Anna
Preston and Dancers (South Florida)
– Guest Choreographer/Performer
Most recently Anna Preston and
Dancers collaborated choreographically with Aerial Experience Productions
of Los Angeles and Milan for a contemporary/ aerial dance for The Singing
Christmas Tree Spectacular (West Palm Beach Dec 08), Anna Preston and
Dancers performed at the St. Lucie Cultural Affairs Annual Meeting (Ft
Pierce Dec 08), as the featured guest of the Women’s Club of Wauchla
Art and Cultural affairs meeting (Jan 08), and were commissioned for the
closing event of ZoraFest 08. The evening length production Jump at De
Sun (Port St. Lucie and Ft. Pierce April 08), hailing the accomplishments
of writer/anthropologist/dancer Zora Neale Hurston, combined the professional
company with forty teenage community artists, the majority from at risk
neighborhoods. The project collaborated with award winning musician Don
Ciccone and published poet Peter Preston.
Deborah
Birrane (Deborah Birrane Dance, Seattle) – Guest Choreographer/Performer
To do something
one needs to be. When you can be, you can then listen. When you listen,
change happens. And happens it does – in abundance. After much ado
about “nothing”, I committed to going solo this year as a
performer. I am the Artistic Director of Deborah Birrane Dance whose mission
is to create and perform a repertoire of timeless dance works that connect
with the audience through the language of human experience. Ahh…the
relief of working with just myself but then came the terror, challenges,
the questions, curiosity, the listening, the ah-ha moments, integration,
more questions and yet still more discoveries. But then, the desire to
be social “without the responsibility of anything” except
to to dance was nudging me. And thus, I began to seriously study under
the fabulous tutelage of Anna Mansbridge, Artistic Director of Seattle
Early Dance. Currently I dance in the best of both worlds – as a
solo modern dancer of whom I am inspired by Jiri Kylian, Bill Evans, Martha
Graham, Anna Sokolow, Mary Wignman, and Rudolph Laban and as a dancer
keeping alive the Baroque Era. I began my dance career “late”
at the age of 20 in a PE class at Penn State University. Graduating with
a BA in Social Work and a minor in Interdisciplinary Dance, I ultimately
chose this road to dance. My very early dance experiences lead me to travel
to Israel with the Penn State Dance Collective; to perform in the touring
series of Bill T. Jones “Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin”;
as well as a performing with Anne-Marie Mulgrew & Dancers in my home
town of Philly and, self-producing my own works – something which
has never stopped. I later received my MFA from the University of Arizona,
danced with Tenth Street Danceworks and eventually made my way back to
Philly dancing with Mulgrew & Dancers, David Appel and had my work
presented by the Philadelphia Dance Alliance. In 1998, I made the move
to Seattle, WA which is now home. The works of Deborah Birrane Dance have
been passionately embraced by audiences here in the States and abroad.
I have created for the Company a repertory that is both eclectic and rich
in its content, style and musical partnership, as well as broadening the
repertory with works by many wonderful choreographers. Most recently my
solo work has been presented by Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth; An Evening
with Bill Evans & Friends; Wild Grace Dance Theatre; by Denise Lievtaghi
(Vancouver, BC); and, in the informal showings sponsored by Next Stage
Dance and Arts Launch. Specifically in Seattle, DBD has been presented
by artsEdge, Juan de Fuca Arts Festival, Dance Fusion and Choreofest.
As an educator and choreographer, I was selected as the dance artist for
Seattle’s ARTS UP program. In May 2002, I performed in Belgrade
& Novi Sad, Yugoslavia and then in December 2002, taught in St. Petersburg,
Russia at the Exercise 2002 International Festival as Guest Dance Educator.
My work has been commissioned by Belhaven College (performing my work
in China and Mississippi), Western Wyoming College, Kaleidoscope, Fremont
Danceworks, Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer, and PSU-Abington Dance
Collective. Prior to Seattle, the Company has been presented at the ACDFA
Gala Concert, The Fringe Festival in Atlanta, Georgia; the Australian
Embassy in Washington, D.C.; the Philadelphia Dance Alliance; and at Penn
State University-Abington.
Mary
Cochran (New York City) –Guest Performer
Chair and Artistic Director
of the Dept. of Dance at Barnard College of Columbia University, Mary
Cochran has performed and taught on every continent except Antarctica.
