BDF is once again teaming up with New York City-based Gibney Dance to host BDF+Gibney Connect, a three-day intensive taking place January 5-7, 2016 at Gibney Dance, 280 Broadway, NYC. This immersive experience will feature technique classes by Kendra Portier, Jennifer Nugent, Dante Brown and Amy Miller with accompaniment by Glen Fittin, and choreography with Kate Weare. Focused around inspired dancing and creative exchange, the day is designed for intermediate and advanced dancers. The early bird fee is $100 before Nov 1. For more information and to register: Gibney Dance

2016 FACULTY ANNOUNCED

We are excited to announce another great line up of master teachers that brings together some of our favorite alums with exciting newcomers. Our Young Dancers Workshop will feature modern classes by Garfield Lemonious and Karl Rogers, ballet with Martha Tornay and Shonach Mirk-Robles, jazz with Courtney D. Jones, hip hop with Shakia Johnson, improvisation with Heidi Henderson and repertory with Dante Brown.

Our Professional Training Program will include the companies of Doug Varone and Kate Weare, post-modern teachers Paul Matteson and Angie Hauser, contemporary African with Michel Kouakou, creative process and repertory with Cuban choreographer Marianela Boan, ballet and Spiraldynamik© with Shonach Mirk-Robles and Rachel List; Contact and improvisation with Chris Ailen, yoga and Pilates with Robbie Cook, plus Dance, Film and Media with Shawn Hove, Business of Dance with Sara Juli and more. Detailed information will be available on our website in mid-December.

NURTURING THE FIELD – INTERNATIONAL VISITING ARTIST PROGRAM

Since 1994 BDF has been offering creative residencies on an invitational basis to promising dance makers from Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America. The program offers dancers and choreographers focused time to study, research and build new work, professional development resources, and an opportunity to build relationships with peers in the U.S.

Ima Iduozee

Last December Director, Laura Faure, was invited to ICEhot, the Scandinavian dance platform in Oslo, Norway, to help initiate a new pilot residency exchange between three U.S. dance organizations and the Nordic Dance Network. She discovered and invited Ima Iduozee from Helsinki who performed his extraordinary solo, “this is the title”. Ima conducted a three-week residency at BDF last summer with support from the Nordic Dance Network. Read our blog interview with Ima.

HOME IS WHERE THE ‘ART’ IS

YAP performs Home Is Where the ‘Art’ Is

Last summer our Youth Arts Program (YAP) once again brought exceptional arts learning opportunities to over 60 local kids ages 7-16. The theme around which they built their classes and final production was ‘home.’ Returning faculty Priscilla Rivas did a magnificent job filling in as director and we were thrilled to welcome back YAP founding teacher, Rose Leach. Also joining our faculty to teach hip hop was former Yapper Ryan Morrill. See what the Yappers accomplished last summer in this great mini documentary.

BDF INTERN PROFILES

Photo by Sarah Ellen Miller

Each summer BDF engages fourteen interns to assist and develop expertise in technical production, video and media, dance administration, and dance education. Last summer we had an exceptional cadre of talented interns who complimented our staff and made a critical contribution to the success of the 2015 season. Sarah Miller combined her interests in creative writing and dance as a social media intern, managing the festival’s social media accounts and writing for the blog. Check out her blog about our interns.

2015 FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS

Sean Dorsey Dance in The Missing Generation

The 2015 season, our 33rd, brought a wealth of stunning projects to Maine. We were proud to serve as the lead commissioner for Sean Dorsey Dance’s new work, “The Missing Generation,” that takes a poignant look back on the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s. A highlight of our season, Dorsey’s East Coast premiere offered audiences a rare look at an important and forgotten era in LGBTQ history. Dorsey’s residency concluded a yearlong series of activities that reached out to a wide variety of Maine people. Watch interview with Sean.

Delfos Danza in When The Disguises Are Hung Up

After many years of collaborating with our Mexican friends, the magnificent teachers and creators, Claudia Lavista and Omar Carrum, we were able to present their company, Delfos Danza Contemporanea, with generous support from Southern Exposure, a program of the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. Nine stunning dancers performed Delfos’s signature work, “When The Disguises Are Hung Up” to an enthralled audience. Company members also taught a workshop for Tree Street Youth while Claudia and Omar deepened the practice of professional students enrolled in their technique and repertory classes. For a look back at more of our 2015 activities visit our youtube channel.

