�ֲ��ý Dance Company – News

At age 50, �ֲ��ý dance is still ‘the same awesome experience’

Eleanor Vance '21 — Thu, 02 May 2019 19:45:19 +0000

A �ֲ��ý tradition — springtime reunions among the college’s dance alumni — saw a new chapter this year.

Like so many expressions of dance at �ֲ��ý, the reunion tradition was begun by the late Marcy Plavin, the larger-than-life founder of the �ֲ��ý Modern Dance Company and co-founder of the �ֲ��ý Dance Festival.

Plavin died in 2016, at age 84, and this year’s gathering was the first since her passing.

Held April 26 to 28, the 2019 edition drew 70-plus alumni, from classes of the ’70s on up, who returned to mark the 50th anniversary of the dance company’s first performance under Plavin’s leadership, celebrate dance in their lives today, and look to the promising future of dance at �ֲ��ý.

Prior to one of the workshops on Saturday morning, Kathryn Ryan Brigham ’02 (left) greets Lynda Plavin Fitzgerald ’79, daughter of the late Marcy and Leonard Plavin. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

The weekend, produced by Professor of Dance Carol Dilley with skilled help from Hannah Miller ’14, a veteran of prior dance reunions, featured workshops, performances, and discussions, both casual and guided.

Over lunch on Saturday, alumni broke into groups to talk about how dance has infused their lives and work. “We’ve never done this before,” said Dilley, who succeeded Plavin in 2003 and led the effort to transform the dance program into an academic major in 2011.

As noon approached, alumni milled around upstairs in Commons, talking quietly while grabbing brunch at the buffet spread. No doubt hungry following the morning’s alumni-taught dance workshops, the dancers filled their plates and headed into three meeting rooms for discussion sessions sponsored by the Center for Purposeful Work.

Each session had a theme — dance and activism, bodies at work, and dance as a mindset — and was moderated by students, who asked the alumni about their work and their lives at �ֲ��ý, gleaning advice from their combined years of experiences. Though formal-sounding, the setup created spaces for easy conversation between the current and former students.

On Saturday morning, Michael Foley ’89 led a workshop on dance for the over-40 set in the Marcy Plavin Dance Studios. “One of the big �ֲ��ýisms is the intersectionality between all of your interests,” he said. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

In one session, moderators Helen Carr ’21 of Tarrytown, N.Y., and Ellie Friends ’21 of Deerfield, Mass., asked Ya-Ya Fairley ’12, who had just taught a morning workshop on Afro house dance, and Talia Mason ’15 how they’ve been able to use their art as activism.

A double major in dance and anthropology, Fairley, who uses the pronouns “they” and “them,” described setbacks while they earned a master’s degree in performance from the University of Utah.

“Whatever I did was hyper-politicized because of the space I was in. Just the act of putting my ideas out there is inherently activist — and putting my black, trans, queer body in those spaces really embodied the act of activism.”

From left, Julie Yeterian ‘06, Yasmin “Ya-Ya” Fairley ‘12, Meredith Sallee ‘07, and Talia Mason ‘15 break into laughter during Fairley’s workshop on Afro house dance, held in Chase Hall. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

Though facing flak from faculty who disapproved of their student’s innovative and radical choreography, Fairley said the experience provided “a healthy push” for their personal artistry.

Mason, a Phi Beta Kappa double major in dance and French at �ֲ��ý, has a post-baccalaureate degree from the Headlong Performance Institute in Philadelphia, teaches dance at a Montessori school, and is a solo performance artist.

Her activism is also intrinsically linked to her study of dance and performance. She is interested in depictions of Judaism in dance and asks questions about how art can confront anti-Semitism in America.

Artemis Preeshl ’84 contributed a dance workshop session on issues related to consent and safe rehearsal and performance spaces. (Samuel Mironko ’21 for �ֲ��ý College)

“Making work with an activist lens is more daunting in the real world than in college,” acknowledged Mason, who is soon to begin a master of fine arts program in dance at the University of California, Riverside.

In the “Bodies at Work” session, choreographers, teachers, therapists, and producers told moderators Kellie Allen ’21 of Pleasantville, N.Y., and Esme Goldfinger ’21 of Portland, Maine, how �ֲ��ý prepared them for their careers.

“There is no absolutely no way I would be the writer or researcher I am today if I hadn’t been at �ֲ��ý,” said Artemis Preeshl ’84, a visiting professor at Elon University who has taught acting, movement, and voice on five continents. Preeshl contributed a workshop session on “Making a Safe Rehearsal / Performance Space.”

