Join us for a brief look at Shavon Norris’ current work, offered by the Swarthmore Project: Window on the Work on March 1st, 2011 in the Troy Dance Lab at 4:30PM.

Shavon Norris is an artist, educator and performer.  Originally from New York City, she received a BA from Manhattanville College where she majored in Biology and a Master of Fine Arts in dance from Temple University.  Shavon’s work has been presented at many venues and festivals on the East Coast. As a performer she has worked with a variety of artists including Swarthmore alums and professors, Jumatatu Poe and C. Kemal Nance.  Shavon teaches school age children to college students, locally and nationally.  Shavon’s artistic and educational philosophies are rooted in the desire to give herself, students, performers and audiences opportunities to deepen the understanding of self and the collective.  Shavon loves what she does.

The Dance Program is holding its first annual POSTER ART CONTEST.  We are seeking visual representations of material relevant to Program’s philosophy of “global embodied social change”.   The question we ask is: How does dance cross cultural barriers, contexts, and disciplines?
Size: Finished artwork should be 11” x 17”.  Please use RGB, 300dpi if you send a digital image.  Emailed images should be less than 8MB compressed (JPG or PDF or Photoshop format) or you can drop off a final printed image or a CD/DVD of your artwork in LPAC 4 to Tara Webb, Arts Administrator for Theater and Dance (x8260 or twebb1@swarthmore.edu).

Parameters: Final submission can be a JPG, PDF, or Photoshop project (of a drawing, painting, photo, sculpture or 3D space), a digital graphic design, a screen-print, a typographic exploration, a collage, a drawing, a painting, a photo, a photo montage, or any combination of techniques or processes that exist or that you can invent for a printed announcement.  (For the sake of authenticity and copyright we’re requesting that all imagery be original or used with proper permission and that imagery does not violate any law or copyright, trademark, publicity or privacy right.)

One finalist will be chosen as the poster designer for the Student Dance Concert (April 29 and 30) and will receive a small honorarium.  ALL submitted materials will be considered for future posters and other Dance Program artwork (with the artists’ permissions). We would also like to invite all interested or participating students to sit in on any of our dance classes for inspirational or sketching purposes.  For more information, please contact Tara Webb (twebb1@swarthmore.edu) at x8260.

ALL submissions will be displayed in the LPAC Lobby during Arts Weekend April 16 and 17, 2011 as part of a curated cross-disciplinary exhibition.

Posters will be judged based on clarity of concept (does not necessarily mean simplicity), composition and aesthetics (with hierarchy, typography, color, imagery, etc. considered).

You must include somewhere on the poster the following information (in no particular format):

The Department of Music and Dance

presents the 2011 Spring Student Dance Concert

featuring Ballet, Modern, Tap, African, Kathak, Flamenco

Friday, April 29^th and Saturday, April 30^th

LPAC Pearson Hall Theatre (Mainstage)

Free and Open to the Public

For more information contact Tara Webb at 610.328.8260 or twebb1@swarthmore.edu.

Deadline: Materials must be completed and submitted NO LATER THAN Wednesday, April 6^th, 2011 at 5PM.

Prior to and following the Faculty Dance Concert on Saturday February 5th, there will be a sale of tie and dye and batik fabric to benefit Bohee women’s cooperative in Ghana.  Tablecloths, napkins, assorted other items as well as fabric yardage will be available.   All funds raised return to the women of this cooperative, located in the village of Dodowa, Ghana.  This program was begun by alumna Tamara DeMoor, a Lang Scholar in collaboration with Professor Nii Yartey and Professor Sharon Friedler.

Join the faculty of the Dance program (Department of Music and Dance) for an engaging evening of varied choreography in the Pearson Hall Theatre (Mainstage) of Lang Performing Arts Center on February 5 at 8PM. The program includes Ballet, Modern, Kathak, African, and video dances.

For further information please contact Tara Webb at twebb1@swarthmore.edu or 610.328.8260.

