The Faculty and Friends Dance Concert has been cancelled due to the snow storm.  We apologize for any inconvenience.

The Swarthmore College Department of Music and Dance invites you to join us for:

The Faculty and Friends Dance Concert
Saturday, February 6, 2010
8 pm
Pearson-Hall Theatre
Lang Performing Arts Center

The concert is in honor of the people of Haiti. Donations will be collected for earthquake relief efforts before and after the concert. The performance will feature an exciting variety of works by faculty and alumni.

Group work includes a female quartet choreographed by Sharon Friedler, inspired by the sculpture of Phillip Stern ’84, with live harp music played by Johanna Bond ’10. C. Kemal Nance ’92 will surprise us with a new duet based in the Umfundalai African dance tradition, while Jumatatu Poe ’04 and Joe Small ’05 have crafted a duet melding post-modern dance techniques and Taiko rhythms. The Lenny Seidman Tabla Choir offers a new composition based on a nearly extinct North Indian drumming tradition. Dancer Liza Henty-Clark ’03 will join pianist Christopher Henty-Clark in a dance homage to pregnancy and birth.

Solos include a work depicting the aesthetic and political dimensions of Kathak dance and Ghazal poetry, choreographed and danced by Pallabi Chakravorty. Sally Hess will treat us to a solo inspired by the ceremonial actions of a Japanese tea ceremony. And Jeannine Osayande offers an excerpt from a dance-theater work that uses the communicative power of dance to share her experiences as a fourth generation African-American raised in Swarthmore. Finally, Kim Arrow will share a dance film created during his residency in Australia.

The performance is free and open to the public without advance reservations. For more information contact Liza Clark at (610)328-8260 or lclark1@swarthmore.edu.

Dr. Pallabi Chakravorty, Professor of Dance at Swarthmore College, will present at the Understanding Dance Conference in Bytom Poland, November 19-21 2009. Her talk is entitled “Remix: The Culture and Aesthetics of the New Dance of India.”

For more info see: www.understandingdance.com.

Swarthmore College
http://www.swarthmore.edu/dance.xml
Dance Program Spring 2010 Courses

Click here for a link to a PDF of this information

Dance 004 – The Arts as Social Change. 1.0 Credit
(Cross-listed as MUSI 006)
This course aims to bring together students with an interest in investigating and investing in social change work through the arts. Our seminar community will engage in discussion of readings and video viewings, will host and visit local leaders from the arts and social change movement, and will engage in fieldwork opportunities as required parts of the course. Papers, journals, and hands-on projects will all be included.
Friedler. T/TH, 2:40PM – 4:00PMLang Center 106

Dance 008. Anatomy: Bones, Muscles, and Movement. 0.5 Credit
(Cross-listed as MUSI 008B)
An introduction to the musculoskeletal system through the exploration of the body in stability (topography) and in motion (kinematics), within the range of dance, music, yoga poses, and daily life. Reading and video viewing, in-class presentations, and a final paper required. Open to all students without prerequisite.
Hess. W, 1:15PM – 4:00PM. LPAC 2

Dance 013. Dance Composition: Tutorial. 0.5 Credit
The student enrolling for a tutorial will enter the semester having identified a choreographic project and will be prepared to present material weekly. Projects in any dance style are encouraged. All students proposing tutorials are advised to discuss their ideas with a member of the dance faculty before enrollment. Choreography of a final piece for public performance is required, as are weekly meetings with the instructor and directed readings and video and concert viewings. A journal may also be required. Prerequisites: Dance 011 or its equivalent. A course in dance technique must be taken concurrently.
Staff. TBA

Dance 079. Dancing Desire in Bollywood Films. 1 Credit
This course will explore the shifts in sexuality and gender constructions of Indian women from national to transnational symbols through the dance sequences in Bollywood. We will examine the place of erotic in reconstructing gender and sexuality from past notions of romantic love to desires for commodity. The primary focus will be centered on approaches to the body from anthropology and sociology to performance, dance, and film and media studies. This course is eligible for GSST and Asian Studies Minor.
Chakravorty. T/TH, 1:15PM – 2:30PM. LangMu 204