Ms. Cochran’s professional career began at eighteen as a member
of Nikolais Dance Theatre from 1981-1983 and continued as a soloist with
Paul Taylor Dance Company from 1984-1996. In 1998 and 1999, Ms. Cochran
was the Director of Taylor 2 creating and implementing innovative outreach
programs around the country. Ms. Cochran currently performs in highly
theatrical works by Sara Hook and creates and performs her own movement-based
monologues. Prior to arriving at Barnard Ms. Cochran taught at numerous
colleges and conservatories including Mills College, Harvard, University
of Michigan, and the North Carolina School of the Arts. At Barnard, Ms.
Cochran has begun collaborative projects between Barnard and NYC cultural
institutions such as Dance Theater Workshop, City Center, Symphony Space,
WAX, the Brooklyn Museum and Dance New Amsterdam. She completed her M.F.A.
at University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee in the spring of 2005.
John
Giffin (Ohio) –
Guest Choreographer
Giffin has received Choreographic
Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council
and the Greater Columbus Arts Council for his creative work which includes
five full-evening pieces, a commission from Rhythm in Shoes and a co-production
with the Contemporary American Theatre Company in Columbus. He has danced
with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens in Montreal, Agnes DeMille's Heritage
Dance Theatre and Brigadoon in NYC and toured internationally with the
Wuppertal Dance Theater directed by Pina Bausch. His movement commentary
to Schoenberg's Pierrot Lunaire was shown on WOSU.TV and with Victoria
Uris he co-directed Igor & Svetlana which was premiered at the Dance
On Camera Festival at Lincoln Center. He received a B.F.A. in dance from
the Juilliard School of Music and an M.A. in dance from The Ohio State
University where he is Professor in the Department of Dance and has a
Courtesy Appointment in the Department of Theatre. He teaches composition,
techniques of ballet and social dance, and Labanotation. He has directed
works of Antony Tudor, Agnes DeMille, Charles Weidman and Anna Sokolow
from Labanotation scores.
Sara
Hook (New York/Illinois) – Guest Choreographer
Sara Hook has performed with
Nikolais Louis Dance, Pearl Lang, Jean Erdman, and Stephan Koplowitz among
many others. She now directs her own company, Sara Hook Dances, which
regularly appears in New York and other national venues. Recent company
appearances include Dancenow/NYC Festival, the West End Theater, and the
Family Matters Series at Dance Theater Workshop in New York City, the
Danceworks Performance Series in Milwaukee, WI and the Charlotte Dance
Festival in NC. Her work also continues to be produced internationally
with David Parker and the Bang Group. Hook has toured widely as a guest
artist/teacher and has set works at over a dozen universities nationally.
She has been on the faculties of Princeton University and the Alvin Ailey
American Dance Center, and guest faculty of the Paul Taylor Summer Intensives
in NYC. She holds an M.F.A. from New York University's Tisch School of
the Arts and a B.F.A. from the North Carolina School of the Arts. She
is also a Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban Bartenieff Institute
of Movement Studies. Currently Hook is Associate Professor of Dance at
University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign.
Shirley
Jenkins (Seattle) -- Guest Choreographer
Jenkins has been dancing since
the age of 2, culminating her dance education with a BFA from the University
of Utah. Following her graduation in 1975 she became a founding member
of the celebrated Bill Evans Dance Company. She toured nationally with
BEDCo as a principal dancer and partner with Bill Evans. This extensive
touring took her to the Kennedy Center, NYC, Chicago, San Francisco, LA,
San Diego, Spoleto Festival, many cities and rural communities throughout
the entire U.S. and hundreds of university dance residencies. Ms. Jenkins
eventually formed her own company, Strong Wind Wild Horses, and collaborated
with many musicians including Denny Goodhew, Michael Cava, and Steve Kim.
As Artistic Director and Founder of Dance on Capitol Hill, she developed
dance education programs for the novice to the professional, a performance
venue, and established summer dance camps for homeless children. Ms. Jenkins
lives in Seattle, WA and is a respected instructor of Pilates, specializing
in dance athletic injury.
Amy
L. Ross (Dallas-Fort Worth) –
Guest Choreographer
Ross earned an MFA in Dance from Texas Woman's University, a BA in Dance
from Slippery Rock University, and an A.S.B. Paralegal Degree from Bradford
Business School, Pittsburgh. Ms. Ross is an Associate Professor of Dance
at Tarrant County College Northwest. She has held positions as adjunct
faculty for dance programs at Texas Christian University, University of
North Texas, University of Pittsburgh, and LaRoche College. Ms. Ross presented
a workshop "Studying the Choreographic Process" at the Pennsylvania
State Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
She has taught contact partnering, choreography, and modern dance master
classes for South Central American College Dance Festival Association.
