NOVEMBER - FESTIVAL BALLET DANCER INVITED TO PERFORM IN VENEZUELA
 Leticia Guerrero & Eivar Sair in ToDay 2004 |
Festival Ballet Providence's Leticia Guererro, who received her ballet training in her native Caracas with the Keyla Ermecheo Ballet School, and performed in Venezuela with Ballet Nuevo Mundo de Caracas, Metropolitan Ballet of Caracas before coming to the US, is one of the invited artists who will be recognized. Ms. Guerrero will travel to Caracas with her dance partner, Davide Vittorino, also a Company member of Festival Ballet Providence, and native of Turin, Italy. They will perform the grand pas de deux from Don Quixote, the grand pas from The Nutcracker, and the pas de deux from Soledad, a sultry tango-inspired piece choreographed by Festival Ballet Providence's Artistic Director, Mihailo Djuric. Djuric will accompany Guerrero and Vittorino to Caracas.
Ms. Guerrero will be joined by six other premier dancers invited to return to Venezuela, including:
Adriana Suarez, Boston Ballet
Maria Alejandra Tosta, Ballet Natcional de Marseille
Ilean Lopez, Miami City Ballet
Franklin Gomero, Miami City Ballet
Marife Gimenez, Maximum Dance Company, Florida
Ramon Thielen, Dance Theater of Harlem
Mr. Djuric is thrilled for Guerrero's recognition, and her opportunity to return to Venezuela to dance. Djuric states "She absolutely deserves to be recognized with other principal dancers from major international ballet companies, and Providence is fortunate to have her grace our stages." (RiDance heartily agrees. Leticia is a wonderful dancer.) Guerrero will dance in Caracas just 5 days before Festival Ballet Providence opens it's largest production of the season, The Nutcracker, December 10 through 13 at the Providence Performing Arts Center.
SEPTEMBER - TWO FESTIVAL DANCERS LEAVE COMPANY
Two of Festival Ballet's most charismatic dancers have left the fold to explore new options.
Beth Petkus, who was so wonderful as Mercedes in last season's Carmen, has signed a two year contract with Dortmund Theatre in Germany, where her first role will be the lead in Giselle.
And James Brown, who's been making quite a splash as a choreographer, will be working to stage two (or more) concerts in 2005 with his company, Modern Populous, but he will be sorely missed at FB. In a 2003 review of Carmen, RiDance said of his FB work, "FB would be the poorer without Jim perking up tired comedy bits and delineating choreography with which other classical dancers struggle." His choreography in the first Modern Populous concert (2003) was breath-taking. Last year FB artistic director Misha Djuric made sure Jim's choreography was showcased at Festival Ballet's Up Close On Hope. If he can do the impossible and bring a company to full life, Rhode Island & Massachusetts will be in for some incredible dance.
SEPTEMBER - RISCA EXPRESSES CONCERN OVER DECLINING CHOREOGRAPHY FELLOWSHIP APPLICANTS
At the September 19 Dance Alliance meeting, Christina DiChiera, RISCA Director of Individual Artists Services, expressed serious concerns over declining numbers of applicants for the Choreography Fellowship. The Fellowship, which has an application deadline of October 1, consists of a $5000.00 stipend for the first place recipient and a $1000.00 for the second place recipient (RISCA does not always award a second fellowship). Last year only 4 applications were received, and RISCA is considering changing the fellowship format or doing away with the award entirely.
UPDATE - October 13, 2004 - RISCA has announced that they received 10 applications for this years Fellowship award - more than double last years submissions.
RISCA Fellowships encourage the creative development of artists by enabling them to set aside time to pursue their work and achieve specific career goals. The application form is one page and easy to fill out. In addition, you must submit a video of work you have done in the last 3 years. Application forms can be found at RISCA GRANTS.
SEPTEMBER - FESTIVAL BALLET INVITED TO PERFORM IN BELGRADE
Festival Ballet Providence has been invited to open the Belgrade Dance Festival next April. They are currently setting up a European tour schedule Belgrade festival coordinators requested that FBP reprise their acclaimed version of Carmen, which premiered last fall in Rhode Island and was created for FBP by Boston Ballet's very talented Viktor Plotnikov. Because of this, Carmen will replace Don Quixote, which was originally scheduled for April 2005, with Carmen. FBP's updated 2004/2005 schedule is available online at riDance's Festival Ballet Performance page.
AUGUST, 2004 - RISCA AWARDS OVER $100,650 TO DANCE FOR 2004-2005
The Rhode Island State Council on the Arts has announced that it awarded a total of $915,181 to 127 applicants in this first round of grants for the 2004-2005 fiscal year. $100,650 went to projects with a strong dance component.
In all, the Arts Council received a total of 305 applications at our April 1 application deadline from artists, organizations and schools throughout the state, with requests totaling $2,415,214. Funds to support arts projects throughout Rhode Island come through the support of the Governor and the General Assembly along with our federal partners at the National Endowment for the Arts).
Many of the awarded projects included dance in their projects; the following is a list of grants awarded to projects focusing on dance. For the complete list of grants, please visit RISCA's 2004/2005 GRANT page (unfortunately it's in pdf format)
Central Falls Jr/Sr High Sch Ethnic Dance Project $5,000.00 Blackstone River Theatre Irish Dance: Ceilis,Sets&Steps $1,750.00 Fusionworks General Operating Support $5,750.00 Island Moving Company General Operating Support $17,150.00 North Providence Community Centers Summer Dance & Movement Prg $5,000.00 Everett Dance Theatre General Operating Support $30,000.00 Festival Ballet Providence General Operating Support $27,500.00 Dorothy Jungels Leonard's Dove $2,000.00 Ricardo Pitts-Wiley From the Bard to the Bounce $4,000.00 Fantasy Works YouthTheater Inc Summer Musical Series $2,500.00AUGUST - IMC'S ANNOUNCES CHOREOGRAPHERS AND ARTISTS FOR OPEN FOR DANCING FESTIVAL
SEPTEMBER 22 thru 26, 2004
Island Moving Co. presents Open for Dancing 2004, a festival of works for various Newport, RI landscapes created by well-known choreographers and artists working with companies of dancers from the community. Over three days, September 22-24, 2004, choreographers, dancers and artists will interact with varied settings and with each other to create dances which will be performed on September 25 & 26th. The settings include Queen Anne Square in the center of Newport, Doris Duke's rocky lawn at Rough Point, the ramparts and rifle galleries of Fort Adams and Richard Fleishner's Sod Maze at Chateau-sur-Mer.