Dance Repertory Classes

Dance 049.1 Modern. 0.5 Credit
This repertory class will explore the physicality and psychology of performing movement.? Movement sources will range from modern dance to hip-hop to contact improvisation… You need not specialize in any one type of dance to take this course, though it is recommended for intermediate/advanced dancers. A technique class should be taken concurrently, and Modern III is highly recommended. Resulting choreography will be performed in the spring student concert.
Poe. M, 1:15PM – 4:00PM. LPAC 2

Dance 049.3 African. 0.5 Credit
Auditions for admission to this course will be held at the first class meeting. Additional information regarding the course is available from the instructor. Resulting choreography will be performed in the spring student concert.? Prerequisite: Dance 043, 078, or permission of the instructor.
Nance. T, 7:00PM – 10:00PM. LPAC 2

Dance 049.4 Taiko. 0.5 Credit
(Cross-listed with Music 049B.01)
The class will offer experience in traditional or traditionally based Japanese drumming repertory. The relationship between the drumming and its concomitant movement will be emphasized. Eligible for Asia minor. Open to the general student with performances in April.
Arrow. F, 2:15PM – 5:00PM. LPAC 2

Dance 049.6 Kathak. 0.5 Credit
The two aspects of classical Indian dance: nrtta (rhythmic movements) and nritya (expressive gestures, miming, and facial engagement) are the foci this course. It explores the Kathak vocabulary (movements, expression, percussive utterances and poetic texts) in relation to concepts of choreography and improvisation to produce an original staged composition. The final composition will be presented in a scheduled student dance concert. Eligible for Asia minor. There are no prerequisites for this course, but taking Dance 048 is recommended.
Chakravorty. TH, 6:00PM – 9:00PM. LPAC 2

Dance 049.7 Flamenco. 0.5 Credit
The class will offer experience in a variety of traditional flamenco techniques. Resulting choreography will be performed in the spring student concert. Four Saturday workshops.
Gmitter, T, 6:30 PM – 8:20PM. LPAC 3

*All repertory classes receive 0.5 credit or 2PE units.

Dance Technique Classes

Dance 040, 040P. Dance Technique: Modern I. 0.5 Credit
An introduction to basic principles of dance movement: body alignment, coordination, strength and flexibility, movement vocabulary, dance sequences, and musicality. Improvisation exercises and short composition studies will be included. Especially recommended for theater-interested students. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and two short papers are required.
Arrow. MW 4:30PM – 6:00PM. LPAC 2

Dance 041, 041P. Dance Technique: Ballet I. 0.5 Credit
An introduction to the fundamentals of classical ballet vocabulary: correct body placement; positions of the feet, head, and arms; and basic locomotion in the form. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and two short papers are required.
Sherman. TTH, 3:00PM – 4:30PM. LPAC 3

Dance 043, 043P. Dance Technique: African I. 0.5 Credit
African Dance I introduces students to Umfundalai. In a contemporary context, the Umfundalai dance tradition surveys dance styles of African people who reside on the continent of Africa and in the Diaspora. Upon completion of the course, students will gain a beginning understanding of how to approach African dance and the aesthetic principles implicit in African-oriented movement. Students enrolled in DANC 043 for academic credit are required to keep a weekly journal and write two short papers.
Osayande. MW 7:00PM – 8:30PM. LPAC 2

Dance 044, 044P. Dance Technique: Tap. 0.5 Credit
This course is available to all tappers, from beginning to advanced. Such forms as soft-shoe, waltz-clog, stage tap, and “hoofin” will be explored. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and two short papers are required.
Davis. MW, 6:00PM – 7:30PM. LPAC 3

Dance 045, 045P. Dance Technique: Yoga. 0.5 Credit
The course will focus on experiencing and understanding a variety of asanas (physical postures) from standing poses to deep relaxation. Its aim is to provide the student with a basis for an ongoing personal practice. If taken for academic credit, reading, weekly journal writing, and two short papers are required.
Arrow. MW, 11:30AM – 1:00PM. LPAC 2