In 1999, Amy presented a dance work for the performance installation presented
during the "Warhol & Dance: Watching from the Wings" visual
arts exhibit at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. Ms. Ross has
performed solo work in various venues in the Pittsburgh area such as "Unblurred"
produced by Pittsburgh Arts Council, "To Be Continued..." produced
by Mark Taylor and the Dance Alloy, and was a guest artist for SRU's Faculty
Dance Concert. Amy served as the Production Coordinator for TWU's Programs
in Dance and received the department's Service Award as well as honors
in Who's Who and the National Dean's List. Amy teaches Modern Dance, Composition,
Concert Choreography, Dance Appreciation, Pilates and Yoga. While in Texas
her work has been presented by Johnson Long Dance Company-Austin, Beckles
Dance Company-Dallas, Contemporary Dance Fort Worth and Perpetual Motion-Oklahoma
City, OK. Amy has also served a 3-year term for the Arts Council of Fort
Worth and Tarrant County’s Community Arts Small Organizations Grants
Panel. Amy L. Ross is Co-Artistic Director/Choreographer/Performer for
Muscle Memory Dance Theatre. M2DT has produced dance works for Denton
Jazz & Arts Festival, Dallas City Arts Festival, Fort Worth Main Street
Festival, Collin College Faculty & Guest Concert, Brazos Dance Festival,
Dallas Fringe Festival, Out of the Loop Festival, Oklahoma City Modern
Dance Festival, Barefoot Brigade Festival, New York City International
Dance Festival, and The Monterey Dance Festival. In addition M2DT produced
an emerging choreographers showcase “PILOT” this past February
at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center. Amy L. Ross & Lesley Snelson-Figueroa
will be showcasing their collaborative duet “Falling Still”
September 2008 at the White Wave DUMBO Festival held at the Ryan Theatre-NY,
NY.
Eva
L. Stone (Seattle) –
Guest Choreographer
Stone received a B.F.A in Performance
and Choreography from Arizona State University under renowned instructors
Daniel Nagrin, Renee Wadleigh and Mel Wong. Ms. Stone also trained at
SUNY Purchase and the Alvin Ailey School. She was awarded a scholarship
from DanceMagazine to study choreography at Harvard University with David
Gordon and Wendy Perron. Ms. Stone has performed professionally with modern
dance companies in both Boston and Los Angeles. Ms. Stone earned her Master
of Arts Degree in Choreography and Choreological Studies from the Laban
Centre in London, England. She formed the Stone Dance Collective, a modern
dance company, and began teaching at various colleges in and around London.
Ms. Stone came to Seattle in 1995, re-established her company and began
an extensive teaching and lecturing career throughout the Puget Sound.
Some highlights have included presenting works at On the Boards, Bumbershoot,
ArtsEdge and Broadway Performance Hall. Ms. Stone has appeared as a guest
teacher at Western Washington University and has been a faculty member
of both Olympic Ballet School and Washington Academy of Performing Arts.
Ms. Stone is currently the modern dance instructor at Pacific Northwest
Ballet and the International School of Classical Ballet for the pre-professional
division. Her love of teaching and passion for choreography has resulted
in over 50 dance pieces. Her most recent work, The Unraveling, debuted
at Lincoln Center as part of the New York International Ballet Competition
gala. Next fall, Ms. Stone will be collaborating with Seattle Dance Project
for a performance series at ACT Theater in Seattle.
Mary
Williford-Shade (Denton) –
Guest Performer
Williford-Shade has been hailed
by the Washington Post “as a spitfire, accomplished at moving in
and out of multiple dynamics in a split second; she can quiver with tension
one moment and melt with emotions the next.” Along with her solo
performing Mary has performed with Mark Taylor, Mark Dendy, Pittsburgh
Dance Alloy and Maryland Dance Theatre. Currently, she and her partner,
Sandra Lacy, have a solo duet company called Lacy & Shade Dance and
they commission works by such choreographers as Sean Curran, Irene Hultman,
Lisa Race, Jeanine Durning, Melissa Briggs, Jose Luis Bustamante, Tonya
Lockyer and Mark Dendy. Lacy & Shade have been recognized in the Dallas
Morning News as part of the Top Ten Dance Events the last three years.