Open for Dancing 2004 includes free events as well as the dances at the three architectural sites. Island Moving Co. dancer and choreographer Michael Bolger will create a dance for the parishioners of Trinity Church, and others, on the expanse of Queen Anne Square in the center of Newport's wharf area. Trinity Church Musical Director Paul Cienniwa will accompany the dance with music played on the church's carillon. The dance will take place several times during the day on Sunday, September 26th. Michael Bolger has created several site specific works for the Island Moving Co., including Moving Through Paradise at the Norman Bird Sanctuary and Fountain Dance, commissioned by the Convergence International Arts Festival in Providence. With Miki Ohlsen and Eva Marie Pacheco, Bolger created Island Moving Co.'s site specific Newport Nutcracker at Rosecliff, called a "breakthrough in dance theatre." (Rourke, Providence Journal)
On Saturday, September 25th, dancers from Rhode Island College will be the festival's Phantom Limb, presenting spontaneous and unannounced performances at venues throughout downtown Newport. The Phantom Limb will be directed by RIC Director of Dance, Dante Del Giudice. Other Open for Dancing events include a baroque cello concert in Ballard Park, performed by Audrey Cienniwa on Thursday, September 23rd.
At Fort Adams, New York choreographer Noemie Lafrance will create a work for the Island Moving Co., as well as dancers from the community. Lafrance is the recipient of two Bessie Awards, for the choreography and score of Descent, for dancers on a staircase presented in New York in 2003.
Boston choreographer Daniel McCusker returns to Newport to choreograph a piece for the Sod Maze at Chateau-sur-Mer on Bellevue Avenue. The Maze was constructed by Providence artist Richard Fleishner as part of the 1974 site specific sculpture show, Monumenta. Open for Dancing celebrates the Sod Maze's thirtieth anniversary with the creation of this dance. McCusker will work with dancers from the community and with Rhode Island sculptor Elizabeth Keithline. Daniel McCusker's work has twice been cited by the Boston Globe as one of the ten best dance events of the year. He has worked in collaboration with artists and composers, such as Christopher Eastburn, with whom he created Field Work for Open for Dancing 2002.
Jim Coleman and Terese Freedman are co-directors of Freedman/Coleman Dance Company, which has toured to more than 30 states and countries. Freedman and Coleman are Artists-In-Residence and Professors of dance at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. They will be choreographing a work for Rough Point, Doris Duke's Newport home.
Participation in Open for Dancing 2004 is open to anyone; no dance training is required. Participants take part in the creation of one of the dances of the festival, as well as master classes, panel discussions and celebrations for five days in Newport's most delightful month. Audience members can board trolleys on Saturday, September 25th or Sunday, September 26th and see three dances in an afternoon. Most festival events are open to the public, as well as rehearsals at each of the sites. The fee for participation is $150; $75 for students. The performances plus the trolley is $35, while individual performances can be seen for $10 at each site. Newport's Viking Hotel offers a special Open for Dancing package, including full participation in the festival, room and breakfast plus privileges at their deluxe spa. Open for Dancing is supported by a grant from the Max & Victoria Dreyfus Foundation with media sponsorship by WJAR Channel 10 Providence. Energy provided by Red Bull. Open for Dancing is the closing event in re: Monumenta, contemporary artists celebrating the 30th anniversary of Monumenta, Newport's 1974 outdoor sculpture event, with Lectures, Exhibitions, Dance and Sculpture.
For more information see riDance's OPEN FOR DANCING and to receive a full brochure on Open for Dancing, call 401-847-4470.
AUGUST - RIC DANCE ANNOUNCES 2004 SCHEDULE
RIC Dance Director Dante Del Giudice has announced the 2004 Rhode Island College dance schedule. It includes dance classes by master choreograhers open to the public as well as the RIC Dance Company concert listings.
OPEN CLASSES
August 24-28, 2004
Dance: Open Dance Company Class with Andrea Woods
10-11:30am, Melcer Dance Studio, Nazarian Center
Admission $6 per class
November 1-6
Dance: Open Dance Company Class with Jennifer Nugent and Paul Matteson
10-11:30am, 11/2, 6
4:30-6:00pm, 11/1, 3, 4
Melcer Dance Studio, Nazarian Center
Admission $6 per class
PERFORMANCE
Performing Culture, Performing Lives
Contemporary dance provides a fluid site for the reinscription of identity for or against normative being, and our fall season will feature artists and performances that enact possibilities for rethinking and celebrating lives and cultures that too often exist along the margins of an over determined mainstream.
October 13-15
Dance: Rhode Island College Dance Company
Annual Mini-Concert Series for Rhode Island school children*
10:00am. daily
Auditorium in Roberts Hall
Educational programming for Rhode Island school children will include our annual Mini-Concert Series Wednesday through Friday, October 13-15 in the Auditorium in Roberts Hall. Offered free to all school children in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts since the 1960's, these concerts provide young audiences with an informative and enjoyable introduction to contemporary dance forms. Lastly, Rhode Island community dancers are invited to participate in open Dance Company classes with visiting choreographers in August, October, and November.
October 29
Dance: Rhode Island College Dance Company October Concert with Souloworks/Andrea E. Woods & Dancers
8pm, Sapinsley Hall, Nazarian Center
General Admission $12**
Providing a contrast to our 'reality' obsessed and fear-factored popular content, Souloworks/Andrea E. Woods & Dancers celebrates African American culture and experience as rich contemporary folklore. Ms. Woods creates collaborative works using dance, music, spoken word and/or multimedia. Her works are sometimes narrative, sometimes figurative, and often draw on themes such as family, nature, community, spirituality and African American history and culture. The dances have a generous worldview while centralizing, affirming, and exemplifying a positive reflection of African American culture.
