A 乐播传媒 tradition聽鈥� springtime reunions among the college’s dance alumni 鈥� saw a new chapter this year.

Like so many expressions of dance at 乐播传媒, the reunion tradition was begun by the late Marcy Plavin, the larger-than-life founder of the 乐播传媒 Modern Dance Company and co-founder of the 乐播传媒 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 鈥�70s on up, who returned to mark the 50th anniversary of the dance company鈥檚 first performance under Plavin’s leadership, celebrate dance in their lives today, and look to the promising future of dance at 乐播传媒.

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/乐播传媒 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. 鈥淲e鈥檝e never done this before,鈥� 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鈥檚 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 鈥� dance and activism, bodies at work, and dance as a mindset 鈥� and was moderated by students, who asked the alumni about their work and their lives at 乐播传媒, 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 乐播传媒isms is the intersectionality between all of your interests,鈥� he said. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/乐播传媒 College)

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

A double major in dance and anthropology, Fairley, who uses the pronouns 鈥渢hey鈥� and 鈥渢hem,鈥� described setbacks while they earned a master鈥檚 degree in performance from the University of Utah.

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

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

Though facing flak from faculty who disapproved of their student鈥檚 innovative and radical choreography, Fairley said the experience provided 鈥渁 healthy push鈥� for their personal artistry.

Mason, a Phi Beta Kappa double major in dance and French at 乐播传媒, 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 鈥�84 contributed a dance workshop session on issues related to consent and safe rehearsal and performance spaces. (Samuel Mironko ’21 for 乐播传媒 College)

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

In the 鈥淏odies at Work鈥� session, choreographers, teachers, therapists, and producers told moderators Kellie Allen 鈥�21 of Pleasantville, N.Y., and Esme Goldfinger 鈥�21 of Portland, Maine, how 乐播传媒 prepared them for their careers.

鈥淭here is no absolutely no way I would be the writer or researcher I am today if I hadn鈥檛 been at 乐播传媒,鈥� said Artemis Preeshl 鈥�84, a visiting professor at Elon University who has taught acting, movement, and voice on five continents. Preeshl contributed a workshop session on 鈥淢aking a Safe Rehearsal / Performance Space.”

鈥溊植ゴ� gave me a 鈥榝ight tooth and nail鈥� attitude,鈥� said Jonathan Schwolsky 鈥�15, an independent filmmaker, theater director, and photographer. (Samuel Mironko ’21 for 乐播传媒 College)

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

鈥淥ne of the big 乐播传媒isms is the intersectionality between all of your interests,鈥� said Michael Foley 鈥�89, a professor of dance at the University of South Florida and director of the USF Dance in Paris program.

鈥淚 think much of the world is very monolithic,鈥� he said, reflecting on his experiences as a teacher and choreographer (including a whimsically named morning workshop, 鈥淢odern Dance for the 鈥極ver 40s鈥�!!鈥�). 鈥淭here鈥檚 something about the intersectionality of 乐播传媒 that I鈥檓 constantly reflecting on. I鈥檓 trying to incorporate this idea of egalitarianism about how people get a voice into my work.鈥�

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 乐播传媒 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 乐播传媒 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/乐播传媒 College)

The project left Howard impressed by “both the depth and the breadth of what the 乐播传媒 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 鈥� 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鈥檚 life and legacy. (Samuel Mironko ’21 for 乐播传媒 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 鈥�20, Howard, and Flannery Black-Ingersoll 鈥�19 performed 鈥淐ontact Disco,鈥� 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 乐播传媒 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鈥檚 idea of 鈥渟parking joy,鈥� strategically placed old childhood belongings that gave her joy on the stage, dancing around and with them.

鈥淲e continue to make beautiful pieces on this stage.鈥�

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

Passing celebrated the continuum of 乐播传媒 dance. 鈥淲e continue to make beautiful pieces on this stage,鈥� said Dilley. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 the standard that Marcy set.鈥�

A longtime composer for 乐播传媒 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 乐播传媒 College)

Highlights of the performance include “Canonic 3/4 Studies,” a 1982 piece by Mark Morris, one of America’s most respected choreographers, and Alwin Nikolais’ 1953 “Tensile Involvement.” For more information call 207-786-6157. No seat reservations will be accepted.