LEND A HAND

BDF relies on contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals like you to supply 40% of our annual operating budget. Please consider a gift in any amount to support of our 2016 season. Make your tax-deductible contribution online at NOW.

SUPPORT BDF

The Bates Dance Festival advances the work and life of dance students, professional artists and public communities by cultivating opportunities for learning, creativity and connection in a supportive and diverse dance and performance environment.

Jennifer Nugent by Arthur Fink

BDF is teaming up with New York City-based Gibney Dance and The Playground to host a BDF+Gibney Connect, a daylong dance immersion on Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at Gibney Dance, 280 Broadway, NYC. The day will feature technique classes by Kendra Portier, member of David Dorfman Dance and founder of bandPortier,  Jennifer Nugent former member of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company,  Amy Miller, Associate Artistic Director of Gibney Dance, and Gregory Dolbashian, Co-Director of The Playground.  BDF accompanist Glen Fittin will play for Kendra and Jen. Focused around inspired dancing and creative exchange, the day is designed for intermediate and advanced dancers. A reception will conclude the day. The all-inclusive fee is $35 with pre-registration or $42 day of. Registration Info available soon at: http://www.gibneydance.org/explore-classes/workshops/#workshops

Kendra Portier by Sara Crosby

On Sunday, January 11 from 1-3:30pm we will offer a modern technique & composition master class  for teens (14-18 years) taught by LaQuimah Van Dunk at the East Village Dance Project, 55 Avenue C, NYC.  Fee is $15, to register email: dancefest@bates.edu

For Boston area dancers, BDF will join forces with Dance Complex in Cambridge to co-host master classes as part of Winter Wonder Dance Festival, January 2-4. Stay tuned for more info.

2015 Faculty Announced

As winter approaches with it’s chilly air and bare trees, we are deep into planning another hot summer of inspiring classes at BDF. Bringing together some of our favorite alums with exciting newcomers, our Young Dancers Workshop will feature modern classes by Erika Pujic and Karl Rogers, ballet with Martha Tornay and Shonach Mirk-Robles, jazz with Courtney D. Jones, hip hop with Shakia Johnson (2006 Emerging Choreographer), improvisation with Lida Winfield (2014 Emerging Choreographer), and repertory with Sean Dorsey.

Robert Moses by Arne Folkedal

Donna Mejia by Emmanuel Adero

SeanDorsey by Lydia Daniller

Our Professional Training Program will include modern master Robert Moses, the teams of Kathleen Hermesdorf & Albert Mathias, and  Claudia Lavista & Omar Carrum, as well as  Mary Carbonara; ballet and Spiraldynamik© with Shonach Mirk-Robles and Rachel List; hip hop legend Rennie Harris, Contact Improvisation’s first lady Nancy Stark Smith, jazz artist Autumn Eckman, Choreo Lab and Performance Skills with dance maker David Parker, transnational fusion with Donna Mejia, yoga and Pilates with Robbie Cook, plus Dance for the Camera with Shawn Hove, Rhythm Studies with Shamou, Business of Dance with Kim Konikow and Beyond the Stage with Debra Cash.

Detailed information will be available on our NEW website in mid-December.

Building Connections: Creating Opportunities

At BDF dancers at all stages of their careers make connections that lead to opportunities for professional advancement. Here are just a few of the exciting outcomes from last summer’s Festival:

Omar Carrum & Claudia Lavista by Arthur Fink

Mexican choreographers Claudia Lavista and Omar Carrum were invited to conduct fall residencies at the Boston Conservatory by Dance Chair Cathy Young, and at Smith College by faculty members Chris Aiken and Angie Hauser, all three of whom are core members of the BDF faculty.

Vincent Mantsoe by Arthur Fink

Our 2014 season included a shared concert and classes taught by South African choreographer, Vincent Mantsoe, and Chinese artist, Yin Mei. We just learned that Yin Mei has invited Vincent to perform the same concert program in China this winter. An exciting outcome indeed!

Longtime BDF accompanist and composer, Jesse Manno, joined the backup band for David Dorfman’s performance of “Come And Back Again” during our 2014 season. Consequently David asked Jesse to help create music for the DanceMotionUSA collaboration with Turkish dancemaker Korhan Basaran that took place over four weeks of the Festival. We were thrilled to hear Jesse perform as part of the band for the premiere performance at BAM in August.