Ms. Woods, a former dancer and rehearsal director with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, will be in residence in August to create a new work for RIC dancers that will be premiered in a concert shared with Souloworks on Friday, October 29 in Sapinsley Hall. Souloworks is a Brooklyn-based modern dance company, and recent sponsored concerts have included performances at Michigan State University, Ohio University, Howard University, and Dance Theater Workshop.
December 3
Dance: Rhode Island College Dance Company Winter Concert with Nugent+Matteson
8:00pm, Sapinsley Hall, Nazarian Center
General Admission $12**
Revisiting the male/female binary is Nugent+Matteson, a New York-based duet company combining the performance and choreographic talents of Jennifer Nugent and Paul Matteson. Both Nugent and Matteson are also dancers with David Dorfman Dance, and Paul Matteson was the recipient of a New York Dance and Performance Award (Bessie) in 2002 for performance.
Their new company allows them to collaborate on duets and to work separately on solo choreography, and they also commission outstanding choreographers to create duets and solos. The result is an intimate evening of visceral dancing and strong craft. Maura Donahue (and by the way, a Rhode Island trained dancer) of The Dance Insider has written "Nugent and Matteson are a partnership to pay attention to...These two are great just dancing together. They are like a couple spinning atoms; their combined energy is explosive and contagious."
Nugent and Matteson will be in residence at RIC late October and early November to create a work on RIC dancers, and RIC dancers and Nugent+Matteson will share a concert on Friday, December 3 at 8:00 p.m. in Sapinsley Hall. Other recent Nugent+Matteson teaching/performance residencies have included the Thalia Dance Series/New York Season; American Dance Festival, Durham, NC; Second Wind Dance Company, Virginia Beach, VA; Hollins University, VA; and Bates Dance Festival, Portland, ME. Upcoming 2005 activities will include a teaching/choreography residency in Vietnam and performance dates at the Brooklyn Music School Playhouse and Tangente Theatre, Montreal.
*Admission Free
**Admission discounts
AUGUST - FESTIVAL BALLET ANNOUNCES 27th SEASON
Festival Ballet Providence Artistic Director Mihailo Djuric has announced Festival Ballet's 2004-2005 season. A varied season with two major world premieres, great classics and the work of talented emerging choreographers, Festival Ballet 2004 will indeed display the versatility of the company's dancers.
Main stage performances start off with the world premiere of Chris Van Allsburg's story The Widow's Broom choreogrographed by Viktor Plotnikov, who last season created the outstanding version of Carmen, which won rave reviews from critics and audiences alike. All main performances will take place in Providence's finest theaters; the 3,100 seat Providence Performing Arts Center, and the 2,200 seat VMA Arts & Cultural Center.
The second season of FB's Up CLOSE, on HOPE studio repertory performances will give Rhode Island audiences the opportunity to see dance in an intimate setting. Three separate repertory programs, one each in September, November, and March on two consecutive weekends will include works by established and emerging choreographers from around the country. Limited to an audience of only ninety, this performance series offers the chance to see thrilling, original dance, to meet the dancers, and to mingle with the choreographers. All performances take place in Festival Ballet's Grand Studio on Providence's East Side. Having been completely sold out the inaugural season, this year the series has been expanded from two to three performances of each production. Tickets for Up CLOSE on HOPE performances are only available through Festival Ballet Providence.
Reserved ticket and season subscription information is available by contacting www.tickets.com (800.919.6272), VMA Arts & Cultural Center, 401.272.4862, Festival Ballet Providence, 401.353.1129, by sending email inquiries to info@festivalballet.com.
Festival Ballet 2004-2005 Season
JULY - EVERETT DANCE TO TOUR NEW WORK
"Everett Dance Theatre creates surprisingly funny full-length treatments of big, provocative themes." The New Yorker
"A spirit of intelligent fun permeates the work." Gus Solomons Jr, Dance Magazine
Everett Dance Theatre premieres their newest work, Home Movies at Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine August 6 & 7, 2004, returning to open the work at the Carriage House Stage in Providence, Rhode Island September 10 - October 2, heading to New York City with the piece in mid October, and continuing the tour throughout the 2004 - 2005 season. Using dance, theater, song and video, Home Movies intertwines compelling images and poignant moments with humor and light and playful movement. Five dancers, four families, four distinct neighborhoods and a myriad of stories coexist on the stage, swirling around and intersecting with each other. "In my house, everyone was welcome...no one was welcome...few friends were welcome....even my Mom's IMH patients were welcome...In my house, a custom was to... give thanks before eating.... practice ballet in the kitchen...take off your shoes before entering...give baby Jesus a straw for his crib." With nuance and clarity, Everett brings their multiple stories to life on one stage.
Home Movies is a deeply layered piece that explores the American family as it exists today. Company members delved deeply into their own families, their own stories, and identified intimate, diverse experiences with universal threads. Drawing on its multi-cultural make-up, the company explores loss, perseverance, and the life events that define us. From childhood memories of the day Santa didn't come, to the moment of realization that Dad couldn't protect you from the world, Home Movies weaves a story that will resonate with everyone.
Everett Dance Theatre is a multiracial, intergenerational company nationally recognized for its interdisciplinary concert works. Everett's works have toured to sites such as Dance Theater Workshop, Jacob's Pillow, Spoleto Festival, and the Walker Center for the Arts. Everett received the Jabez Gorham Award for 'Unwavering Commitment to Excellence' (1992); a Bessie, New York's Dance Choreography and Creator Award (1996) for its Body of Work concert; The First Annual Rhode Island Pell Award for Excellence in the Arts (1997); the Meeting Street Center's Visionary Award for an Outstanding Level of Concern and Commitment for Rhode Island's Children and Adults with Disabilities (1997); and the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts Award (2000). Artistic Director Dorothy Jungels has received four Choreographers Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Rhode Island Foundation Fellowship, and four Fellowships from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Everett's educational programming has received the City of Providence Citizens Citation for Outstanding Youth Program (1995) and recognized three times by the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities Coming Up Taller Awards.
