, in addition to appearing as a company member of the Bill Evans Dance Company. Pleasure Garden, which premiered in Rochester, NY in 2013, explores the idea of moving beyond real or imaginary boundaries into a garden of limitless kinesthetic wonder. This is Diehl's first appearance in the CD/FW Dance Exchange, and also her first appearance as guest faculty during the Fort Worth edition of the Bill Evans Summer Institute of Dance, July 26-30, when she will teach "Evans Repertory" and "Ballet Technique for Modern Dancers." The Evans summer workshop for advanced/professional dancers and teachers is presented by CD/FW with sponsorship from the TCU School for Classical & Contemporary Dance. Online registration is available for this workshop here.

Susan Douglas Roberts
Susan Douglas Roberts

Distant Songs

From wild goose chase dance comes Distant Songs, a new work by Susan Douglas Roberts whose title references the origins of the music to which it is performed. Composed by Manuel de Falla in 1915, Siete Canciones Populares is approaching its centennial anniversary. In reality, however, these are arrangements of songs that de Falla gathered from the various autonomous regions of Spain: they rise from the cultural depths of antigua España. The dance was created to convey an experience of the music where it now lives, in the 21st century, shared by many. The dancers perform in a contemporary vocabulary and Distant Songs is designed to be close enough to the physicality and sensuality of human experience to be readable without being narrative. Richard Estes (tenor) performs the songs with Laura Logan and Jaymee Haefner (harpists). Dance artists include Laura Barbee, Rachael Coad, Hannah Ernest Requa, Krista Jennings Langford, and Sarah Newton.

The original version of this work, Semillas, was designed as a collaborative project between the choreographer and performers Sarah Newton, Richard Estes, Laura Logan and Jaymee Haefner. It was presented in February 2014, as a solo dance to the musicians’ recording. The new version – now titled Distant Songs – is performed by five dancers and will premiere during Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth’s Modern at the Modern Festival in July of this year.

Elle Dance Works
Elledanceworks trio
...so it goes...

Elledanceworks trio premiered this work in May of 2014. Intended to make you smile, this short piece explores the relationships that we count on, that fit into the rhythm of our lives to the point that we expect them to be there like water or air. ...so it goes... was choreographed by Michele Hanlon, and is an excerpt of a larger work currently in development on the topic of expectation.

Peforming will be Delanie Bitler, Jennifer Dennison and Tracy Kennedy.
Love and Violence in America 2014

Tina Mullone will perform alongside composer Mel Mobley (LA) in Love and Violence in America 2014, a new work that explores the contrasts between extremes. The contrast between live performance and prerecorded performance, dancer and musician, male and female, all serve as metaphors for contemporary society's need to divide things into opposites while ignoring the fine line that often separates them.

The concert will also include a premiere by Kerry Kreiman (set to music by Austin's Leeann Atherton).
Austin Patton close

Austin Patton is a local musician and artist specializing in dance accompaniment, and found object sculpture. He has had the privilege and pleasure of working with many great artists both in and outside the dance community. Austin especially enjoys exploring the interplay between music and movement, feeling that these disciplines are interconnected, and often can have a profound influence on one another: "Music, dance, and art are universal. They help us understand our culture, express ourselves, and aid in interpreting the world around us." Austin's previous collaborations with CD/FW include Sculpture Dance traveling performance events at NorthPark Center, special family festival events at the Kimbell Art Museum and the Dallas Museum of Art, and appearances in "Dance Delivered" lecture-performances at area public schools targeting primarily at-risk student populations. He has served as a dance accompanist for the TCU School for Classical & Contemporary Dance and for Bill Evans workshops hosted by CD/FW.

William (Bill) Evans (NY) close

Evans has uniquely woven his work as a professional choreographer/performer with a career in dance education. Since 2004 he has served as visiting professor/guest artist in the Department of Dance at the SUNY College at Brockport. Between 1967 and 2004, he was based at four state universities: the University of Utah (choreographer/dancer/artistic coordinator with Repertory Dance Theatre and then assistant professor in Department of Modern Dance); the University of Washington (his professional Bill Evans Dance Company was in residence and he served as visiting professor of dance); Indiana University (BEDCO was in residence and he served as associate professor and director of contemporary dance); the University of New Mexico (BEDCO was in residence and he served as full professor and head of dance). The Evans Company is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Evans has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship, an honorary doctorate of fine arts from Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, the National Dance Education Organization Lifetime Achievement Award, the New Mexico Governor's Award for Achievement and Excellence in the Arts, the Outstanding Service Award from the National High School Dance Festival, the Dance Teacher Magazine Lifetime Achievement Award and the Scholar/Artist of the year award from the National Dance Association, as well as numerous grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and other public and private arts agencies. Since 1976, he has produced his own summer dance intensives, for thousands of participants. Since 1999, he has conducted the Bill Evans Summer Dance Teachers’ Intensives and Certification Program in the Evans Laban-Based Modern Dance Technique.