“�ֲ��ý gave me a ‘fight tooth and nail’ attitude,” said Jonathan Schwolsky ’15, an independent filmmaker, theater director, and photographer. (Samuel Mironko ’21 for �ֲ��ý College)

A double major in theater and rhetoric, Jonathan Schwolsky ’15 completed his theater thesis in the relatively obscure field of experimental comedy. “There were enough people here to support me to do that,” he said.

“One of the big �ֲ��ýisms is the intersectionality between all of your interests,” said Michael Foley ’89, a professor of dance at the University of South Florida and director of the USF Dance in Paris program.

“I think much of the world is very monolithic,” he said, reflecting on his experiences as a teacher and choreographer (including a whimsically named morning workshop, “Modern Dance for the ‘Over 40s’!!”). “There’s something about the intersectionality of �ֲ��ý that I’m constantly reflecting on. I’m trying to incorporate this idea of egalitarianism about how people get a voice into my work.”

During Saturday afternoon’s alumni and student performances, from left, Flannery Black-Ingersoll ’19, Shae Gwydir ’20, and Becca Howard ’19 perform “contact, just go,” a piece they choreographed in their advanced composition class. (Samuel Mironko ’21 for �ֲ��ý College)

As the noon sessions wrapped up, some alumni and students headed to another round of workshops; others mingled at the interactive dance archives exhibit in Gannett Theater that featured vintage costumes and performance programs from decades of �ֲ��ý dance.

With support from the Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library, the exhibit was curated by two seniors, Sara Hollenberg, a double major in dance and mathematics from Stamford, Conn., and Rebecca Howard of Aspen, Colo., a double major in art and visual culture and religious studies with a minor in dance.

In Gannett Theater, Sara Hollenberg ’19 of Stamford, Conn., and Rebecca Howard ’19 of Aspen, Colo., pose among items that they curated for an interactive dance archives exhibition. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/�ֲ��ý College)

The project left Howard impressed by “both the depth and the breadth of what the �ֲ��ý dance program has been.” It was also another way to honor Plavin: “a way to weave her memory in, in a permanent sense. And reminding people of that.”

“Then you add to that with all these other alums who have shared the same awesome experience.”

For Hollenberg, the exhibit spoke to the many and surprising ways that alumni find ways to connect across the years. She pointed to a pair of costume pants. “They’re so popular — somebody wears them every year in a concert. Alumni come in here and bond and are like, ‘I wore the pants!’

“You have a community that is your class and the classes around you. Then you add to that with all these other alums who have shared the same awesome experience.”

One Saturday afternoon performance was Passing, a piece choreographed as a tribute to Marcy Plavin’s life and legacy. (Samuel Mironko ’21 for �ֲ��ý College)

Later, they came together to watch each other perform in Schaeffer Theatre. Bonding over cups of chai, the dancers took their seats to watch new work choreographed by students and alumni alike.

Shae Gwydir ’20, Howard, and Flannery Black-Ingersoll ’19 performed “Contact Disco,” a piece they created for their advanced composition class. Using three stools as props, the dancers combined intricate modern technique with theatrical facial expressions to make movement that was both succinct and sporadically comedic.

Presenting an improvisatory piece during Saturday afternoon’s performances, Ya-Ya Fairley ’12 used a ghostlight as a prop in the center of the stage, dancing in the small spot of light it cast. (Samuel Mironko ’21 for �ֲ��ý College)

The alumni pieces included improvisatory choreography by Mason and Fairley. The latter used a ghostlight as a prop in the center of the stage, dancing in the small spot of light it cast. Mason, prompted by Marie Kondo’s idea of “sparking joy,” strategically placed old childhood belongings that gave her joy on the stage, dancing around and with them.

“We continue to make beautiful pieces on this stage.”

The performances concluded on a poignant note with Passing, a piece choreographed as a tribute to Plavin’s life and legacy by Dilley and former �ֲ��ý faculty member Rachel Boggia. Seventeen �ֲ��ý dancers moved to music composed by Plavin’s longtime friend and partner in work, Bill Matthews, Alice Swanson Esty Professor of Music.

Passing celebrated the continuum of �ֲ��ý dance. “We continue to make beautiful pieces on this stage,” said Dilley. “That’s the standard that Marcy set.”

A longtime composer for �ֲ��ý dance, Alice Swanson Esty Professor of Music Bill Matthews (left) is shown with Carol Dilley prior to the April 27 performance of Passing, presented in memory of Marcy Plavin.
(Samuel Mironko ’21 for �ֲ��ý College)

‘What Does the Bobcat Say’ parody video ‘might be the best one’ out there

�ֲ��ý News — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 20:32:43 +0000

At 8:15 on Halloween morning, a new status on the college’s Facebook page shared a link to a �ֲ��ý student parody of the uber-viral “What Does the Fox Say?” video.