Administrative intern, Ashley Yergens served as our social media maven last summer. Her stellar work increased our Facebook likes significantly, brought insightful posts to our blog, and caught the eye of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s DanceMotionUSA team who were at BDF for the Dorfman/Basaran residency. DMUSA was looking to fill their social media position and in October Ashley moved the Big Apple to join their staff.

Administrative intern, Kristen Bernier was an invaluable member of our staff this summer. We are thrilled to announce that she joined the staff of  MAPP International with whom BDF has collaborated for over 20 years. MAPP is a dynamic producing organization engaged with an international cadre of performance artists creating on the cutting edge. MAPP is also a founding member (with BDF) and administrative home of The Africa Contemporary Arts Consortium.

2014 Festival Recap

The 2014 season, our 32nd, brought a global feast of projects to Lewiston, ME. David Dorfman Dance conducted a month-long creative residency teaching classes, performing “Come And Back Again” with a live band that featured three Festival musicians (Jesse Manno, Shamou and Adam Crawley), and delving deeply into process to develop a new work with Turkish choreographer Korhan Basaran and five dancers from Turkey and Armenia as part of Dance Motion USA a cultural diplomacy program of the U.S. State Department that is administered by Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Korhan Basaran & David Dorfman by ArthurFink

Here’s what the ever exuberant David Dorfman said:

“Bates is always alive for me – this summer it was on fire! Through DMUSA, I had the opportunity to work with incredible dance artists from Turkey and Armenia on a daily basis, in addition to the wonderful BDF students and faculty – what a dream come true! Aside from our intense and productive rehearsals – to see our guests take classes, hang out with each other and their fearless leader Korhan at night, and then inspire the next generation of dancers the next day – was fabulous!”   Watch residency video

On the international front we also hosted a creative residency for Flavienne Lago from the Ivory Coast, a former member of Compagnie Tche Tche. In an informal showing Flavie shared an excerpt from her heart wrenching work dealing with the loss of her parents to civil war and the struggle as an African woman to become an artist. For American students being confronted with this graphic and personal story of loss bought the harsh realities of life in a war torn country into sharp relief. There were many tears and much support offered to Flavie whose emotional performance was akin to re-living the horrific experiences.

The Festival also took dance off the stage and into the public realm with site performances in the Lewiston and Portland communities. A talented core of Maine and N.E. dancers including Meredith Lyons, Annie Kloppenberg, Betsy Miller, Jessamyn Schmidt, Amanda E. Hamp, Audrey Ouellette and Charlaine Katsuyoshi, performed “Horses” in windows of Portland Public Library during the First Friday ArtWalk on June 6. “Horses” was created by BDF faculty, Kathleen Hermesdorf and Albert Mathias during a spring residency at Bates College.

In July our fabulous Young Dancers Workshop counselors performed an improvised score during the Lewiston Friday Art Walk.
Here’s what three 2014 artists in residence had to say about BDF:

“It is a rare occasion for young artists like ourselves to be seen, celebrated and asked to grow the way we were at Bates. We were immersed in the world of dance for three weeks in the way we all hope to be, but struggle to do, in our own communities. We left Bates with a sense of joy, creativity, clarity and community that is often easy to lose track of as an independent artist.”– Emerging Choreographers Lida Winfield & Ellen Smith Ahern

“The more I reflect on it the more I realize how much teaching at BDF has changed my life and expanded my dance world.” – Ballet faculty, Rachel List

“These past three weeks were incredible for me.  I felt such support and inspiration from each fellow artist.  The time we spent together fed me and made me feel grateful for the possibility of creating lasting relationships and collaborations in a field where resources are so scarce.  Often we feel so isolated in our struggles … to see how each of us is creatively finding our way makes a huge difference.” – Improvisation faculty, Chris Aiken

Support the Bates Dance Festival

BDF relies on contributions from foundations, corporations, and individuals like yourself to supply 40% of our operating budget. Please consider a gift in any amount in support of our 2015 season. Make your tax-deductible contribution online at NOW.

Support BDF

The Bates Dance Festival advances the work and life of dance students, professional artists and public communities by cultivating opportunities for learning, creativity and connection in a supportive and diverse dance and performance environment. 

Newsletter Vol. 11, Winter 2011
Newsletter Writers and Editors: Laura Faure and Nancy Salmon

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

2012 SEASON SNAPSHOT: BDF CELEBRATES ITS 30TH ANNIVERSARY

This season BDF celebrates its 30th Anniversary as one of America’s leading
contemporary dance laboratories. We also mark the 25th year of leadership by director, Laura Faure, who has grown Festival programs that reach deeply into the community and across the globe serving students, educators, dance makers and Maine audiences.