His investigations of Laban Movement Analysis and Bartenieff Fundamentals began in 1976, when Peggy Hackney joined his dance company. He is certified by both the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Students in New York City and Integrated Movement Studies at the University of Utah.

Evans made previous appearances in the Modern Dance Festival at The Modern in 2010 and 2012. This summer he brings his Bill Evans Summer Institute of Dance to Fort Worth for the 3rd time, leading a special workshop for advanced/professional dancers/teachers, July 26-30 in Fort Worth. CD/FW is presenting the workshop with sponsorship from the TCU School for Classical & Contemporary Dance.

Don Halquist (NY) close

Don Halquist is chairperson of the Department of Education and Human Development at The College at Brockport, State University of New York. He has been a member of the Bill Evans Dance Company since 1985, touring throughout the USA, Canada, Mexico, Finland, France, Hungary, Australia and New Zealand. He has also danced the works of Bella Lewitzky, Claire Porter, Darwin Prioleau and Peter Pucci, among others. He has performed with the New Mexico Ballet and St. Louis Dancers and in the companies of many independent choreographers.

He is a Certified Teacher of Evans Laban-Based Method of Teaching Modern Dance Technique, which he has taught at the University of New Mexico, The College at Brockport, Winnipeg's School of Contemporary Dancers and in Evans Intensive Summer Workshops. He has presented workshops and master classes at private studios, performing arts high schools, colleges and universities throughout the United States as well as parts of Canada, Europe and Mexico. His choreography has been performed by dance and theatre companies in New Mexico, Illinois, Wyoming, New York, Maryland, and Ohio.

Through his work as a faculty member for the Evans Summer Institute of Dance and Evans Teacher Intensives he has developed a curriculum for teaching dance through the theory of multiple intelligences. His research has appeared as chapters in several books and in journals such the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. He has served as a keynote speaker at dance education conferences in New Mexico and Florida, and has presented his scholarship at national and international conferences including annual meetings of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO).

Halquist has made previous appearances in the Modern Dance Festival at The Modern in 2010 and 2012, and he will also make a return appearance as a faculty member for the Fort Worth edition of the Bill Evans summer workshop in Fort Worth, July 26-30, where he will be teaching Evans repertoire, along with leading seminars in pedagogy.

Kathy Diehl (NY) close

Diehl began her professional dance career as a founding company member of Rochester City Ballet (formerly Draper Dance Theater) and has danced with Bill Evans Dance Company, Present Tense Dance, Biodance, Treeline Dance Works and Anne Burnidge and Dancers. Diehl holds an MFA in Performance and Choreography from The College at Brockport and an MSW from Case Western Reserve University and has been teaching in higher education since 2007 as an adjunct lecturer and visiting professor. She currently teaches dance studies at University of Rochester, Nazareth College, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Diehl has choreographed works for several universities including The College at Brockport, Webster University, and HWS Colleges and has presented her choreography at the American Dance Guild Festival, WAXworks, 60x60 Dance, and Converge Dance Festival. She is the director of Rochester Dance Project, a collaborative group formed not only to build the dance audience in Rochester by providing more opportunities for choreographers to present work, but also to offer dance artists affordable classes and additional performance opportunities. This is Diehl's first appearance in the Modern Dance Festival at The Modern (as both performer and choreographer) and also her first appearance as guest faculty during the Fort Worth edition of the Bill Evans Summer Institute of Dance, July 26-30, when she will teach "Ballet Technique for Modern Dancers."

Claire Porter (NY) close

Porter has performed PORTABLES internationally, with appearances in India, Germany, Holland, England, Latvia, and Korea. Porter's U.S. work is extensive. In the New York City area, Porter has presented PORTABLES at Danspace (St. Mark’s Church), PS 122, Joe’s Pub, Dance Theater Workshop, The Kitchen, The Joyce Theater, Joyce SOHO, 92nd St. Y, Town Hall, The Bottom Line, The NY Horticulture Society, Liberty Science Center, and New Jersey Performing Arts Center.