Home Movies is a co-commissioning project by Contemporary Dance Theatre, Dance Theater Workshop, New World Theater, and the National Performance Network Creation Fund. The Creation Fund is sponsored by the Doris Duke charitable Foundation and Philip Morris Companies.
Support for the creation of Home Movies was provided by the LEF Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, National Performance Network, Rhode Island Foundation, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts, and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Home Movies' 2004 - 2005 tour is supported by the National Dance Project of the New England Foundation for the Arts, with lead funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. Additional funding provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and The Ford Foundation.
Home Movies 2004 - 2005 tour sites include:
Bates Dance Festival
163 Wood Street
Bates College,
Lewiston, ME 04240
Contact: (207) 786-6381
Dates: Friday and Saturday, August 6 & 7 at 8:00 pm
Carriage House Stage
7 Duncan Avenue
Providence, RI 02906
Contact: (401) 831-9479
Dates: Friday and Saturday, September 10, 11, 17, 18, 24, 25, October 1 & 2 at 8:00pm
Dance Theatre Workshop
129 West 19th Street
New York, NY 10011-4079
Contact: (212) 691-6500/Box office (212) 924-0077
Dates: Thursday, Friday , and Saturday, October 14, 15 & 16 at 7:00pm
Northeastern University
Contact: (617) 373-3439
Dates: October/November 2004, dates and venue TBD
New World Theater
15 Curry Hicks, 100 Hicks Way
Amherst, MA 01003
Contact: (413) 545-1972
Dates: Friday, October 22
Contemporary Dance Theater
Jarson-Kaplan Theater
Aronoff Center for the Arts
650 Walnut Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Contact: (513) 591-1222
Dates: Friday and Saturday, November 19 & 20 at 8:30 pm
Flynn Center for the Performing Arts
Flynn Space
153 Main Street
Burlington, VT 05401
Contact: (802) 652-4500
Dates: Thursday and Friday, February 17 and 18
Painted Bride Art Center
230 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Contact: (215) 925-9914
Dates: Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, March 10, 11 & 12
JULY - UPDATE FROM DANCE PLANET'S
DOUG AND DEREK PERRY
JULY - NORTH KINGSTOWN DANCER HAS LEAD IN OFF BROADWAY PRODUCTION
July 14 thru 24, 2004
Dance Theatre Workshop
219 West 19th Street
(between 7th and 8th aves)
NY NY 10011
Box Office 212 924 0077
Website: www.dtw.org
Tickets $25.00
Performances: July 14-24 at 8pm (no perf. Sun July 18)
North Kingstown resident, Alexandra Blackbird has one of the lead roles - that of the HIV-infected Roe in this new off-Broadway production, which will workshop July 14 thru 24.
THIN LINE is a a dance drama, a musical without song...a play without words...a dance performance that tells a story. Choreographed by Derek Mitchell, Thin Line intertwines the lives of eight present day twenty-something New Yorkers and what they experience in the course of one powerful and cathartic night- New Year's Eve. Combining many genres of dance including Hip-Hop, House, Lyrical, Jazz, Modern, Salsa, Club, Runway along with multi-media imaging and original music, Thin Line explores the complex relationships between friends, lovers, family as well as oneself, while tackling such socially-aware issues as AIDS, homophobia, addiction, violence, love and death. Thin Line also deals head-on with our own social ideals of trust, obsession, self-destruction and self-discovery, culminating in personal loss. It ultimately shows how every action we take affects the ultimate outcome.
A portion of the proceeds will benefit the organization, Dancers Responding to Aids
Created by Derek Mitchell and Danielle Lindner
Starring: Stephanie Allgeier, Allyson Arena, Jennifer Arena, Alexandra Blackbird, Jesse Carolan-Rodriguez, Kimberly Fitch, Sara Hawkins, Jim Linehan, Tracy Monaco, Yusuf Nasir, Liz Piccoli, Amanda Powell, Marlowe Davis, Mary Jo Toney, Michael Winn
Produced by Joe Zee
Choreography by Derek Mitchell
Music by Danielle Lindner
Set Design by Tom Bell
Video Imagery by Jason Curtis
JUNE - THEATRE EXPANSION DANCESTRAVAGANZA & BENEFIT!
JUNE 18 & 19, 2004
Little Theatre
John Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts
Rhode Island College
600 Mt Pleasant Ave
Providence RI 02908-1991
Time: Doors open at 630pm/7pm concert/10pm reception
Tickets: $20
Box Office: 401-440-5440
Email: Rubeltrubel3@aol.com
The Theatre Expansion would like to invite the Rhode Island Dance world to our benefit concert and fundraiser, Dancestravaganza! It will feature works by local dance and theatre artists including a work by Fusionworks Artistic Director, Deb Meunier. All proceeds benefit The Theatre Expansion, to help cover the cost of their 2004 production, pay their artists and work towards a permanent home to bring theatre and dance together in Rhode Island. Price includes non-alcoholic drinks and food, plus a raffle that could win you some great summer goodies!
Theatre Expansion's future seasons will still include controversial straight plays but also pioneer Dance adaptations of Dramatic Literature, present socially relevant Performance Art plays and continue to break through boundaries between the different performing arts. Our first production under our new identity will be performed this August at the Bell Street Chapel. In our August production, you will see this kind of contemporary dance incorporated into a theatre production, to bring a more complete interpretation of a human experience. Come celebrate this experience with us. This production will be announced at our fundraiser so don't miss it! In addition, at Dancestravaganza you will see four dance pieces that are theatrical in their composition, and showcase the movement talents of The Theatre Expansion's artists.
