Photos from Arts Soiree and Friends of Dance Lecture

Here are a few photos from our September events, the Arts Soiree on September 10 and the Friends of Dance Lecture on September 14. At the Arts Soiree, dance musicians Kendall Simpson and Klimchak improvised music outside the Schwartz Center, while in the dance studio Bridget Roosa of Agnes Scott College led a rehearsal of Doris Humphrey's "Shakers." Emory and Agnes Scott are teaming up to present "Shakers," using dancers from both schools, at a concert in October at Agness Scott, and at the Emory Dance Company concert in November.

Kendall Simpson and Klimchak making music outside the Schwartz Center.

 

Bridget Roosa leading a rehearsal of "Shakers."

Teena Marie Custer leads a master class in house dance. 

Custer demonstrates during begining breaking master class.

Students demonstrated various hip hop dances styles during Custer's Friends of Dance lecture.

Staibdance/Vega String Quartet/William Ransom

Get your tickets now for "Staibdance, the Vega String Quartet, and William Ransom: In Concert." Choreographer and Emory faculty member George Staib is presenting his second collaboration with the Vega String Quartet. The musicians will be performing live on stage with the dancers. And this time, Emory faculty member and renowned pianist William Ransom will also perform live.

For tickets, call the Arts at Emory box office at 404-727-5050. This concert promises to be a sellout, so get your tickets in advance! Join the performers for a reception following the Saturday, September 25 concert. For more details, please see www.dance.emory.edu/events.

Hip Hop Lecture Tonight, Sept. 14, 2010

Tonight the Emory Dance Program welcomes Teena Marie Custer, who will present the Friends of Dance Lecture, "B-Girling: A Herstory of Hip Hop Dance and Culture." Custer will explore the journey of women in hip hop dance and culture in various hip hop dance styles. Emory student dancers will provide live demonstrations!

Custer battles and perofrms internationally with her crew, Venus Fly Trap, an all female street dance crew. Her solo show "The Be-Girl Diaries" performed at the Breakin' Convention in London, England in 2007. In addition to theatrical works, she has won underground freestyle dance battles and was featured on an episode of MTV's MADE. Custer holds a BA in Dance from Slippery Rock University and an MFA in Dance Performance from The Ohio State University, and has been on the faculty at both schools.

Emory students took advantage of two master classes presented yesterday by Custer, one on house dance, and the other on beginning breakdancing. Custer is a wonderful, high-energy teacher; we anticipate her lecture will be just as fabulous as the master classes were.

Lecture details:
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
7:30pm
Dance Studio, Schwartz Center for Performing Arts
1700 N. Decatur Rd., Atlanta, GA 30322
FREE! No tickets required!

Beginning the Year

Students arrived back on campus last week, and classes started last Wednesday. It's hard to believe the summer is over already! We welcome both our returning students, and new students just begining to get involved in dance at Emory.

Our faculty spent the summer in various places, and we hope to have some posts from them soon. Greg Catellier was technical director for the Bates College Dance Festival, Anna Leo journeyed to India with several Emory colleagues (highlight: audience with the Dalai Lama), George Staib taught a workshop in Italy, Sally Radell worked on a research paper for publication, and Lori Teague taught several local workshops and attended some professional development workshops/conferences.

Six of our students received funds from the Sally A. Radell Friends of Dance Scholarship Fund, and studied at the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, and Boston Conservatory over the summer.

This year we welcome some new faculty members. Emily Yewell Volin will be teaching jazz for us this semester while Tara Shepard Myers is on maternity leave. In the spring, alumnae Blake Beckham and Kathleen Wessel will be filling in for George Staib while he is on leave. We also welcome back Omelika Kuumba, who is teaching West African Dance for us this year.

Our 2010-2011 season has many exciting events; check out the complete schedule on our website: www.dance.emory.edu/events.

Our 2010-2011 events are now on our website: www.dance.emory.edu/events! We have a great line-up for next year, including:

• Friends of Dance Lectures: hip-hop artist Teena Marie Custer speaks on women in hip hop dance styles, accompanied by a demonstration (fall) and Brenda Dixon Gottschild speaking on Africanism in modern and postmodern dance and American ballet (spring).
• An evening of dance on film
• Faculty concerts by George Staib (with live music by the Vega String Quartet) and Gregory Catellier featuring professional dancers
  
• Alumni Concert featuring work by Emory Dance Program alumni
• Emory Dance Company concerts (performed by Emory dance students):
  
  • Fall, choreography by Dance Program faculty and guest artists
  • Spring, choreography by Dance Program students

Alyssa Bruehlman 10C on Combining Dance with Pre-Med

Alyssa Bruehlman '10C, a dance and movement studies major from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, talks about studying dance at Emory while also on a pre-medicine track. This summer, Allie is attending the American Dance Festival at Duke University, thanks to a Friends of Dance Scholarship. After that, she plans to move to New York and continue working in dance, while also tutoring or working in a clinic/hospital. Eventually she plans to attend medical school and become a family physician.

Why Double-Major?

In this video, students from various arts disciplines at Emory (including dance) discuss the benefits of their interdisplinary studies.