PORTABLES has also showcased at the American Dance Festival, The Lucille Ball Festival of Comedy, Bates Dance Festival, Jacob's Pillow, Florida Dance Festival, The Kennedy Center, Woolly Mammoth Theater DC, Tampa Bay Off Center Theater, Duncan Theater Palm Beach FL, Center Stage Raleigh NC, The Southern Theater Minneapolis MN, The Yard on Martha's Vineyard, and others. Porter performed at the opening of the Peter Eisenman Building at the University of Cincinnati, was the hostess-comedienne-scene changer for the Minnesota Composers Forum's New Music Concert, performed for Mikhail Baryshnikov's 2009 GALA, set a solo on Kansas City Ballet, has appeared on staircases, boats, backyards, gyms, classrooms, airports, humor festivals, museums, and soap boxes and is currently performing Namely, Muscles at festivals, conferences, theaters, medical schools and universities around the U.S.

Porter has received several National Endowment for the Arts Choreography Fellowships, New Jersey State Council for the Arts Choreography Fellowships, Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation Awards and Commissions from Dance Theater Workshop’s First Light Project, The 92nd St Y Harkness Dance Festival, Art Matters, VOGUE Magazine, University Dance Companies, and Domino's Pizza Company. Porter taught courses in Laban Movement Analysis and Choreography at Columbia Teachers College, Case Western Reserve University, Grand Valley State College, NYU's Dance Education Program, Connecticut College, Manhattanville College, and at HOPE College MI. She teaches her No Nonsense Workout in Bergen County NJ and serves on the Board of DanceNJ. Porter has an MA in Dance from Ohio State, a BA in Mathematics from The College of New Rochelle, is a Laban Movement Analyst, and is represented by PENTACLE/DanceWorks NYC.

North Texas audiences may remember the humorous duet In Gloves which she created for William (Bill) Evans and Don Halquist, which was featured in the 2012 Modern Dance Festival at The Modern. Since that appearance, Porter was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013.

You can read more about her work at www.cportables.com.

Sabatino Verlezza close

Artistic Director, Verlezza Dance. Kent State University, Guest Instructor (2007). He holds an M.F.A. (Dance) from the University of Michigan (1979), a B.A. (Dance) from the State University of New York at Brockport (1977) and an A.A. degree from Orange County Community College, NY, (1975). He danced professionally with the May O'Donnell Dance Company in New York City from 1979-1988 and with the Joyce Trisler Danscompany, Glenn-Lund Dance, Sophie Maslow, Norman Walker and Janet Soares/Dances among others. In 1988, he established his own company comprised of former O'Donnell, Maslow and Trisler dancers entitled, Verlezza Dance. He has choreographed, directed and taught for many companies, including the Joyce Trisler Danscompany (NYC) and Joffrey II (NYC). Sabatino taught at Marymount Manhattan College, NYC (1992-1994) and Dowling College, New York (1988-1994) and has been guest artist/faculty at numerous universities. In 1994, he became Artistic Director/Choreographer for Dancing Wheels, where he also served as principal dancer and faculty member until 2003. Sabatino with Barbara were the 2003 recipients of the Northern Ohio Live Achievement Award in Dance. As Artistic Director and choreographer of Verlezza Dance, he continues present lecture/performances and main stage concerts as well as teaching classes, workshops/residencies. With Barbara, he co-directs/instructs the Creative Movement/Dance program at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Hospital for Rehabilitation and the Euclid Adult Training Center for senior adults with developmental, physical and sensory disabilities. In 2005, Sabatino established a partnership with the City of Shaker Heights and the First Unitarian Church of Cleveland where he opened a studio, School of Verlezza Dance, offering classes with a full range of curriculum, age and ability levels for students with and without disabilities. A certified Pilates instructor,he extends his teaching approach to broaden his philosophy of arts and wellness. The Verlezzas are recipients of the CCBMR/DD Inclusion Award (2003, 2008). Verlezza Dance is a 2008 Ohio Governor's Award Nominee.