The Modern Dance Company was founded by Marcy Plavin, of Lewiston, who started at 乐播传媒 in 1965 and retires as director of dance this year. A program that helped pave the way for the college’s current robust offerings in the arts, including the nationally renowned 乐播传媒 Dance Festival, Plavin and the company are the object of deep loyalty among its veterans — many of whom will dance on May 1.

“In the midst of this very intensive academic experience, it was incredibly different and open and freeing to have part of our experience be about being creative,” Suzanne Carbonneau told the college’s alumni magazine in 1998. A member of the class of 1976, Carbonneau is a dance critic and historian. “It was always about exposing us to a lot of different stuff and encouraging us to go where our interests were.”

Alumni from classes as far back as the mid-1960s will take part in the May 1 performance. The first half of the program features two pieces danced by current members of the dance company: the Nikolais work, for which the dancers perform with elastic bands stretched across the stage like a giant cat’s cradle, and Morris’s teasing takeoff on traditional ballet, for which obtaining performance rights was something of a coup. “We’re all honored by this great gift,” Plavin says.

Short works danced by alumni constitute the remainder of the first half. The program’s entire second half will be choreographed and danced by alumni, with an opening section choreographed by Michael Foley — class of 1989 and assistant professor of modern dance at the University of South Florida — and a closing by John Carrafa, class of 1976, a Tony Award-nominated choreographer acclaimed for his work on the Broadway hits “Urinetown” and “Into the Woods,” among other credits.

This isn’t the first MDC anniversary for which alumni have trekked back to Lewiston, but it’s an especially significant one because of the impending retirement of Plavin, who was first hired at 乐播传媒 by the director of women’s physical education. “Marcy might have been the first adult who wanted me to call her by her first name,” Geri FitzGerald, a member of the class of 1975 and a 乐播传媒 trustee, told the college magazine. “In many ways, she was the first adult friend that I had.”

“They’re my extended family,” Plavin says. “We’ve had great times together. Dance seems to build those kinds of friendships.”

During Plavin’s tenure, the dance program has grown dramatically — from two courses in the PE department to a rich slate of academic offerings that students can take as a secondary concentration. In the not-too-distant future, 乐播传媒 hopes to offer a dance major. Since 1983 the college has been home to the 乐播传媒 Dance Festival, which Plavin founded and which today ranks in the top tier of such events in the United States.

Plavin will remain a presence at 乐播传媒, but succeeding her as head of the dance program is Carol Dilley, who arrived last fall. Dilley’s resume includes stints on faculty at the University of Washington and in a variety of dance programs in Sydney, Australia. She has also run a dance company in Barcelona, and attended the 乐播传媒 Dance Festival as a student in the early 1990s.

“Carol will do wonderful things,” Plavin says.

Coordinated by Marcy Plavin, director of the 乐播传媒 College Modern Dance Company, the ACDF at 乐播传媒 is the first of eight regional festivals to be performed in 2000. The 25-year-old American College Dance Festival has a two fold purpose: to provide classes, workshops and performance experiences for college dancers and an opportunity for the dancers to have their works adjudicated and critiqued by established professionals.

This year, 30 institutions will present 45 pieces for adjudication. The three adjudicators for the 2000 festival are dance critic and historian Suzanne Carbonneau `76, who is resident scholar and director of audience enrichment at ; Alan Kriegsman, Pulitzer Prize winning dance writer for The Washington Post; and Gus Solomons Jr., dance critic, dancer and company director.

The at 乐播传媒 also includes a performance by New York-based dancer Michael Foley`89 and his company at 8 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 22. This performance is sold out.

For more information about the performances, call 207-786-6157.

According to The Minneapolis Star & Tribune, Elkins “is one of the most innovative creators of movement around, and his bag of dance moves is vast.”

Michael Foley, a 1989 graduate of 乐播传媒, will dance in the performance.

Tickets are $6 general admission and $3 for seniors and non-乐播传媒 students. The box office will open one hour prior to the performance. Tickets may be purchased in advance from the Schaeffer Theatre Box Office Monday through Friday between 3 and 5 p.m. by calling 207-786-6161.