Dance 046, 046P. Dance Technique: Kathak. 0.5 Credit
The class introduces the hot rhythms (/talas/) and the cool emotions (/rasa/s) of the Indian classical dance art: Kathak. The dancing involves high energy, rapid turns, and fast footwork as well as movement of eyes, hands, neck, and fingers. This syncretic dance style from north India draws on Hindu and Muslim cultural traditions (Bhakti and Sufi) and forms the raw material for the global-pop Bollywood dance. Students who are enrolled for academic credit will be required to write papers and/or create performance texts or choreographies. This course may count toward a minor from the Islamic Studies Program.
Chakravorty. TTH, 4:30PM – 6:00PM. LPAC 2

Dance 048, 048P. Dance Technique: Special Topics in Technique. 0.5 Credit
Section 1: Contact Improvisation
This improvisational dance practice is based on moving in contact with others through touching, leaning on, lifting, balancing, and supporting. The resulting duets and ensembles are propelled by the momentum of the dancers’ weight. Students who enroll for academic credit will be required to write papers and/or create performance texts or choreographies. All levels from the novice to the highly trained are welcomed.
Stein. T/TH, 11:30AM – 1:00PM. LPAC 2

Dance 050, 050P.Dance Technique: Modern II. 0.5 Credit
An elaboration and extension of the principles addressed in DANC 040. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and two short papers are required. Prerequisite: Dance 040 or its equivalent.
Poe. MW, 4:30PM – 6:00PM. LPAC 3

Dance 051, 051P. Dance Technique: Ballet II. 0.5 Credit
An elaboration and extension of the principles addressed in DANC 041. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and two short papers are required. Prerequisite: Dance 041 or its equivalent.
Sherman. TTH, 11:30AM – 1:00PM. LPAC 3

Dance 053, 053P. Dance Technique: African II. 0.5 Credit
African dance for experienced learners aims to strengthen students’ African dance technique. The course will use the Umfundalai technique allied with neo-traditional West African Dance vocabularies to enhance students’ visceral and intellectual understanding of African dance. Students who take African Dance II for academic credit should be prepared to explore and access their own choreographic voice through movement studies. Prerequisite: Dance 043.
Nance. MW, 8:30PM – 10:00PM. LPAC 2

DANC 060, 060P. Dance Technique: Modern III. 0.5 Credit
Continued practice in technical movement skills in the modern idiom, including approaches to various styles. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and two short papers are required.
Poe. TTH, 4:30PM – 6:00PM. LPAC 3

DANC 061, 061P. Dance Technique: Ballet III. 0.5 Credit
Continued practice in technical movement skills in the ballet idiom with an emphasis on advanced vocabulary and musicality. If taken for academic credit, concert attendance and two short papers are required.
Sherman. MW, 11:30AM – 1:00PM. LPAC 3

*Technique classes may be taken for either academic (0.5) or PE credit.

Professor Sharon Friedler, Director of Dance, will be happy to answer any questions regarding enrollment in dance classes. She can be reached by email at: sfriedl1@swarthmore.edu

The Department of Music and Dance presents A Window on the Work: Zane Booker on Wednesday, September 23, 2009 at 6 pm in the Troy Dance Lab, Lang Performing Arts Center. Mr. Booker and his company Smoke, Lilies and Jade Arts Initiative participated in the Swarthmore Project this summer, a two week residency program for professional dance companies and choreographers. Mr. Booker’s work generally focuses on telling the stories of African-Americans living with HIV/AIDS through multi-media dance-theater. During his residency at Swarthmore, he was able to explore a new creative process for his company involving researching the lives of cultural figures who have made significant impacts in the Civil Rights movement, such as James Baldwin and Josephine Baker.

Mr. Booker writes about his work and process:

“The working title of the “work in progress” is Portraits. The most exciting thing about the Swarthmore Project was that we could explore process. My work is not usually linear, but it is always character driven and I usually create movement first. During this process, we used acting techniques and historical research to create a persona before we created movement. The objective was to explore a process that would allow us to address the topics of: racism, classicism, sexism or homophobia.
How did we begin?

1. I asked the dancers to choose a historical person related to one or more of the suggested topics.
2. We researched and discussed the person( i.e. James Baldwin) and recorded our reactions to the discovered information.
How did their (Gloria Steinem, James Baldwin, Josephine Baker, Byron Hurt, E.Lynn Harris) story make you feel? What effect did it have on you emotionally?
3. We used several acting improvisations to become the character meeting the other characters. We kept digging.
4. I asked the dancers to write their reaction to the research. I accepted, a list of words, a poem or prose. From this document we started to create movement. I wanted each solo of movement to be like a monologue.