Thousands of views later, “What Does the Bobcat Say,” exemplifies the big lesson about creating a successful video parody, says the blog Social Media for Colleges.

Through Nov. 10, views of “What Does the Bobcat Say” total more than 17,700.

“You can do it, but you damn well better do a fantastic job,” writes Joe Kuffner.

Among the many “Fox” parody videos in circulation, he concludes, the �ֲ��ý version “might be the best one!”

What Does the Bobcat Say

While the �ֲ��ý Communications Office provided the lyrics and production, all the talent came from students: the a cappella Crosstones and �ֲ��ý Dance Company dancers.

The Crosstones created the musical arrangement, a challenge that fit the “you better do a fantastic job” category.

“It was a daunting task to take such a recognizable song and reproduce it with only 13 voices,” says the group’s musical director, Catherine Strauch ’14 of Exeter, Maine. “It’s such a popular song, so lots of people would notice if it’s not done correctly.”

She did the arrangement of the “popular, ridiculous song,” but the group deserves most of the credit, Strauch says. “The Crosstones are a cohesive and incredibly talented group, so I didn’t feel limited by what I could or couldn’t put in the arrangement.”

Strauch presented the arrangement two days before recording the song, “and we had it down by the end of rehearsal that day.”

�ֲ��ý Communications writer Tory Stanton, who coordinated the project, tells the Portland Press Herald that “we just wanted to showcase the fun, spirit and talent of our students. They work hard, but they know how to have fun. We basically asked them ‘Can you do this?’ But we had no idea how far they would take it.”

The fun, says Stauch, “was to create something that could benefit �ֲ��ý as a whole.”

Coverage:

First dance majors present their choreography

�ֲ��ý News — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:31:57 +0000

Dance students wearing gumboots perform a piece developed by Kwame Ross and Michael Wimberly.

Featuring dances created by acclaimed choreographers and by students who will graduate among �ֲ��ý’ first dance majors next spring, the �ֲ��ý Modern Dance Company offers its annual Fall Concert in performances at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 12; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13; and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

Tickets cost $6 for general admission and $3 for senior citizens and non-�ֲ��ý students, and are available at www.batestickets.com. For more information, please call 207-786-6161.

The Fall Concert usually consists of work made by professional choreographers, both visiting and faculty artists. But in a historic change, this fall’s program, titled Things That Travel, also features work by two of the first �ֲ��ý students, both seniors, who are majoring in dance. (The �ֲ��ý faculty voted to add a major in dance to the academic program last spring.)

Two more senior dance majors will present their thesis projects in the spring concert. “It’s a big moment for us in dance at �ֲ��ý,” says Carol Dilley, associate professor of dance and director of the college’s dance program.

Yasin Fairley of Newark, N.J., and Kristen Gavin of Lewiston are the dance majors presenting work this time. Fairley is collaborating with composer Vonetta Trotter, a junior from New York City. Gavin is employing interactive technology that processes live motion to create visual effects during the piece.

Also on the program are works by three guest choreographers, Kendra Portier and the team of Kwame Ross and Michael Wimberly; and by �ֲ��ý faculty members including Dilley.

During a residency in September, world-music and dance specialists Ross and Wimberly worked with students to create a piece derived from South African “gumboot” dancing. Devised by miners who wore rubber boots to keep their feet dry in the mines, the genre originated as a means for the workers to communicate and now recalls the solidarity among the miners.

The dynamic piece is performed to live music by a five-piece student band.

Portier, who has a long history at the �ֲ��ý Dance Festival including performances with festival mainstay David Dorfman Dance, also worked with students during an autumn residency. Previewed in performance in October, her piece will be performed in its entirety in the November concert, with costumes designed by Christine McDowell and Carol Farrell of �ֲ��ý.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance Rachel Boggia has made two works for students in a dance ensemble course in collaboration with professors William Seeley in philosophy and William Matthews in music, and with Matt Duvall of the college’s Imaging Center. Students in Boggia’s improvisation course will perform, too.

Dancers in an advanced jazz repertory course will present a piece by faculty member Debi Irons. And Carol Dilley will make the Schaeffer Theatre debut of a solo work that she has presented nationally and internationally, titled “Grito” — Spanish for a cry or a yell.

A �ֲ��ý weekend in the arts: dance, Global Lens, classical music

Doug Hubley — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 16:59:26 +0000

Three dance performances featuring work by local and New York choreographers, a film from Serbia in the Global Lens films series, concerts by the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the combined �ֲ��ý and Bowdoin college orchestra featuring pianist Frank Glazer: Why stay home?