Michele Manley Hanlon close

Michele Manley Hanlon is Co Artistic Director of Elledanceworks Dance Company of Dallas, TX. She received her BFA in Dance form the University of Arizona and MFA in Modern Dance from Texas Christian University and has been a performer, choreographer, and teacher in the Metroplex since 1988. Before coming to Texas she performed with Orts Theater of Dance and Tenth Street Danceworks in Tucson, Arizona. In Texas, she has danced as a company member of the Dance Consortium, Dancers Unlimited Repertory Company, and Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth. Among organizations that have commissioned or purchased her works are Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth, Collin County Community College, Pieces Dance Company, Newman Smith High School, and Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and Hip-Pocket Theater. Her work has been presented by The 5th International Internet Dance Festival, The Scandinavian Dance Congress in Kedja, Oslo, The Stadt Museum in Dusseldorf, Germany, The Dallas Museum of Art, The Dallas Morning News Dance Festival, the Nasher Sculptural Center, Fort Worth Modern Art Museum, Fort Worth Dance Festival, Dallas Dance Gathering, The Movement Source Dance Company (AZ), New Arts Collective, University of Texas at Dallas, Texas Christian University, Mesquite Civic Ballet, The Phoenix Museum of Art (AZ), and in many independently presented dance concerts. Her teaching credits include University of Texas at Dallas, TCU, Collin College, Dallas Independent School District, and Las Cruces Chamber Ballet (NM). Michele is a Professor of Dance at The University of Texas at Dallas where she also serves as the Assistant Director for the Arts.

Delanie Bitler close

Delanie Bitler has a BS Degree in Business Administration from the University of Texas at Dallas. She is a graduate of Booker T. Washington High School where she trained exclusively in dance. She has also studied at numerous schools including Dallas Black Dance Theater, Chamberlain Ballet, and Ballet Concerto in Fort Worth. She is a Realtor with Ebby Halliday, REALTORS. She has two children and a loving husband that provide endless support for her artistic adventures. This is her tenth season with Elledanceworks.

Jennifer Dennison close

Jennifer Dennison has been dancing for over twenty-six years, beginning at the age of four under Gwen Owens of London School of Dance. It wasn't until college that this hobby became her passion. Since then she has had many opportunities dancing in the Collin Dance Ensemble at Collin College under the direction of Tiffanee Arnold, and with Micki Saba and Michele Hanlon in the UTDance Ensemble at the University of Texas at Dallas. She has participated in many intensive workshops and residencies from such artists as Riverdance, Pilobolous Too, Battleworks, and O-T-O Dance where she studied the art of aerial dance. This is her sixth season with Elledanceworks.

Tracy Kennedy close

Tracy Kennedy received her Bachelors degree in dance at the University of California-Irvine. Her dance studies include work with Donald McKayle, Albert Reid of the Merce Cunningham company, and dance workshops in London. She is currently teaching and subbing in dance classrooms within the public school system. This is Tracy's twelfth season with Elledanceworks.

Mel Mobley close

Mel Mobley is the Head of Music Composition and Theory at the University of Louisiana at Monroe where he currently holds the Biedenharn Endowed Professorship in Music. As composer, conductor, performer, and advocate of new music, Mel has been part of numerous premieres around the country. He has been featured as a performer and/or composer at contemporary music festivals including BONK in Tampa, FL; FunNewMusic in Champaign, IL; the Electro-Acoustic Juke Joint Festival in Cleveland, MS; and the SEAMUS National Convention in San Jose, CA. He has had recent premieres performed by the Monroe Symphony Orchestra, The Black Bayou Brass Trio, and the ULM Wind Ensemble. His work "Covering" will be released by PARMA Recordings this fall on compact disc and the NAXOS database. He also performs with several regional symphonies and with his percussion ensemble, The Implosion Percussion Group.

Dr. Mobley is a member of the National Composer's Association, USA (NACUSA); the Louisiana Composers' Consortium (LCC); the Southeastern Composers' League (SCL); and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).

 

Programs_2013-2014_include.shtml
CD/FW’s 2013-2014 season is sponsored in part by the Texas Commission on the Arts with the National Endowment for the Arts, the Arts Council of Fort Worth and their Neighborhood Arts Program in collaboration with the City of Fort Worth, “Once Upon A Time…”, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Arts Fifth Avenue, Texas Ballet Theater, The Body Garage, and the TCU School for Classical & Contemporary Dance. This program is supported in part by a 2014 Grant from the Arts Council of Fort Worth.
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