We have several exciting dance classes coming up in the Spring.  Please check out our course schedule available on our website.  Many of our repertory classes offer opportunities for performance in the Student Dance Concert in April.  More information is available on the LPAC Lobby Monitor or in the Dance Office located in the basement of the LPAC (004) or you can contact Susan Grossi, the Administrative Assistant for the Dance Program for more information at sgrossi1@swarthmore.edu or X2019.  Come dance with us!

Discovering the Dimensions of Flatness

The world is huge and, in a given moment, only a fraction of it is available to each of us. We organize our fractions into systems and patterns that we can process, that make sense to us. We make decisions about what is essential, and we allow ourselves to focus on those things. And sometimes, we have to limit our focus even more, to just the essential of the essential: a fraction of a fraction – reality flattened into a more manageable size. What does this “essential” look like when it is all we know?

FLATLAND 2010 is dance/theater company idiosynCrazy productions’ latest production. FLATLAND explores the difficulty of human communication in a world where the sound byte supersedes substance, the instant message overpowers the intimate one. This lecture/demonstration will allow the audience into the creation process of FLATLAND, exposing the process of movement invention and how that is linked to theatrical expression. FLATLAND is directed by Jumatatu Poe (Swarthmore professor and alum), with lighting design by Catherine Lee, and performances by Kristel Baldoz, Justin Bryant, Danielle Currica, Christine Gerena, Gregory Holt (Swarthmore alum), Maya Johnson, Shannon Murphy, Shavon Norris, Gabrielle Revlock, William Robinson, and Michele Tantoco. Movement designed by Poe and the performers.
Come get a sneak peek of this work and this creative process before the work has its official premiere at the Annenberg Center in Philadelphia on January 15, 2011.
Lecture/Demo Wednesday November 17 at 4:30PM in the LPAC Troy Dance Studio.  Please join us!

The Department of Music and Dance at Swarthmore College will present the Fall 2010 Student Dance Concert on Friday, December 3^rd, 2010 at 8PM  and Saturday, December 4^th, 2010 at 8PM in the Lang Performing Arts Center’s Pearson-Hall Theater.  The event will be free and open to the public without reservations.

The Dance Program of the Dept. of Music and Dance sends a warm invitation for the Fall Student Dance Concert.  This term’s concert will feature dances and music in a variety of styles and from various cultural traditions. West African, Brazilian, Ballet, Tap, and Taiko pieces will all be included.  Guest choreographer Meredith Rainey (former principal dance with Pennsylvania Ballet and current artistic director for his own company, Carbon Dance Theatre) has choreographed a new work for participants in the ballet repertory class. Senior Amelia Kidd will present two sections of a contemporary ballet that is part of her honors dance minor course work among many other exciting performances in the show.  Families with children are especially welcome to attend.

For further information about these events, you may also contact Tara Webb at 610-328-8260 or twebb1@swarthmore.edu.

Rachel Brooker ’99 will be featured in WINDOW ON THE WORK on Wednesday November 11 at 6PM in the LPAC Troy Dance Studio.

Rachel Brooker founded and directs Anima Dance, and is the site coordinator for The Field Berlin, a local branch of an international arts organization. anima dance, an eight-year-old dance theater company, is based in Berlin, Germany.  The company productions to date include The Artaud Project, My Patriot Act, a reflection on the condition of being American, Invitation and Body on the Body, interactive installations, ten evenings of original choreography and six dance films.

Brooker’s work has been funded by public and private donors in both sides of the Atlantic.  She has a degree in Dance and Biology from Swarthmore College, and has performed across the US and Europe, most recently collaborating with Felix Ruckert, Marc Bogaerts and Sabine Dahrendorf.

Rachel will also host a workshop in the LPAC Troy Dance Studio at 4:30PM on Thursday November 11.

We have several exciting dance classes coming up in the Spring.  Please check out our course schedule available on our website.  Many of our repertory classes offer opportunities for performance in the Student Dance Concert in April.  More information is available on the LPAC Lobby Monitor or in the Dance Office located in the basement of the LPAC (004) or you can contact Susan Grossi, the Administrative Assistant for the Dance Program for more information at sgrossi1@swarthmore.edu or X2019.  Come dance with us!