Works by New York choreographers Ford, Barnes on �ֲ��ý College Modern Dance Company program

�ֲ��ý News — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 14:38:14 +0000

Works by noted choreographers Monica Bill Barnes and Niles Ford are featured in �ֲ��ý College Modern Dance Company performances at 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 13; 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14; and 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 15, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

Tickets are $6 general admission and $3 for seniors and students, and can be purchased at . For more information, please call 207-786-8294.

In addition to dances by Ford and Barnes, the program includes pieces created by �ֲ��ý faculty members Rachel Boggia and Debi Irons for students in repertory dance courses. Finally, Annie Kloppenberg, a new member of the Colby College dance faculty, presents one of her dances in a performance by her professional company.

Barnes and Ford each spent two weeks working with students to choreograph pieces for the “Repertory Performance” course. Offered every two years, the course gives students experience with renowned choreographers in a professional environment.

“It is truly amazing to see how much the students have grown as dancers and as a community over the semester,” says Boggia, visiting dance professor and acting director of the �ֲ��ý dance program.

“They all know how to focus deeply despite the demands of their college career. They have physical evidence that hard work brings change. And they’ve learned something about choreography from very different artists. I’m very proud of them.”

In Barnes’ humorous Standing in a Line, the student dancers strive to keep themselves together in a ladylike manner while falling apart at the seams. Assistant Professor of Theater Christine McDowell designed the costumes for the piece.

A rising star in the contemporary dance firmament, has brought her company to Jacob’s Pillow and the American Dance Festival, in addition to their appearance last summer at the �ֲ��ý Dance Festival. Barnes’ choreography has been performed at more than 20 New York City venues, including Danspace Project and Symphony Space. Her work has been presented in 30 cities in the U.S. and abroad.

During his �ֲ��ý residency, Ford asked students to use dance to explore their personal perspectives on political action.

founded and is the artistic director of the Urban Dance Collective, which deals with social issues through art, spoken word and music as well as dance. A 1993 Bessie award recipient in 1993, he has performed with the Boston Ballet, Philadanco, the Rod Rodgers Dance Company and the Dance Theatre of Harlem and with such distinguished figures as Bill T. Jones.

While Boggia created choreography, animation and video design for her piece Somebody, Home, she nevertheless describes the dance as a “deep collaboration.” She worked with students to assemble movement and texts to meld with original music by Portland composer Shamou.

The piece centers on nostalgia for a partly remembered, partly imagined “home.” It was funded in part by the Harward Center for Community Engagement, which coordinates collaborations between �ֲ��ý College and the community.

A dancer and video artist, Boggia holds a master’s in choreography and technology from Ohio State University. Her collaborations include work with physicist Nandini Trivedi and biologists Susan Fisher and Michael Singer. She has also authored experimental documentation on the artistic process of artists such as Meredith Monk.

has created original scores for dance companies and choreographers across the U.S., and is known for his collaborations with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Mark Morris Dance Group and the San Francisco Ballet, among others. A native of Iran, Shamou began his formal training in Tehran and completed it at Berklee College of Music.

, a highly respected member of Maine’s dance community, is a prolific choreographer who works with �ֲ��ý students in jazz-dance technique and advanced jazz repertory. Her students will perform a flirty take on bossa nova and works set to music by T.O.K., Adele, Outkast and Stevie Wonder.

‘s company will perform a 2005 dance called The Waters at Whose Edge We Stand. Her choreography has been presented at such venues as the Judson Church, Green Street Studios and the Dancespace Center. She performs and teaches nationally as a member of the improvisational ensemble Like You Mean It.

“It’s really exciting to have Annie perform here,” says Boggia. “There are new dance faculty at Bowdoin and Colby colleges this year, and we’re very happy to be establishing exchanges with them.”

�ֲ��ý College Modern Dance Company presents annual showcase of student work

�ֲ��ý News — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 21:58:27 +0000

In two different programs presented over four performances, the �ֲ��ý College Modern Dance Company offers its annual spring concert of new student works at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 2, and Monday, April 5; 5 p.m. Saturday, April 3; and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 4, all in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

Admission is $6 for the general public and $3 for seniors and members of organized groups. For more information, please contact 207-786-6135 or this olinarts@bates.edu, or visit www.batestickets.com.

Thirty-five student dancers and choreographers present 11 dances, divided between two programs. Program A takes place April 2 (as part of a showcase of student works in the annual ), and April 4; Program B will be performed on April 3 and April 5.

