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Austin Goodwin and Ida Saki awarded NFAA’s Silver Awards in New York at the Baryshnikov Studios! They have just been announced one of 20 Presidential Scholars in the Arts in the nation and 8 of the Scholars in the Arts are from Texas. They will perform at the Kenney Center and will be awarded the Presidential Scholar medallion in Washington, DC in late June, 2010.
Texas Silver Awardees Austin Goodwin, Robbie Moore (Houston), and Ida Saki with Rebecca Stenn in New York .
FERNANDO HERNANDEZ
In honor of Cinco de Mayo, the Dance Department would like to feature one of our resident consultants, Fernando Hernandez! About Fernando Hernandez: FERNANDO HERNANDEZ earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the Universidad Regiomontana in Monterrey, Mexico, but his artistic experience extends far beyond his academic studies in Architecture. He has maintained his solo status with the professional Folklorico Dance Company in Monterrey for the last ten years. His professional dance career encompasses a myriad of performing and teaching residencies in Mexican Folklorico dance. During the past six years, Mr. Hernandez’s performing residencies have taken him to Canada, Italy, France, Belgium, Germany, United States, and his native Mexico. He has worked with college groups as well as with professional companies setting traditional Folklorico dances. He has been a professional member of the Institute for the Investigation and Diffusion of Mexican Dance Civil Association. Mr. Hernandez has also served as a teaching assistant at the Monterrey Technology Institute. In 2007, Mr. Hernandez performed with Luis Montero and Ballet Concerto. He is currently a member of the adjunct faculty at Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing & Visual Arts and is the resident choreographer and director of BTWHSPVA’s LunaSol Ballet Folklorico Ensemble.
2010 LunaSol Ballet Folklorico under the direction of Fernando Hernandez and Courtney Moore Hubbard at First Saturday at the Nasher Sculpture Center, one of the Dance Department’s partners in education:
The Dance Department has experienced such a wonderful year, rich in experiences that involved partnerships, performances, an extended curriculum, State and National awards, and so much more! This year-in-review captures just a few of the highlights: P
artnering with the ATT Performing Arts Center, BTW was the host facility for rehearsals with the renowned Morphoses/Wheeldon Dance Company from New York City where they created a premiere for the opening of the Center. The students observed rehearsals for three weeks and watched a lecture-demonstration and experienced master classes from company ballet master, Jeff Edwards.
A long-time partner with the Dance Department, TITAS presented several enrichment master classes, rehearsals, and lecture-demonstrations from companies who performed in the TITAS 2009-10 Dance/Music Season: Complexions Contemporary Ballet, David Parsons Dance Company, Philip Glass, and Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company .
nternational partnerships hosting a visit from the Newtown High School for Performing Arts, Sydney Australia which was comprised of master classes and shared performances.
The Dance Department has brought in renowned Master Teachers throughout the year serving as mentorships for the dance students:
Nicole Wolcott, Keigwin & Company, NY; Kanji Segawa, Battleworks Dance Company & Mark Morris Dance Company, NY; Robert Battle, artistic director of Battleworks Dance Company and was just announced as the new Artistic Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Melissa Lowe, former dancer with Pittsburgh Ballet, Houston Ballet and Pacific Northwest Ballet, currently on the faculty at the University of Arizona; Clifford Williams, Complexions Contemporary Ballet (NY) and Nacho Duato Dance Company (Spain); Comfort Fedoke, former BTW dance student and 2008 So You Think You Can Dance, Shorena Gachechiladze, international ballroom and Latin American champion, Jennifer Mabus, formerly with Battleworks Dance Company .
The Dance Department serves as hosts for several regional auditions and events:
Boston Conservatory regional audition, Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Intensive audition, Fordham University regional audition, Complexions Contemporary Ballet Summer Dance Intensive audition, The Dance Council’s Dance For the Planet, Fort Worth Imagination Celebration’s Debbie Allen Summer Dance Institute-Dallas Campus, June 21-July 3, 2010.
Dance students earned City, State, and National Honors:
2010 Young Arts Awards:
Silver Awards ($5,000.00): Austin Goodwin (Choreography), Ida Saki (Modern)
Level 1 Award ($3,000.00): Victoria Caffey (Jazz)
Honorable Mention ($250): Katie Bernet (Tap)
Merit Awards ($100):
Joshua Bailey (African Dance),
Shonjia Hairston (African Dance),
Chloe Wells (Ballet Folklorico)
2010 Texas Young Masters Award ($2,500.00 per year for intense study each year including the year following 12th grade): McKinley Willis, 11th grade, Modern Dance; Ida Saki, 12th grade, Modern Dance .
