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 Greetings from Dance!
As we move to the end of the academic year, I'm reflecting on the achievements of our students past and present.
Kelly Ferris, who graduated last year, has been named a Post Graduate Fellow of Dance at the Southern Mississippi University. Missy Pfohl Smith is completing her first year in a full-time position at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. They are only two of several Brockport alumni who have received college positions in the last few years. Dan Walczek, a recent undergraduate, has been performing with Coriolis Dance Inc., Stacy Pottinger is completing a one year contract with Ball State University and will soon move Minneapolis/St. Paul. Finally, Leanne Schmidt and Company has been invited to participate in several curated series presented by Chashama.
Jacquie Davis and I attended the Alumni Dance Concert in New York City in January. It was an extraordinary concert showcasing our graduates who are at exciting stages of their professional careers. Bravo to those who participated!
 We have begun to prepare for the 2008-09 academic year. We are delighted to welcome Habib Iddrisu who will be joining us as a Presidential Fellow for two years. Habib is from Ghana and his specialty is African Dance and history.
Finally, we invite you to join us next spring at The Best of Brockport II on April 4, 2009 at the Jewish Community Center in Rochester. This will be our second fundraising concert to support student scholarships. I hope to see you there!
Darwin Prioleau
Chair, Department of Dance
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Regional American College Dance Festival Conference at Brockport
by Heather Roffe and Kelly Ferris
Nearly 500 guests from across the US and Canada converged on campus for this prestigious 5-day conference in March. Opening master classes were offered by tap legend Dianne Walker and noted Polish choreographer Marta Polakova. Well-known modern dance professionals Gesel Mason, Richard Move and Claire Porter performed in the opening concert and also served as adjudicators for the 45 dance works presented.
 Twelve pieces were selected for the final gala performance including both submissions by Brockport participants: Discesa in Bianco, by faculty member Anne Burnidge, and We Don't Live Here by undergraduates Courtney Acomb and Sarah Moore.
Participants took part in more than 90 classes offered by visiting and host faculty members.
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2008 Scholarship and Award Winners
Congragulations to this year's award and scholarship winners!
Rebecca Oviatt is the Dance Department Scholar.
Lindsey Vader received the Graduate Friars Foundation Awardwhile
Britney Falcon received the Undergraduate Friars Foundation Award. Jenny Showalter is the recipient of the 2008 Nat Goodhartz Award. Heather Acomb is the 2008 Pylyshenko-Strasser Graduate Award winner. Kristi Schopfer and Brigid Gillis received the Rose L. Strasser Dance Award while Erin Johnson and Danielle Selby received the Rose L. Strasser Service Award. Erin Johnson and Caroline Nelson will study this summer as recipients of the Dawn and Jacques Lipson, M.D. award and Devon Monin, Charnay Paris and Zurisaday Moreno received Susan S. Collier Dance Scholarships. |
Friends of Brockport Dance
by Bill Evans
 Friends of Brockport Dance (FOBD) will next meet on July 13, 2-4 pm at the Hartwell Dance Theater. The meeting will include a short "informance" by Department of Dance artists and an announcement of the events highlighting the upcoming season.
All College at Brockport faculty, staff, students and alumni interested in learning more about Friends of Brockport Dance are invited.
Department of Dance faculty liaison is Visiting Professor/Guest Artist Bill Evans. To bring you up to date on FOBD, click here. |
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Summer Dance Workshops by Jacquie Davis
The department will offer intensive summer workshops on campus with outstanding local and visiting artist groups.
In June, Sondra Fraleigh (professor emeritus) and Bill Evans will host INVENTION-IN: Dance, Somatics, and Movement Analysis. This international conference includes presentations, workshops and performances from dancers, somatic practitioners, and certified movement analysts. Brockport faculty members Anne Burnidge, Suzanne Oliver and Kelly Ferris are among the presenters.