- Tim Rubel Artistic Director
MAY - BRIAN JONES PERFORMED IN SOUTH KINGSTOWN
ON MAY 23
Brian Jones, RI's top tap dancer, hosted and performed at a short but sweet tap dance performance in the Father Greenan Hall (114 High Street behind St. Francis Church) Wakefield Rhode Island on Sunday May 23 at 3:30 pm. Brian danced a solo as well as with his advanced students from three studios - The Studio - Narragansett, Tracy Ciccone Performing Arts - Cranston, and American Academy of Dance - Mansfield, Massachusetts. All dances were choreographed by Mr. Jones. The whole show was about 30 minutes start to finish! The Program consisted of HAPPY FEET; COME ON AND STOMP, STOMP, STOMP; BOOGIE WOOGIE STOMP; CRAZY LEGS; BILL TELL OVERTURE; ANDALUCIA; and NOBODY BUT THE BABY
MAY - PRESTIGIOUS NEFA AWARD GOES TO EVERETT DANCE THEATRE
Everett Dance Theatre Website: http://www.everettdancetheatre.org
Rhode Island's Everett Dance Theatre has been awarded a NEFA Expeditions touring grant of $21,775 to be part of a New England series of creative residencies built around Everett's latest production, Home Movies. They are in very good company - other NEFA award recipients this year include Battleworks and the Mark Morris Dance Company. Everett Dance Theatre is known for its focus on building community through the arts and for its adept handling of sensitive subjects across a range of human experience. Home Movies explores the many ways families provide a sense of belonging and safety, how they identify their members, and where they find home.
The tour will include workshops and performances at the Bates Dance Festival, New World Theatre, and Northeastern University.
Tour Schedule:
July 24-August 15, 2004 - Bates Dance Festival, Lewiston, ME
October 22-24, 2004 - New WORLD Theatre, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA
October 26-31, 2004 - Northeastern University, Boston, MA
To see more about New England Foundation for the Arts grants, please visit riDance's Grants & Scholarships page.
WHEELCHAIR DANCE TECHNIQUE WORKSHOP FOR TEACHERS
New York University
New York, NY
Saturday May 22 from 1pm to 6pm
OR
Sunday, May 23 from 1pm to 6p
Wheelchair Dance Technique Workshop for Teachers
Towards an InclusiveStudio
Led by Kitty Lunn, Artistic Director of Infinity Dance Theater
This complimentary workshop will provide dance educators with hands-on training in ballet transpositiontechnique for dance students using wheelchairs. The workshop will be led by renowned dancer and educator Kitty Lunn, Artistic Director of Infinity Dance Theater, a New York City dance company featuring dancers with and without disabilities.
Through activities with both manual and power chairs designed for dance, participants will gain the tools necessary to work with students with disabilities who are interested in studying dance. As mainstream dance educators gain experience in this transposition method, based on the same technique taught for hundreds of years, more and more opportunities will open up for people with disabilities who seek to study dance and perhaps pursue a professional performance career.
Participants will receive Infinity's acclaimed technique video and a printed curriculum at no charge, thanks to a grant from the Krumholz Foundation.Infinity Dance Theater's workshop project is also funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.
Please RSVP as soon as possible to Chris Frerichs at (917) 204-8294 or chris@frerichs.com in order to guarantee your spot. If you have a conflict with the dates of the workshops, please contact Infinity at the number above, and Chris will let you know about future dates.
Although there are spots remaining in both sessions, there's more availability for the Saturday (which would give participants more time to work in a wheelchair designed for dance -- Kitty brings a few manual and power chairs for use during the session).
Kitty Lunn and Infinity Dance Theater have performed extensively throughout New York City (including City Center, Vineyard Theatre, Dance Theater Workshop, Symphony Space, Avery Fisher Hall, and the New Amsterdam Theater),across the country (including the Kennedy Center, and venues in Boston, Los Angeles, St. Louis, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Columbus, and other areas), and around the world (numerous engagements in Glasgow, Scotland and Italy).
APRIL 2004
FESTIVAL BALLET IN PROCESS OF HIRING NEW DANCER
Festival Ballet Providence is working through the reams of paperwork to get a work visa for a new male ballet dancer. Desmond West Chow hails from Canada as does another recent arrival to FB, Cameron Baldasserra. FB has quite a history with the Canadian ballet scene. FB's founder, Christine Hennessey performed in Canada and Winthrop Corey, another founder came from Canada. A former student at Festival Ballet's school, Greta Hodgkinson is now a principal dancer at the National Ballet of Canada and current FB dancer Ty Parmenter studied at NBC.
FUSIONWORKS BLUES BASH!
Get down and boogie with RI's coolest dance company!! Join Fusionworks for the final celebration of their 17th season. Throw on your jeans and your best dancin' shoes and come dance the night away to the sounds of Rhode Island's hottest R&B band Powerhouse. The evening will also feature a full dinner, lip-smakin' soul food buffet by Down Home Cooking, fun door prizes, a raffle and cash bar.
If you want to have even more fun, then come to our Early Admission preview party and see a one time only performance by Fusionworks to the sounds of Powerhouse, while enjoying a complimentary micro-brew beer and soul food munchies. Then stay for the rest of the evening and dance yourself silly. You must be over 21 to attend. See you there!!
Blackstone River Theatre
549 Broad Street
Cumberland, RI
Saturday April 24, 2004
7:00 - 8:00 PM Early Admission
8:00 - 11:00 PM Blues Bash
$75.00 per person - Early Admission & Blues Bash
$50.00 per person - Blues Bash only
Tickets: www.ArttixRI.com or 401-621-6123
Information: 401-334-3091
PAWTUCKET HAS DANCE SPACE
The Pawtucket Arts Collaborative is sponsoring a SPRING OPEN STUDIO STROLL on Saturday APRIL 17, 2004 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
A diverse group of professional artisans and craftspeople working in a variety of disciplines will open their studios (including Providence Circus School's new Trapeze Workshop) to the public for this special one-day event. The stroll will showcase the work of the artists located in the following historic mills:
545 Pawtucket Avenue
250 Esten Avenue
1088 Main Street
80 Fountain Street
560 Mineral Spring Avenue
Hop aboard a double-decker bus or trolley at the Blackstone Valley Visitors Center, 175 Main Street, Pawtucket. Trolleys will depart every 20 minutes from 10:00am - 4:00pm. For further info, contact the Visitors Center at #724-2200 or Pat Zacks at #273-5367.
