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Contemporary Dance / Fort Worth Previous Seasons current season | 2013-2014 | 2012-2013 | 2011-2012 | 2010-2011 | 2009-2010 | 2008-2009 | 2007-2008 |
photo by Milton Adams |
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)
Jessica Thomas working on heima during CD/FW's residency at UT-Dallas in Fall 2013. photo by Milton Adams |
"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. |
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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. |
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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 |
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Weekend 1 | |||||||||||||
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. |
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Program A lineup
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Week 3 | |||||||
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:
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Also featured on the program: Pleasure Garden |
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Distant Songs 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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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. |
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. |
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. |
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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