Also in June, Sondra Fraleigh will host a week-long workshop and tutorials in Shin Somatics. These can be taken as part of the certification program through Eastwest Somatics and International Somatic Movement Therapy Association (ISMETA).
Bill Evans will host BILL EVANS/BROCKPORT DANCERS INTENSIVE July 7-11.
Finally, we are delighted to welcome the return of the José Limón Dance Foundation (July 20-August 9) and Doug Varone and Dancers (May 27-June 15) to the College of Brockport campus.
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| Our International Faculty
 Juanita Suarez is currently on sabbatical at Guangya International Baccalaureate, the first post-revolution private school to open in China. She is teaching creative and modern dance classes to K-12 students while producing Panda Road, a dance drama based on the survival story of the Giant Panda. Suarez hopes to establish a teacher exchange between The College at Brockport and the Guangya school.
 In Fall 2007, Clyde Morgan traveled to Bahia, Brazil on sabbatical leave to continue his research in regional Afro-Brazilian folklore and tradition. The result was a new work The Portals of Ogum. Ogum is the Nigerian god of war and the patron saint of all those who work with metal - from farmers to astronauts. According to Clyde, "the most imporant aspect of this international project is the fact that so many artists, educators and just ordinary people came together in understanding the contribution of African culture in the Americas at a deep fundamental level."
The resulting art exhibit appeared in Brazil and will be on display in Rochester in May.
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Faculty Research
 Suzanne Oliver received a scholarly incentive award to continue her work in the Alexander Technique Project designed to investigate alignment changes in dancers.
Participants engage in daily one hour sessions in the Alexander Technique and conditioning activities that are prescribed based upon individual needs. Dr. Oliver decided to work with dancers who had similar patterns of use in the thoracic/cervical spine regions. Dr. Pamela Haibach (Physical Education and Sport) supported the research by conducting pre- and post-testing to determine whether the Alexander Technique might significantly impact balance. |
| 2007 Lipson Award Winners Reflect
Each year, Dawn and Jacques Lipson, MD, underwrite summer study opportunities for students in the performing arts. We thought you'd like to read about the experiences of last year's winners.
"I was able to attend the ImPulsTanz International Summer Dance Festival in Vienna, Austria for the month of August 2007. The four weeks I spent at the festival were beyond amazing. I took classes from about fifteen different teachers, all of whom are well-known professionals in the European dance scene. I gained valuable knowledge to further my dancing education and because of this festival I discovered a new-found love in dance and arts management. I'm so grateful for receiving the award because it absolutely changed my life as well as the direction and progression of my dancing."
Sarah Horne, senior Dance major
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 "Receiving the Lipson Award allowed me to attend the American Dance Festival, a six-week intensive at Duke University. I came away from the experience having studied with influential contemporary choreographers, having attended a multitude of concerts of riveting work at the national and international levels, having immersed myself in a network of both professional and pre-professional dancers, having shown my own choreography for the creative community and much more. The growth fostered by my studies at the American Dance Festival was immeasurable. My technical and creative self never felt more nourished."
Lyndsey Vader, MFA candidate ______________________________________
 " I was able to attend the Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, Maine, taking classes in technique, pilates, and composition with world-renowned teachers. I hope to pursue a career in dance and become a dance photographer. I met with Bates' photographer, Arthur Fink, who shared his expertise. He has proven to be an invaluable contact. It is almost a year later and he is still giving me feedback on my photos and helping me grow as a photographer. By attending Bates, I have grown as a dancer, photographer and person and that would not have been possible if I had not received the Dawn and Jacques Lipson M.D, Award in Performing Arts." Laura Frank, senior Dance major |
Incoming Dance Majors
by Jim Hansen
 The department continues to attract quality incoming students. In auditions held this year, 98 applicants auditioned and 35 were accepted. Students continue to come primarily from New York but this year we also had prospective students from Connecticut, Massachusetts, California, Colorado, Arizona and Virginia.
Photo: Jim Dusen
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