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Summer Fellowship awarded to Amber Pickens (11th grade)
2010 Dance Council Scholarship Awardees from BTWHSPVA (25% of the scholarship awardees were from BTW): Courtney Dahl (11th), Summer Fiaschetti (9th), Caitlyn Johansen (12th), Lauren Kravitz (11th), Sarah Lyman (11th), Taylor Rodman (10th), Ida Saki (12th), Niesha Smith (12th)
2010 National High School Dance Festival Outstanding Choreography: Ida Saki ($500)
BTW Dance Ensembles featured in local, state, and national performances:
Fame Flash Mob at the Dallas Museum of Art that appeared on several internet sites: Repertory Dance Company 1
Spotlight Sunday at the ATT Performing Arts Center - Performing at the Winspear: LunaSol Ballet Folklorico, Repertory Dance Company 1 & 2 and Performing on the main outdoor stage, African Dance Ensemble F
irst Saturday at the Nasher Sculpture Center: LunaSol Ballet Folklorico
American College Dance Festival, Boston Massachusetts: Repertory Dance Company 2
Folklorico Dance Festival, Bastrop, Texas: LunaSol Ballet Folklorico
National High School Dance Festival: Repertory Dance Company 1
Dallas Zoo Gala: African Dance Ensemble
Young Audiences of Greater Dallas: African Dance Ensemble
Guest Choreographers in the Dance Department for 2009-10: Nicole Wolcott /Larry Keigwin(NY), Kanji Segawa (NY), Jonathan Campbell (NY), Robert Battle (NY), Clifford Williams/Dwight Rhoden (NY), Millicent Johnnie (Dallas), Bruce Wood setting three works (Fort Worth)
New Initiatives or Events in the Dance Department:
All School Collaboration: Always Imagine
Senior Choreography Brown Bag Concerts
“Portraits Dance Concert” featuring seniors was presented for the first time in The Montgomery Arts Theater
“Cracked Nut” excerpts from the Nutcracker, a collaboration with the Music Department
“Best of Senior Choreography” produced in an evening concert in the Montgomery Arts Theater
HUT Grant provides additional access to focused ballet instruction by renowned ballet teacher, Kim Abel. This grant provided twelve weeks of instruction to 15 dance students identified as students-of-promise by the Dance Faculty. A very special thanks goes to Pizza Hut and the BTW Advisory Board!
Collaborative Concert of The Wiz/Tribute to Michael Jackson with the Entertainers, Beginning Repertory Class, and the Beginning Composition class
Repertory Dance Company 1 collaborates with the R & B Ensemble during Repertory Workshop Showcase
Internships for the 2010-2011 are being planned with such partners as TITAS and Dallas Black Dance Theater
Upcoming Performance on May 20, 2010, Repertory Workshop Showcase, featuring all classes in the Dance Department including some non-major dance classes, 7:00 p.m. in the Montgomery Arts Theater, suggested donation $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students
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About the Dance Students:
Congratulations to the following dance students who just returned from ARTS Week as Young ARTS finalists: Victoria Caffey, Austin Goodwin, and Ida Saki. They will find out the results of ARTS Week in approximately two weeks.
BTW Finalists: Victoria Caffey, Austin Goodwin, Ida Saki, Mia Crowe Lily Weiss with Texas Dance Finalists Victoria Caffey, Ida Saki, Austin Goodwin, Houston HSPVA Robbie Moore, and dancer for Austin Goodwin-Jenna Mitchell.
As a result of ARTS Week, Austin Goodwin has been commissioned by Jerry Oppendaker to create a new work for the opening of his company “O Dance” in Miami, Florida. He also choreographed all 148 finalists in a fun opening introductory performance at the Gala, “An Affair of the Arts: Deco Downtown.”
Congratulations to the following NFAA awardees: Honorable Mention in Tap: Katie Bernet; Merit Awards: Joshua Bailey-West African, Shonjia Hairston-West African Dance, Chloe Wells-Folklorico Congratulations to the following students who have been accepted to the Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Intensive: Alexandra Bell, Cersten Bradley, Breanna Bryant, Ari Calderon, Kylie Cantu, Ferrin Coleman, Evelyn Gonzalez, Simone Moore, Chaslen Osler, Amber Pickens, Taylor Rodman, Xavier Santafield.