In the beginning, I directed movement and assigned task oriented improvisation. This was very different then, my normal process. Which often begins with me moving and the dancers following until we have a full phrase of movement to develop.

This time it was different. I moved much later in the process. And the dancers had much more information and personal perspective about the material we were using to create the piece. The improvisations were so rich.

In the last and most interesting task the dancers had to relate the text they had written directly: monologue of movement.

So, I do not want to talk about it as if it is a finished piece. It is a work in process based on historical figures that were/are important to the fight for civil rights for all.”

Mr. Booker will show excerpts from this work and will answer questions from the audience. This event is free and open to the public without advance reservations.

Click here to see excerpts from the Spring Student Dance Concert 2009.

The Department of Music and Dance presents

The Spring Student Dance Concert

Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25

8 pm

Pearson-Hall Theatre, Lang Performing Arts Center

This year’s concert features a variety of works choreographed by faculty and students. Swarthmore’s Taiko Drum and Dance Ensemble will showcase two exciting works choreographed by Cornell Visiting Professor Isaburoh Hanayagi. The African Dance and Flamenco Repertory classes will premiere new works choreographed by C. Kemal Nance ’92 and Dolores Luis Gmitter, respectively. A contemporary Kathak piece choreographed by Pallabi Chakravorty will also have its premiere. Senior Dance major, Carmella Ollero ’09, will premiere a new contemporary dance work, the culmination of her dance composition studies at Swarthmore.

The performances are free and open to the public without advance reservations. For more info contact Liza Clark at lclark1@swarthmore.edu or call (610) 328-8260.

Swarthmore Taiko, the student and community performance group directed by Dance Professor Kim Arrow, and the Dance Program’s Taiko repertory classes, will launch into the next phase of their development with a gift of a set of Taiko drums handcrafted by Miyamoto, one of the most respected family names in Taiko-making. This gift from Tamagawa University and Cornell Visiting Professor Isaburoh Hanayagi, director of Tamagawa’s Taiko Drum and Dance Ensemble, is one result of an enriching nine-year cultural exchange between the two institutions. These drums will be featured in a score of performances by both Swarthmore Taiko and the Dance Program’s repertory classes this spring, including appearances for the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia’s Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival and Swarthmore’s Spring Student Dance Concert.

Over fifty students from both the Dance Program and the Japanese Program will take part in a special performance for Sakura Sunday, the highlight of the month long Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival, on Sunday, April 5 at the Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park. This spring’s Taiko repertory classes and last fall’s Japanese Dance repertory class will perform pieces choreographed by Cornell Visiting Professor Isaburoh Hanayagi. Swarthmore Taiko will present a variety of repertory works. Additional upcoming performances by Swarthmore Taiko include Morris Arboretum’s Cherry Blossom Celebration on April 4 and a special appearance at Kutztown University’s Asian American Celebration on April 7 with the Lenny Seidman Table Choir.

Two alumni, nurtured by this strong relationship between Swarthmore and Tamagawa, have gone on to pursue Taiko at a professional level. Joe Small ’05 will return to Swarthmore in April to perform with Swarthmore Taiko, and as a guest player for Professor Hanayagi’s repertory works in the Sakura Sunday performance and in the Spring Student Dance Concert on April 24 and 25. Alex Hudson ’05 will reunite with Joe as an audience member for the Saturday night performance, coming directly from a performance with San Jose Taiko in Georgia.

Joe and Alex were both highly active in Swarthmore Taiko and Taiko repertory classes during their time at Swarthmore and participated in a semester abroad program at Tamagawa University. Joe has recently completed a two-year apprenticeship with world-renown Taiko ensemble, Kodo, following a Fulbright Fellowship to Japan to continue his Taiko research. For the past two years, Alex has been performing with San Jose Taiko, the oldest touring Taiko company in the United States.

For more information about Swarthmore Taiko and Taiko repertory classes contact Dance professor Kim Arrow at karrow1@swarthmore.edu.