The mills of Pawtucket are exciting up-and-coming arts environments. Some mill landlords are actively looking for artists of all kinds including dancers and choreographers. Prices are still low. Many of these mills offer studio and living spaces large enough for dancing. The tour is free, and you can scope out available locations as you admire the artwork. Read more about Pawtucket for artists
APRIL 2004 KNEE SURGERY FOR NOTED DANCE DIRECTOR
Nancy McAuliffe artistic director of Rhode Island's Ballet Theatre and owner Rhode Island Ballet Arts Academy, underwent arthroscopy surgery Thursday April 8 to repair a torn medial meniscus (cartilage) in her knee. The next day found her on a plane to Miami to visit a brand new grandson born on April 5th.
RHODE ISLAND NEWCOMER NABS TWO PLUM ROLES
On February 23, Alexandra Blackbird heard the happy news that she had landed a lead role in A Thin Line a dance drama which will be workshopped this Spring in New York City at the famed New Dance Group. Alex plays the pivotal role of Rae, infected with AIDS, and about to celebrate what may be her last birthday. Previews are scheduled for July 14 thru 25, and there is an expectation that this piece might move to Broadway for a longer run. Meanwhile, back in Rhode Island, Alex has just gotten a part in Trinity Rep's upcoming West Side Story (April 23 thru May 30) choreographed by Sharon Jenkins and Mary Gendreau.
GRETA HODGKINSON INVITED BY KIROV BALLET TO ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA
National Ballet of Canada Principal Dancer, Greta Hodgkinson has been invited by the Kirov Ballet (Mariinsky) to dance in The Fourth International Ballet Festival on March 13-14th, 2004 in the historic
Mariinsky Theatre, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Miss Hodgkinson will perform the summer pas de deux from James Kudelka's The Four Seasons with Roberto Bolle, as well as Excelsior by Luigi Manzotti.The festival, which runs from March 5-14th, will feature international ballet stars such as Manuel Legris from the Paris Opera, Poloma Herrera with Ethan Stiefel from American Ballet Theatre as well as dancers from the Kirov Ballet (Mariinsky). Miss Hodgkinson will perform in the gala on the final weekend of the festival, and will reprise the role during The National Ballet of Canada's spring season, May 19-23, 2004.
Miss Hodgkinson recently received strong reviews for her performance in The National Ballet of Canada's The Sleeping Beauty, staged by Karen Kain. The Globe and Mail stated "The sensational Hodgkinson, in her crisp attack, showed all the girlish enthusiasm of Aurora's 16 years...the ballerina riveted the eye with her awesome control of technique, yet breathed life into Aurora as a character, thus rising above mere show".
Greta is from Warwick, Rhode Island, but has been living on her own in Toronto, Canada since she was accepted into the School of the National Ballet of Canada at age 11.
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Greta was Clara in one of the Nutcrackers at Festival back then, and I played her mother. Even at that young age, I could tell she had what it takes to be a ballerina. - Nancy McAuliffe |
Nancy writes, " Greta is a world-class dancer and has been hailed as one of the best female dancers in the world, and she is from RI! She has been on the cover of Dance magazine and also Internationale Dance...and [is] at the pinnacle of her career. We are very proud of her!"
RELATED WEBSITES:
THE NATIONAL BALLET OF CANADA
GRETA HODGKINSON
ISLAND MOVING CO. WEST COAST PREMIERE
Island Moving Co., Newport, RI's resident contemporary ballet company, travels to the West Coast for the first time to perform at the Ivar Theatre in Los Angeles on April 17 & 18. The Company has been invited to perform in Brockus Dance Project's prestigious SPLIT series, which was recently nominated for a Lester Horton Award. The Company's eight professional dancers and Artistic Director Miki Ohlsen will present three works in a shared program with Los Angeles companies.
The Island Moving Co. has been commissioning new dance for over twenty years. For these performances, the Company will present the premiere of a new work by New York choreographer Ryan Kelly, who is at work currently in the Newport studios creating a work for five of the Company's dancers. Kelly's work has been presented at Jacob's Pillow and he was recently in Florida to set a work on the Miami City Ballet. The dancers will also perform Je Ne Regrette Rien, a trio to Edith Piaf songs choreographed by Company member Eva Marie Pacheco. The Company also brings Miki Ohlsen's full company ballet, Surrender, danced to music by Sarah MacLachlan and Gustav Mahler. Surrender is a full out, physical and emotional journey, ending in what the Providence Phoenix called an "incredibly powerful pas de deux".
Dancers of the Island Moving Co. include Meredith Baer, Michael Bolger, Wendy Fish Lawrence, Alejandro Gomez, David Lawrence, Mary Beth Murphy, Lilia Ortola and Rolando Troconis. Tickets to the performances at the Ivar Theatre are $16 in advance; $20 on the day of performance and are available by calling 310 645-9419. The Ivar Theatre is located at 1605 N. Ivar Ave., Hollywood.
FEBRUARY 2004
CATCHING UP WITH KERRY
Dancer and choreographer, Kerrie Hudson, is having a whirlwind winter as she prepares three pieces for performance. Her choreography, Chase, debuted last weekend (February 19-21) at Milton Academy in Massachusetts and Elysium will be shown the first weekend in April at the Fusionworks Spring Concert. Kerrie, a Fusionworks dancer, will be performing in three pieces (although not in her own dance!). In addition she was commissioned by the Boston-based Choreographer's Group to create a new piece, Observant Curiosity, which will premiere May 21 & 22 at Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center. You can contact her at jimkerrie2001@yahoo.com.
| SIMPATICO DANCE COMPANY PERFORMED CHAPTERS ON FEB 6 & 7 |  |  http://www.giordanojazzdance.com |
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ISLAND MOVING CO.'S INNOVATIVE CREATIVE MOVEMENT RESIDENCY IN MIDDLETOWN
With support from the Forest Avenue School Parent Teacher Organization and principal Stephen Fontes, Island Moving Co.'s dancers return to teach the Company's tenth year of creative movement classes to the school's students during the month of February. The Middletown residency, which has been a model for other schools' integration of dance into their curriculums, was facing elimination of its funding after ten years of partnership between the school system and Newport's resident dance company. The Middletown school system had provided the three creative movement classes to every one of its elementary school students since 1993. The North Family Trust has for six years provided funding to extend the residency into the fifth grade for all students. This program continues for this school year.