Kia Hensley was the only BTW student accepted to the Alvin Ailey Certificate Program, the Summer Dance Intensive, and the Independent Study Program.
Recent regional auditions were held at BTWHSPVA: January 9-10 Alvin Ailey, January 13 Boston Conservatory. Many of our students took advantage of both auditions!
Congratulations to the seniors for completing their senior projects which were adjudicated by the following panelists: Gayle Halperin-Dance Council and TITAS Board member, Millicent Johnnie – SMU faculty, Charles Santos – TITAS, Joyce Ward – former BTW faculty, Bruce Wood – artistic director-Bruce Wood Dance Company. These performances were the first ever “Brown Bag Series” presented by the Dance Department and drew standing room only audiences.
The dance students have most recently participated in a master class by a company member from the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, courtesy of TITAS and Clifford Williams, dancer with Complexions Contemporary Ballet.
Clifford Williams recently staged one of Dwight Rhoden’s works, “Pretty Gritty Suite” that will be performed in the Ensemble Concert in April. Dwight is the artistic director of Complexions Contemporary Ballet and his work has most recently been seen on So You Think You Can Dance.
Bruce Wood will be creating a new work on Repertory Dance Company II and setting one of his signature works, “The Only Way Through is Through” on Repertory Dance Company I.
Millicent Johnnie, newest faculty member in the Dance Division for Southern Methodist University will be creating a new work on the African Dance Ensemble sometime this spring.
Troy Powell, associate artistic director of Ailey II, will be creating new works for both Repertory Dance Company I & II in March, 2010.
LunaSol Ballet Folklorico will be attending a folklorico festival in Bastrop, Texas outside of Austin, in February, 2010. The students will be performing and taking classes at this festival.
Seven dance students from Repertory Dance Company II will be attending the American College Dance Festival in Boston, Massachusetts where they will take master classes and see performances. They will also tour the Boston Conservatory.
Repertory Dance Company 1 will attend the National High School Dance Festival. From an adjudicated process, Rep 1 has been invited to perform at both Gala Performances. They will perform Jessica Lang’s “Prayers” and Larry Keigwin’s “Air”. The student work chosen is an original work choreographed by Ida Saki; she will be eligible for an award at the festival. Twenty-three students will take classes, talk to colleges and universities, view performances, perform at the festival, and audition for colleges and summer dance intensives.
About the faculty:
Lily Weiss returned from New York where she attended Juilliard Dances. This was the first times that there was one or two BTW dance students in every class and therefore in each of the four works performed that evening.
Lily Weiss and Garfield Lemonius just returned from attending ARTS Week in Miami, Florida.
Lily Weiss, Garfield Lemonius, and Karon Cogdill have been invited as part of a recruitment effort to Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois in May, 2010.
About the alumni:
Nolan McGahan was featured on the poster for Ballet Aspen where he is a principal dancer.
Christopher Vo made it all the way through the call back audition for Twyla Tharp’s new Broadway show. He is currently touring with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company and will stage one of Lar’s works on Marymount Manhattan College in March, 2010.
BTWHSPVA proudly announces the names of semi-finalists who will travel to Miami in January for the next step in the competition:
DANCE:
Austin Goodwin, Choreography
Ida Saki, Modern Dance
Victoria Caffey, Jazz Dance
THEATRE:
Mia Antoinette Crowe, Acting
Dance Department News: October, 2009
About the students:
- Repertory Dance Company 1 had guest artists Nicole Wolcott, associate artistic director of Keigwin & Company from New York and Robert Battle, artistic director of Battleworks Dance Company from New York in during the month of September to set works that will be premiered in the November concert, “Evening of Dance”
- Repertory Dance Company 2 had guest artists Kanji Segawa of Battleworks Dance Company and Mark Morris Dance Company and graduate, Jonathan Campbell, fourth year student at The Juilliard School in to set works for the November Concert, “Evening of Dance”
- All four ensembles performed in Spotlight Sunday, celebrating the opening of the ATT Performing Arts Center. LunaSol, Repertory Dance Company 1, and Repertory Dance Company 2, and Austin Goodwin & Ida Saki performed in the beautiful Winspear Opera House and African Dance Ensemble performed at the Sammons Center Stage.