Mary received her MFA from Ohio State University; is a certified Laban
Movement Analyst and teaches at Texas Womans University. She has taught
in such prestigious venues as the American Dance Festival, and the Bates
Dance Festival.
Susan
Douglas Roberts (Fort Worth) – Guest Choreographer
Artistic Advisor and Founding Director of CD/FW, Susan is a performer,
choreographer and Associate Professor of Modern Dance in TCU’s Department
of Ballet & Modern Dance. She is the Artistic Director of wild goose
chase . . .dance and other adventures through which she creates dances,
and performs solos and duets. Susan has choreographed and taught, by invitation,
in all parts of the world: North, Central and South America, Europe, Taiwan,
Hong Kong and Japan. Most recently her work, "Pessoa," was presented
at Joyce SoHo in NYC. She has worked in collaboration with composers,
sculptors, poets, puppeteers, photographers and videographers. One of
the founder/artistic directors of Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth (a repertory
company), she was with the company through 11 seasons (1990 –2001).
In 1998, she was the recipient of the TCU College of Fine Arts Award for
Distinguished Teaching. Susan graduated with the MFA in Dance from the
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Lacreacia
Inez Sanders (Fort Worth) – Guest Choreographer and Performer
Lacreacia is an Assistant Professor of Dance and Physical Education at
Tarrant County College - Northwest. She holds an MFA degree in dance from
Texas Woman's University and a BESS degree in dance from Texas State University.
In addition to teaching at TCC, she is also the director of TCC - Northwest's
Community Integration Company which specializes in bringing together dancers
from diverse backgrounds. Along with the NW Dance Company, Lacreacia founded
and directs the Mosaic Dance Project, a touring company from the Northwest
Campus with the purposes of recruitment and bringing the art of dance
out into the local community. Lacreacia also performs as a solo artist
and with Phase 2 Dance Ensemble, a Fort Worth/Houston-based modern dance
company. Her choreography has been seen at the Fort Worth Dance Festival,
South Dallas Dance Festival, Barefoot Brigade's NOTcracker, American College
Dance Festival, Dance for the Planet, Dance Kaleidoscope (TAHPERD), and
Dance Collage. Lacreacia has immersed herself in the Texas dance scene
and has performed and presented work in many venues such as the Bass Performance
Hall, Ed Landreth Auditorium (TCU), Texas State University, the Dallas
Museum Art, and the Bath House Cultural Center. In addition to presenting
work as an independent artist and with Phase 2, Lacreacia can also been
seen performing as a guest artist with local companies such as Contemporary
Dance/Fort Worth. Her training in dance and Pilates has included work
with artists such as Mary Williford-Shade, Michael Foley, Lisa Race, Claire
Porter, Keisha Breaker-Haliburton, LeAnne Smith Stedman, Pat Stone, Dr.
Joan Hays, Dr. Penelope Hanstein, Dr. Janice LaPointe-Crump, K. Osiris
Wade, Adrienne Fisk, and Elizabeth Jones Boswell. In addition to teaching
and choreography, she has performed with DiversiDance, the Class 'A' Jazz
Company, Denton Civic Ballet, Opening Door Dance Theatre, the Harambee
Dance Group, DanceWorks, and the kah dance/theatre project. Her honors
include the Golden Apple Teaching Award from TCC, Excellence in Teaching
Award from TWU, Phi Kappa Phi, and the Kitty Winter Magee Honor Award.
Lacreacia is passionate about the role of dance education in strengthening
community relationships and uses many forms of dance to reach out to diverse
populations.
Lori
Sundeen Soderbergh (Fort Worth) –– Choreographer, director
Lori has performed, taught dance and choreographed in the U.S. and Europe.
She received her BFA in Modern Dance from Texas Christian University and
her MA in Dance History from the Laban Centre for Movement in Dance, University
of London. Her work has been performed in numerous settings in Stockholm,
Gothenburg and London. Her work in the DFW area has been shown at the
Serra sculpture for Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth’s 2006 Modern
Dance Festival at the Modern, the Barefoot Brigade’s NOTcracker
festival at the Dallas Museum of Art, CD/FW Dance Exchange, with the CD/FW
company, at the Bath House Cultural Center in Dallas, and in area churches
and synagogues. Lori often blends dancers from many different backgrounds
in her work. She enjoys creating dances for non-traditional venues and
working with area musicians. Lori also teaches modern dance at the CD/FW
school in Fort Worth.
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