Katia’s latest London performance of “Elvis I Love You” on Thursday 18 November as part of an evening that was curated at Rich Mix
entitled “The Feminine Body”, which will also see work by choreographers Kamala Devam and Niall Cullen (Preface Morn).

Following a great reception in London at The Place at the Resolution! platform earlier this year, “Elvis I Love You” went on to be performed at the Siobhan Davies Studios, the West London Synagogue and St-Paul’s Church in Bristol.

Marking the 75th Anniversary of Elvis Presley’s birth this year, “Elvis I Love You” pays tribute to The King and sees five performers rediscover a passion for dance and love.  “Imagine Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker having a pink-toned fever-dream … and you’ll have an inkling” (Donald Hutera – *Dance Europe*).

For bookings and additional information please follow this link: http://www.richmix.org.uk/aandc_femininebody.htm
For more on Katia:  www.katialom.co.uk

The Department of Music and Dance at Swarthmore College and the William J. Cooper Foundation will present SOLEDAD BARRIO AND NOCHE FLAMENCA on Friday, October 29^th, 2010 at 8PM in the Lang Performing Arts Center’s Pearson-Hall Theater.  The event will be free and open to the public without reservations.

Founded in 1997 by Martin Santangelo and his wife, Soledad Barrio, the award-winning SOLEDAD BARRIO AND NOCHE FLAMENCA is Spain’s most successful and authentic flamenco touring company.  Performances feature Soledad Barrio, who has received awards for her riveting performances in over twelve countries including the prestigious Bessie Award from New York City.  Soledad Barrio was born and lives in Madrid, Spain and has appeared with many notable flamenco companies throughout her career including Ballet Espanol de Paco Romero, Cristobal Reyes, and El Toleo.  She has performed throughout the world with artists such as Alenjandro Granados, Isabel Bayón, Jesus Torres, Rafael Campallo, Belen Maya and numerous others.

All aspects of flamenco: dance, song, and music, are integrated and given equal weight in the presentations of SOLEDAD BARRIO AND NOCHE FLAMENCA, creating a true communal spirit within the company that reflects the very heart and soul of flamenco. Flamenco’s cultural heritage includes the music and rhythms of the ancient Romans and the folk music of the Gypsies, Jews and Arabs who fled expulsion into Andalucia, Spain during the tumultuous Middle Ages.  Flamenco, as we know it today, evolved slowly over time until the 19^th century, when it rapidly gained in artistic stature as well as popularity. Under the artistic direction of Martin Santangelo and Soledad Barrio, NOCHE FLAMENCA draws on the rich traditions of flamenco music and dance, offering audiences the unique opportunity to feel the emotional impact of this ancient art.  SOLEDAD BARRIO AND NOCHE FLAMENCA is recognized as one of the most exciting flamenco companies in the field today. The company brings to the stage the essence, purity, and integrity of one of the world’s most complex and mysterious art forms.

SOLEDAD BARRIO AND NOCHE FLAMENCA will hold a Lecture/Demonstration in the LPAC Pearson-Hall Theater (Mainstage) on Thursday October 28^th at 10AM.  Please contact Susan Grossi (sgrossi1@swarthmore.edu), Administrative Assistant for Music and Dance in LPAC 004 or at x2019 for more information.

SOLEDAD BARRIO AND NOCHE FLAMENCA will also host a Master Class in the LPAC Boyer Dance Studio (LPAC 003) on Thursday October 28^th at 4:30PM. This event is free and open to students, but please contact Professor Kim Arrow (karrow1@swarthmore.edu) at x8670 or Susan Grossi (sgrossi1@swarthmore.edu) Administrative Assistant for Music and Dance in LPAC 004 at x2019 to reserve a space.

For further information about these events, contact Tara Webb at 610-328-8260 or twebb1@swarthmore.edu.