Originally championed by former Arts Coordinator Rod O'Hanley and strongly supported by Assistant Superintendent Joe Krupuwicz, the program had inspired similar arts integration in schools in Bristol, Portsmouth and Providence. The creative movement classes fulfilled goals requirements for the physical education program in Middletown as well as for National Standards for arts education. "Your instruction truly enhances our physical education program, addressing physical education standard number one, students will demonstrate competency in many movement forms," noted Aquidneck School principal Michelle Theberge last year, adding, "You have instilled a love of movement within them." Artistic Director Miki Ohlsen comments, "Creative movement often engages students who learn in unconventional ways and develops teamwork, discipline and self-expression."
IMC dancers Michael Bolger, Meredith Baer and Eva Marie Pacheco will be in residency at Forest Avenue School through March 8th. For information about the Island Moving Co.'s programs, call 401-847-4470.
JANUARY 2004
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RHODE ISLAND DANCE COMPANIES GARNER GRANTS
Everett Dance Theatre has been awarded a 2004 $10,000 grant by the National Endowment for the Arts to support the creation and presentation of Home Movies - a video autobiography of the Jungles family. The work will premiere at Trinity Repertory Theater and will include performances for middle and high school students.
The National Endowment for the Arts is interested in funding artists and educational groups with BIG CREATIVE projects. This year's recipients are not all larger arts organizations. Although Trinity Rep and the RISD Museum of Art are established larger organizations, Alliance of Artists Communities, Perishable Theatre, Providence Black Repertory Company and Everett are smaller and Portsmouth writer, Joshua Harmon received an award as well.
Even the NEA is struggling under the current financial crunch, but don't rule them out if you have a grand idea that requires more grant money than you can get locally
Rhode Island has more grant money per artist than many larger richer states. The Rhode Island State Council for the Arts hands out grants and fellowships (application deadlines in April & October 1). There is a choreography fellowship with applications due in October. The Rhode Island Foundation also gives out grants and scholarships and has long encouraged on the arts.
RISCA awarded many dance related grands in 2003 including
Michelle Bach-Coulibaly for completion of her work Flamma Flamma $3,000
Blackstone River Theatre for social dancing (Quadrilles & Ceilis) $5,000
Brown & Fox Point Day Care Center for a Dance/Creative Movement program $2,500
Capital City Community Centers (Providence) for a Summer Dance & Movement Prpgram $9,056
Central Falls Jr/Sr High Sch Ethnic Dance Project Central Falls $6,100
Dance Alliance Chance to Dance East Greenwich $14,450
Dance Alliance of RI Inc Proficiency Team Dance East Greenwich $4,000
Dance Alliance of RI Inc Seminar: Performance Medicine East Greenwich $500
Kelli Wicke Davis Fellowship in Choreography Barrington $5,000
Everett Dance Theatre General Operating Support Providence $31,300
Festival Ballet Providence Discover Dance Providence $723
Festival Ballet Providence General Operating Support Providence $25,465
Fusionworks General Operating Support Cranston $6,600
Marcela Garces Colombian Folkloric Dance Proj Central Falls $3,500
Song Heng Cambodian Dance and Music Providence $4,000
Mary Paula Hunter Preludia Providence $3,000
Island Moving Company General Operating Support Newport $19,494
Jump! Inc Cross Cultural Dance Providence $2,500
Aaron Jungels Fellowship in New Genres Providence $1,000
Aaron Jungels The Silas Project Providence $2,500
Adesina Omodunbi Yoruba Dance Providence $3,000
Retired Senior Volunteer Assn Lao Youth Traditional Dance Woonsocket $3,000
Rockwell School Dance Around the World Bristol $2,800
Kathleen Gordon Smith Fellowship in Choreography Foster $1,000
Gary Shore Ode $1,500
A COUPLE COMMENTS ON GRANTS
Grants sound like every artists and art organizations dream come to true, but they are a trap if you are small and are working on the application forms by yourself while trying to produce art. Each institution has its own requirements and you should learn as much as possible about any grant that you are seeking. RISCA holds free workshops around the state in March and September where you can hear what they want, ask questions and start to make yourself known. RISCA keeps the process relatively easy and they are happy to talk to people with questions. Call them early in your application process.
Grant/fellowship and scholarship applications are often complicated and tedious. In all probability, one of the reasons you are a dance/movement artist is because your facility is in movement and form and less in writing or maneuvering through difficult text. There's paperwork enough in running a small business, which is what you are as an individual artist or small art organization. Nor, is there enough grant money to support all the arts all the time. Try to make your art as profitable as possible before entering the granting arena. Usually grants are useful for funding a specific project. Many grantors offer funds that provide art groups with business and marketing consultants. This allows your team to be more profitable and independent. The Arts & Business Council of Rhode Island will do this for you with a minimum of paperwork. They also host reasonably priced (or free) workshops on many aspects of how to run an arts business, as well as lectures and panels with well-known art organizations, corporate sponsors and granting agencies. Not only will you learn from the people on the podium, but you will see what other artists are doing and what problems they are encountering. In addition, you can network and learn how money flows to the arts in Rhode Island (and then stand in the way).