- The Dance Department had a full presence in “Always Imagine” with members of the department in the ensemble cast as well as Repertory Dance Company 1, the Composition Class, and the African Dance Ensemble. Members of Repertory Dance Company 2 choreographed “Where is the Love?” and Chantel Adams choreographed “Love Revolution.” Guest artist, Bruce Wood, choreographed “What’s Going On?” and “Mercy, Mercy.”
- Amber Pickens, 11th grade student, and member of Repertory Dance Company 1 will be performing in the Dallas Theater Center’s premiere performance at the Wylie Theater in Midsummer Night’s Dream.
- Ida Saki, 12th grade student, is featured on the cover of the international publication, Dance Spirit
- The Dance Department WON the membership contest sponsored by the PTSA. CONGRATULATIONS!
- The dance seniors just completed a week of filming for Senior Showcase, Texas Young Masters, and Young Arts. The Dance Department has 39 seniors who filmed for Senior Showcase, 11 seniors who will be entering YoungArts, and 9 students who filmed for Texas Young Masters. Congratulations, students and faculty!
- Seniors will be featured in the annual Portraits Dance Concert. Each senior will present their audition solos for family and friends on Wednesday, November 4th in the Montgomery Arts Theater at 7:00 p.m. General Admission is $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for students.
- College representatives are quickly responding to teach classes and attend the 2009-10 Senior Showcase: New York University, Ohio State University, Adelphi University, Point Park University, University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas at Dallas, Ball State University, Temple University, West Texas A & M University, University of Oklahoma are just a sample of who will be attending this year’s Showcase!
- Boston Conservatory will be holding their regional auditions for the college and summer dance intensives on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 from 4:00-9:00 p.m. at BTWHSPVA
- Fordham University and the Ailey Summer Dance Intensive regional auditions will be held at BTWHSPVA on January 9-10, 2010
- Don’t miss the annual “Evening of Dance” featuring the work of all four dance ensembles: African Dance Ensemble, LunaSol Ballet Folklorico, and Repertory Dance Companies 1 & 2 on November 12-13 and November 18-19. Reserved seating ranges from $10.00, $15.00, and $20.00 with student tickets at $5.00.
- A special matinee performance for students in the Dallas ISD will be from 10:30-11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 11.
- Morphoses Dance Company spent 2 ½ weeks rehearsing at BTWHSPVA for their premiere performance at the opening of the Winspear Opera House. They taught master classes and allowed students to watch an open rehearsal where Christopher Wheeldon, artistic director, held a question & answer session. (See the company bio below)
Morphoses / The Wheeldon Company is a new, dynamic, ballet company founded in 2007 by Christopher Wheeldon and Lourdes Lopez. The company, which is based in New York and London, has as its mission to broaden the scope of classical ballet by emphasizing innovation and fostering creativity through collaboration.The company's inaugural season included performances at the Vail International Dance Festival in Colorado, at Sadler's Wells in London, and at New York City Center. Morphoses will perform at these three venues again in 2008 and 2009, and will also gradually increase its touring schedule and number of appearances over the next few years.In 2007, Morphoses / The Wheeldon Company was named Guest Resident Company of both New York City Center and Sadler's Wells in London. For its September 2007 performances in London, Morphoses was awarded a South Bank Show Award, presented by the arts documentary television show of the same name. Dancer Wendy Whelan was honored with a nomination for an Olivier Award by the Society of West End Theaters for her performances at Sadler's Wells with Morphoses. As part of its commitment to collaboration, the company commissioned award-winning fashion designer Narciso Rodriguez to create the costumes for Christopher Wheeldon's two new ballets Fools' Paradise and Prokofiev Pas de Deux.The Company plans to work with many designers, composers, and artists in the future. Morphoses presented an exciting repertory in its first season, including world premiere ballets by Christopher Wheeldon and Edwaard Liang. The Company also performed works by George Balanchine, William Forsythe, Michael Clarke, and Liv Lorent. The dancers for the first Morphoses season came from companies such as the New York City Ballet, the Royal Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, George Piper Dances, the Hamburg Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, and National Ballet of Canada, and included such prominent dancers as Alexandra Ansanelli, Hélène Bouchet, Ashley Bouder, Darcey Bussell, Alina Cojacaru, Carla Körbes, Maria Kowroski, Miranda Weese, Wendy Whelan, Batkhurel Bold, Thiago Bordin, Jonathan Cope, Angel Corella, Gonzalo Garcia, Nehemiah Kish, Michael Nunn, and William Trevitt. Christopher Wheeldon, the Company's Artistic Director and Co-Founder, is one of the ballet world's most exciting talents. He has created ballets for companies all over the world, including the Royal Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, and Boston Ballet, to name a few. He is most closely associated with the New York City Ballet, where he held the position of Resident Choreographer from 2001 to 2008, where he created 17 ballets. Christopher's works are in the repertories of many of the world's major ballet companies. Born in Yeovil, Somerset, England, Christopher danced with both the Royal Ballet and the New York City Ballet before retiring from the stage in 2000 to concentrate on choreography.