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES

When: Saturday, April 4, 1 pm
What: Morris Arboretum Japanese Cherry Blossom Celebration
Where: Morris Arboretum, Philadelphia, PA
Info: (215) 247-5777

When: Sunday, April 5, 11 am ? 4 pm
What: Sakura Sunday, Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of Greater Philadelphia ? Swarthmore Taiko and Repertory Classes
Where: Fairmount Park??s Horticulture Center
Info: jasp.org/cherryblossomfestival

When: Tuesday, April 7, 11 am ? 1 pm
What: Asian American Celebration, Swarthmore Taiko and Lenny Seidman Tabla Choir
Where: Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA
Info: (610) 683-4808

When: Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25, 8 pm
What: Swarthmore College Spring Student Dance Concert, Taiko Repertory Works featuring guest artist Joe Small ??05
Where: Pearson-Hall Theatre, Lang Performing Arts Center
Info: (610) 328-8260

The Department of Music and Dance at Swarthmore College presents A Window on the Work: Lisa Kraus and Cynthia Lee ’02 on Sunday, April 5 at 4 pm in Troy Dance Lab, Lang Performing Arts Center (LPAC). During this informal showing, Kraus and Lee will present works developed while taking part in the Swarthmore Project Residency in Dance this past summer, and will speak about their work and answer questions from the audience.

Lisa Kraus will present excerpts from Red Thread, an intergenerational work inspired by a model of women artists’ sustainability – quilting circles – created in collaboration with two long-time colleagues: Eva Karczag and Guggenheim Fellow Vicky Shick. The three women met while company members in The Trisha Brown Dance Company in the 1970s. They have each gone on to have successful careers in the contemporary dance field, and now in their fifties, come together again, full circle, to dance and reflect on their lives in movement.

Cynthia Lee ’02 returns to Swarthmore to show two works-in-progress. Kat-tarang is a contemporary kathak piece created in collaboration with tabla player Lenny Seidman that brings new cross-rhythmic possibilities to Hindustani (North Indian classical) music.

Lee will begin the afternoon with darshan, an outdoor ritual dance installation drawing connections between butoh and the fluid, reciprocal gaze of Indian aesthetic theory. Performers Lee, Liza Clark ’03 and Rebecca Patek will each dance for an audience passing by in a natural wooded setting.

Lisa Kraus is a Philadelphia-based dance artist whose career has included performing in the Trisha Brown Dance Company; choreographing and performing extensively with her own company and as an independent artist; teaching at universities, arts centers and the Paris Opera Ballet; and writing reviews, features and essays on dance for internet and print publication. Critic Sally Sommer wrote in Dance Magazine: “her voluptuousness reminds us that dancing can be a luxurious experience.”

Based in Los Angeles, Cynthia Lee holds an MFA in choreography from UCLA’s Department of World Arts and Cultures and a BA in English Literature from Swarthmore College. She has studied extensively with masters of contemporary avant-garde dance Simone Forti and Eiko & Koma, and has been a practitioner of contact improvisation for the past ten years. Her style of Kathak reflects studies with renowned gurus Bandana Sen and Kumudini Lakhia in India and Anjani Ambegaokar in Los Angeles. Lee was awarded a year-long Thomas J. Watson Fellowship to study religious dance in Thailand (Thai classical dance), Brazil (Candomble), and India (Kathak) from 2002-3.

The performance is free and open to the public without advance reservations. For further information, contact Liza Clark at lclark1@swarthmore.edu or call 610-328-8260.

Please join us as the Department of Music and Dance presents the Faculty Dance Concert on Saturday, February 14, 2009 at 8 pm in Pearson-Hall Theatre, Lang Performing Arts Center. This year’s concert features new work by faculty Pallabi Chakravorty, Dolores Luis Gmitter, Isaburoh Hanayagi, Sally Hess, Lisa Kraus, C. Kemal Nance, R. Jeannine Osayande, Jumatatu Poe, and Stephen Welsh. In keeping with the Dance Department’s mission to educate about the global diversity of dance styles, and the relationships between dance, embodiment and social change, a wide variety of dance styles are represented: Kathak, a North Indian classical form of dance; traditional Japanese dance; modern and traditional African dance; flamenco; abstract and theatrical contemporary dance; and even yoga asana.

The performance is free and open to the public without advance reservations.? For more information contact Liza Clark at lclark1@swarthmore.edu or call (610) 328-8260.