Arts
EW Dance Company
 (edited by Miro Cassetta '07) |
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Emma Willard Dance Company is an eclectic group dancers, ages 15–18, interested in exploring many styles
of dance, including ballet, jazz, tap, ethnic, theatrical, and contemporary.
In keeping with the school’s mission to foster a love of learning, the habits of an intellectual life, and the character, moral strength, and qualities of leadership to serve and shape her world, the Emma Willard Dance Company targets the highly motivated, serious, responsible, and talented student. The Company provides an opportunity for an advanced dance student to challenge her technique, gain performance experience, and learn about the production aspects of a performance.
In an effort to be more responsive to the demands of today’s choreographers, students rehearse in a variety of dance styles. Repertory dances and new works are prepared under the direction of the dance faculty, visiting artists, and guest choreographers (who have included Doug Elkins, Kathleen Hermesdorf, Gabriel Masson, Terry Creach, Ming-Shen Ku, Dan Froot, Paula Hunter, Sharon Garber, Raymond Harris, Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig, Kerry Kreiman, Derrick Davis, Cathy Young, Suzanne Oliver, Kim Epifano, and this year, Janis Brenner). The choreography is designed to challenge the students’ versatility, technical virtuosity, and expressive nuance. Students may audition their own choreography, and dances that excel in quality become part of the repertoire.
Each spring, the Emma Willard Dance Company travels to another city to “tour” their repertoire. They have performed in all kinds of environments, including colleges, public and private schools, retirement villages, theaters, festivals, and outdoor venues. Their tour cities have included Chicago, Boston, New York City, Montreal, Philadelphia, Baltimore/D.C., San Antonio, Toronto and Puebla, Mexico. When these dancers enter diverse communities to perform and interact in traditional and nontraditional settings, they develop a tangible understanding of artistic expression. Each audience provides an opportunity for connection as the dancers strive to communicate through energetic, joyous, at times tender, and often thought-provoking choreography.
We look forward to the possibility of visiting your school or organization and performing for your clientele at no charge. We do, however, accept donations to help with expenses. We can gear our repertoire toward your interests for a variable 45-minute presentation with a question-and-answer period to follow.
Tour is an intense and valuable experience for all members of this dance company. It is an opportunity for dancers to have a pre-professional experience while networking and seeing a little bit of a new city and the dance it has to offer. The touring experience deepens each performers’ ability to be resilient, organized, gracious, and professional. They must meet the demands of strange spaces: hard or splintered floors, cramped performing areas, low ceilings, cafeterias with poles in the middle, or voluminous gymnasiums. The opportunity for creative problem solving occurs each day. The dancers must respond to and generously perform to the best of their ability for variety of audiences—children, hospital or nursing home patients, and high-school boys—that range from polite to very enthusiastic to confused to those shouting out their responses. When the Emma Willard Dance Company performs their spring dance concert in May, they will be well-seasoned performers!
Co-Artistic Director Sue Lauther
Sue
Lauther currently teaches ballet, improvisation, repertory, and contemporary dance at Emma Willard School with special interests in dance history and composition. She has taught dance around the nation in such places as Saint Mary’s College in Indiana, Northwestern State University in Louisiana, Lane Community College in Oregon, Weber State University, Utah State University, and the University of Illinois, where she received her M.F.A. She has served as a guest teacher and choreographer for projects around the world, including Argentina, Taiwan, New Zealand, Ecuador, Mexico, and Costa Rica. Ms. Lauther believes that technique is being able to demonstrate physical intention clearly, so she approaches teaching as a vehicle to help her students explore, expand, and clarify their options. She encourages her dancers to be part of the artistic process. Ms. Lauther’s choreography encompasses a broad range of styles and perspectives—from playful to pensive, zany to formal.
E-mail: slauther@emmawillard.org.
Barbara
Peck Mageereceived an M.F.A. in dance from the University of Illinois in 1987 and has since established her reputation professionally as a performer, choreographer, and instructor. She has received numerous awards for her inventive choreography and has performed throughout the United States, as well as Germany and Japan. Ms. Magee has taught ballet, contemporary dance, jazz, creative dance for children, composition, improvisation, and performance art workshops at colleges and private and public institutions. She is a certified Pilates instructor through Power Pilates of NYC. Ms. Magee moved to Troy from San Antonio, Texas, where she co-directed False Alarm Theatre and B’Alamo Dance Theatre. She worked with communities, arts organizations, and educational institutions to promote dance as an educational force in the private and public school environments. She is strongly committed to the arts as an invaluable resource for creating a personally rich and healthy community.
E-mail: bmagee@emmawillard.org.
For further information about the Emma Willard Dance Company, call the dance program office at Emma Willard School, (518) 833-1341.