- Special thanks to Charles Santos, Executive Director of TITAS, for having the Parsons Dance Company teach a master class at BTWHSPVA on October 10, 2010. David Parsons watched the class and took a tour of our beautiful facility.
- Complexions Contemporary Ballet (from New York) will be rehearsing in our spaces on October 27 & 28 and will teach a master class on October 30th at 1:30 p.m. (See company BIO below)
It is artistic directors Demsond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden’s lifelong appreciation for the artistic & aesthetic appeal of the multicultural that forms the cornerstone of Complexions Contemporary Ballet’s singular approach to reinventing dance. Founded by the two former Alvin Ailey members in 1994, Complexions’ groundbreaking mix of methods, styles, cultures has created an entirely new and exciting vision of human movement over the past decade-and-a-half.
The company’s foremost innovation is that dance should be about removing boundaries, not reinforcing them. Whether it be the limiting traditions of a single style, period, venue, or culture, Complexions transcends them all, creating an open, continually evolving form of dance that reflects the movement of our world—and all its constituent cultures—as an interrelated whole.
It is Rhoden and Richardson’s unique career paths that have paved the way for them to re-define dance—as their multifaceted resumes will show, neither has ever been comfortable with his art being placed in a box. Instead, from E! to PBS to VH1, from Cirque de Soleil to the Joffrey Ballet, the two have allowed the transformative power of their art to flow freely throughout the entertainment world—their creative vision restricted by nothing but the limits of the human body itself.
Together, Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson have created in Complexions an institution that embodies its historical moment, a sanctuary where those passionate about dance can celebrate its past while simultaneously building its future. In the 15 years since its inception, the company has born witness to a world that is becoming more fluid, more changeable, and more culturally interconnected than ever before—in other words, a world that is becoming more and more like Complexions itself.
About the faculty:
- Lily Cabatu Weiss and Keisha Johnson just returned from a seminar at New York University Tisch School of the Arts on the new Talent Identification Program (TIP), providing scholarships for talented students in the Arts.
- Lily Cabatu Weiss will be attending the Performing Arts Network Conference with Karon Cogdill, Sharon Cornell, and Jane Farris in Washington, D.C. in hopes that BTWHSPVA will be the site for the Network Conference in the Fall, 2011.
- Garfield Lemonius will be teaching guest classes on October 22 & 23 at the University of Texas at Austin
About the graduates:
- New York choreographer, Lar Lubovitch, will be making a new duet on two of our graduates: Christopher Vo (2004) and Jay Franke (1993) to premiere at the Joyce Theater in spring, 2010
- LaQuet Sharnel (2001) is in the previews for the Broadway show, Memphis
- Jonathan Campbell (2006) and Jehbreal Jackson (2007) toured with the Juilliard School this past summer to France and Germany
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DANCE EVENTS
November 10, 11, 12, 18 2010
Evening of Dance
7:00 pm
MAT
November 17, 2010
Portraits Concert
7:00 pm
MAT
December 3, 8, 9, 2010
Brown Bag Lunch:
Senior Choreography Project
11:45 pm
Dance Studio Theater
February 25, 2011
Evening with ADE
7:00 pm
Dance Studio Theater
March 3, 2011
Faculty Concert
7:00 pm
MAT
April 5, 2011
Best of Senior Choreography Concert
7:00 pm
MAT
April 6, 7, 8, 2011
On State at the MAT: Ensemble Concert
7:00 pm
MAT
May 18, 2011
Repertory Workshop
7:00 pm
Dance Studio Theatre
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