The show features projects from students in courses on dance composition, computer music and costume design, as well as contributions from student lighting designers.

In addition, five other students are contributing works created as independent studies.

Four are seniors: Marlena Weinberg of Tampa, Fla., will showcase her research on the creative process of choreographing dance as a visual art form. Harita Daraneeswaran of Edison, N.J., and Nicole Kahn of Bellevue, Wash., combine the rhythmic patterns of American tap and “bharatanatyam,” one of India’s oldest classical dance forms. Gina Petracca of Irvine, Calif., will present a piece about the complexities of relationships in times of transition.

Sophomore Victoria Lowe of New York City will showcase a duet she first created for a psychology course last year and has now revisited as a dance piece for a concert setting.

Boston company joins �ֲ��ý dancers for informal program

�ֲ��ý News — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:39:27 +0000

Choreographer Jody Weber and her company Weber Dance join the �ֲ��ý College Modern Dance Company and Maine dancers Carol Dilley and Trish Harms in an informal program of current works and works in progress at 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 27, in the Plavin Dance Studios in Merrill Gymnasium, 141 Russell St.

Admission for the performance, titled “Home & Away III,” is free. For more information, contact this cdilley@bates.edu. Additionally, there will be an open modern dance class in Plavin Studios at noon with Jody Weber.

This is the third exchange between Jody Weber of Bridgewater State College and Dilley, director of �ֲ��ý’ dance program. The pair began in 2007 with an exchange of student companies, each sharing a class and a combined performance in the home studio of the other. The second exchange was professional works by the non-student companies of the faculty members.

Through these exchanges, Dilley and Weber have developed a supportive network of performance and feedback opportunities between colleagues. Students have the opportunity to perform in the professional working environment of their dance faculty and the faculty choreographers have the opportunity to meet new audiences and interact with peers.

Weber received a BFA from SUNY Purchase in 1988, influenced by teachers Sarah Stackhouse, Kevin Wynn and Mel Wong. In 1992, she received a master’s from American University focusing on dance history. At American University, she received a full teaching fellowship. Over the past 18 years, she has performed in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Boston.

Dilley, who is organizing the event, joined the �ֲ��ý dance program in fall 2003. She has been an international choreographer, performer and teacher for nearly 20 years. Based first in New York, then Barcelona, Seattle, Sydney and now Maine, she has worked with many companies and independent choreographers as well as her own companies, Radio Suec and Carol Dilley & Co. She has performed her work in the U.S. and Europe both as a solo artist and as director and choreographer.

Modern Dance Company offers two performances

�ֲ��ý News — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 16:20:01 +0000

The �ֲ��ý College Modern Dance Company offers public performances at noon Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 3 and 4, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St.

Readers, please note: The schedule of performances has been changed since the concerts were first publicized. A show Friday, Oct. 2, has been canceled and the Sunday show added.

These Parents & Family Weekend events are open to the public at no charge.

On the program: students in the course “Studio Dance: Advanced Jazz Repertory” with several new works; a modernist piece choreographed by dance program director Carol Dilley; and work in a variety of styles choreographed and performed by �ֲ��ý students.

For more information, please call 207-786-8294.

Modern Dance Performance

�ֲ��ý News — Fri, 01 May 2009 16:18:49 +0000

From left, Yasin Fairley ’12 and Claire Parker ’11 rehearse “doesn’t fall far from the,” a piece choreographed by Lindsay Reuter ’11, for the �ֲ��ý College Modern Dance Company ‘s annual spring concert of new works.

Modern Dance Company features work by student choreographers

�ֲ��ý News — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 20:01:39 +0000

The �ֲ��ý College Modern Dance Company offers “Departure Point,” its annual spring concert of new works, in four performances from April 3 through April 6. The Friday performance follows the Mount David Summit, �ֲ��ý’ annual showcase of student achievement in academics, creative work and community-based research.

Totaling 13 dances in two programs, the concert is the culmination of two dance composition courses. All the pieces were choreographed by students and the lighting designs were also created by students, participants in “The Aesthetics of Light” theater techniques course. More than 65 students are involved in the production including choreographers, designers, dancers and crew.

Admission for each performance is $6 for the general public and $3 for seniors and non-�ֲ��ý students.

Friday, April 3, at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 4, at 5 p.m.; Sunday, April 5, at 2 p.m.; Monday, April 6, at 7:30 p.m.
Schaeffer Theater, 305 College St. FMI: 207-786-6161 or www.batestickets.com.

�ֲ���ý Dance Company – News

At age 50, �ֲ���ý dance is still ‘the same awesome experience’