ARTS & BUSINESS: http://www.artsandbusinessri.org
RISCA: http://www.arts.ri.gov
NEA WEBSITE: http://www.nea.gov
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LIGHTING THE WAY TO NEW BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
The 14th Annual Encore Arts & Business Awards
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Rhodes on the Pawtuxet
Reception 500pm - 615pm
Dinner seating 6:30pm
Individual tickets are priced at $150. A special rate is being offered to artists and to staff members of arts and cultural organizations as well as BVA/RI Volunteers. Corporate sponsorship tables are available.
Information: (401) 521-5000
Website: http://www.artsandbusinessri.org
Each January, the Arts & Business Council of Rhode Island hosts the Encore Arts and Business Awards Dinner. This celebration of the arts pays tribute to those individuals, companies and arts organizations that have made a unique contribution to arts and culture in Rhode Island.
Get ready for an evening that will jazz all your senses and enhance your business sense. This year, our Encore Awards celebrate the art and design magic essential to conjuring up extraordinary new products. We'll show you how artistic innovation can link you into another dimension of business, fire up your synapses and infuse your spirit at the same time. Not only will experience breath-taking performances, you'll hear about the passion and hard work that our award recipients have devoted to turning art into business and maybe leave with a few ideas of your own. Performances by: Everett Dance Theatre, the Music School's Jazz Combo, Providence Black Repertory Company and Tim O'Keefe.
This evening of food, drink, awards and entertainment provide Rhode Islanders the opportunity to come together and delight in the wonderfully rich and diverse arts and culture community of which they are a part. The honorees are individuals and organizations that have worked to improve the quality of life in Rhode Island through their dedication to and support of arts and culture. Whether they play the role of advocate, creator, manager, performer, presenter, producer, supporter or sponsor, these leaders ignite our potential and inspire our future.
Honorees this year include The Providence Black Repertory Company, George Kent of the Chorus of Westerly, artist Maxwell Mays, Washington Trust Bank and Mayor James Doyle of Pawtucket.
No dance companies or volunteers were recipients this year, but past winners from the dance community have included:
*Island Moving Company - 2003
*Robert L. Newbert (RIBT) - 2003
*Deb Meunier (Fusionworks) - 2003
*Festival Ballet
*Groundwerx Dance Theatre
*Everett Dance Theatre
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THREE DANCE COMPANIES SEND REPRESENTATIVES TO
ARTS & BUSINESS COUNCIL PANEL
|  Susan Esposito and Allison Huff from JUMP! |
| Three dance companies with affiliated dance schools attended the Arts & Business Council's January 12 panel discussion on the relationship between the arts, the community, and local corporations. Festival Ballet, Jump! and Rhode Island's Ballet Theatre were the only dance organizations to be seen among the many theatre, arts organizations, visual artists and performers. |
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ISLAND MOVING CO.'S OPEN FOR DANCING FESTIVAL RETURNS THIS SEPTEMBER
Island Moving Co. will repeat its site specific dance and art festival, Open for Dancing, September 22-26, 2004. The festival features works created for various Newport landscapes created by well-known choreographers and artists working with groups of dancers from the community. At its premiere in 2002, participating choreographers Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer called Open for Dancing "a joyous project".
At Open for Dancing 2004, choreographers, musicians and artists will work with dancers from the community* to create several site specific works over the first three days of the festival. The works will be performed on Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26 three times each afternoon, with audiences traveling to the sites by trolley. New to the festival this year are a 'guerilla dance troupe' presenting spontaneous performances throughout Newport's busy downtown; and a free performance on Queen Anne Square in the center of Newport. These performances, as well as many of the festival events September 22 through 24th, are free and open to the public. Tickets must be purchased to ride the trolleys and see dances created for three Newport landmarks: Doris Duke's rocky lawn at Rough Point; the ramparts and parade ground of Fort Adams; and the Sod Maze by artist Richard Fleishner on the grounds of Chateau-sur-Mer. Artists participating in Open for Dancing 2004 include choreographers Ryan Kelly, Daniel McCusker and Michael Bolger, as well as Paul Cienniwa, music director of Trinity Church. IMC Artistic Director Miki Ohlsen will announce further commissions in spring, 2004.
* Opportunities to perform , observe, participate and volunteer in Open for Dancing 2004 will be available by summer 2004. For more, call 401-847-4470.
You can see what was offered at the original Open for Dancing at riDance's OFD 2002 page.
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A FEW IMAGES FROM FESTIVAL BALLET'S
JANUARY 9 REHEARSAL
|  Piotr Ostaltsov takes notes while waiting his turn |
| James Brown, wearing his choregrapher's hat and nursing a cold, rehearsed dancers, Cameron Baldassarra, Ty Parmenter, & Davide Vittorino, in his 2003 piece Sketches from Life to be performed at the Jan 17 & 24 Up Close on Hope. Leticia Guerrero was on hand to rehearse FB's Firebird coming up in February. |
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PROVIDENCE IMPROV FEST
It's theatrical improv, but you learn to fly by the seat of your pants!
PROVIDENCE IMPROV FEST
Perishable Theatre
95 Empire Street
Providence RI
For more information call 401-461-4758
Website: UNEXPECTED THOUGHT
Website: IMPROV JONES
Two nights of full-tilt [theatrical] improv, with Improv Jones, Unexpected Company, and Speed of Thought Players. January 2 and 3 at Perishable Theatre.
FRIDAY NIGHT
Friday night starting at 8:00pm - the groups take turns doing what they do best, and then get together for a Providence improv jam.
SATURDAY
WORKSHOP at 7pm
Open introductory workshop taught by Improv Jones, for anyone who wants to learn the basics of theatrical improv technique. The focus is on comedy improv. It is open to anyone with a ticket to Saturday Improv event or pay $10.00 for workshop.
OPEN JAM at 8pm
The floor is open to everyone & anyone in an open jam: your chance to improvise with your favorite performers!
SHOW at 9pm
The show proper starts at 9:00, when the three groups mix it up for the 2003 Providence Improv Championship. You decide the winners.
Tickets are $10/night or $15 for both nights. All groups are now selling festival tickets at their shows, or get them at the door.