In 2012 we celebrate with a season that showcases some of today’s most engaging artists while also honoring those with whom we have a long history. Our Performance Season will feature innovative dance making that reflects the issues of our times.

Opening the season on July 13 & 14 is the return of Rennie Harris PureMovement
with a hot young troupe of dancers who will be joined by several company alums. In recognition of their 20th anniversary RHPM will perform excerpts from their award-winning repertoire of greatest hits. The recipient of an honorary degree from Bates College and a frequent visitor to the Festival, Rennie Harris sits at the top of the hip hop heap!

Next up is Kyle Abraham/Abraham.in.Motion, July 19 & 21. Born into the hip hop culture of the 70s, Abraham creates provocative interdisciplinary works that delve into issues of identity. AIM will present the Maine premiere of Live, The Realest MC, based on the story of Pinocchio and the quest for realness. The Boston Globe says, “Watched carefully, Abraham’s group choreography displays an intensely naked understanding of humanity; watching Abraham dance alone is deeply moving.”

On July 27 & 28 we will welcome back Kate Weare Companywhose stunning and nuanced work received raves from our audience in 2009. KWC presents their latest work, Garden which uses an arresting, sensual vocabulary to explore primitive issues of origination, collective identity and safety amid the uncontrollable natural world.

In collaboration with the Bates College Museum of Art, BDF has commissioned a new work by veteran Festival choreographer, Larry Keigwin to mark our 30th Anniversary. Inspired by the Museum’s exhibition of astrophotography, Keigwin & Company will present the world premiere of Starstruck, on August 2, 3 & 4 in celebration of our long shared history. Mark you calendar to attend our 30th anniversary Gala on August 4.

These lively and engaging works are sure to challenge your imagination and enliven your spirit. Complimenting these performances will be a variety of free performances, lectures and events. Stay tuned for more information coming in March on our website. We look forward to seeing you this summer.

RED, BLACK & GREEN: A BLUES, MARC BAMUTHI JOSEPH/THE LIVING WORD PROJECT

In collaboration with the Bates Arts Collaborative, BDF will host a special campus-wide engagement residency with renowned spoken word/dance/theater artist Marc Bamuthi Joseph and The Living Word Project. The residency culminates in two public performances April 27 & 28. red, black & GREEN: a blues (rbGb), is a full-length, multimedia performance work about environmental justice, social ecology and collective responsibility in the climate change era. Joseph, one of America’s most vital voices in performance, is joined on stage by vocalist/visual artist, Theaster Gates, drummer/beatboxer, Tommy Shepherd and dancer/actress, Traci Tolmaire. Combining dance, text and visuals in a new mode of kinetic performance, rbGb puts forward the idea that valuing your own life, and the life of your community, is the first step to valuing planet Earth.

BDF GETS A NEW LOOK AND SPACE

When an anniversary comes around it feels like an opportunity to take stock and freshen things up! To that end we have just completed a redesign of our logo, which headlines this publication, and completed a makeover of our website. We are delighted with this playful, colorful, new look and welcome your response to it.

In October we also moved into our new, permanent offices in Pettigrew Hall, adjacent to Schaeffer Theater and our colleagues in dance and theater. This beautiful suite of offices, filled with light, was renovated to our specifications. Centrally located on the Alumni Walk, it will serve as our year-round base of operations and facilitate greater collaboration around our new dance major.

YOUTH ARTS PROGRAM FOCUSES ON HEALTHY FOOD

The Youth Arts Program (YAP), our community arts day camp, collaborated with local organization, Lots To Gardens (LTG) which promotes sustainable, urban agriculture. During the three-week program YAP kids and their families were introduced to urban gardening, local food production, healthy food, and good eating and exercise (dance!) habits.

YAP 6-8 year olds enjoyed a trip to a LTG community garden where they learned about composting and helped weed and harvest. YAP 9-12 year olds had a kitchen tour of the Bates College Dining Commons led by Dining Director, Christine Schwartz. As children and youth became more aware of healthy eating habits, many wondered which of their daily snacks and lunches (provided by Bates Dining) were most healthy, according to YAP director, Dana Reed. The Dining Commons added a tray of raw veggies to the lunch menu. One day when the veggie tray was missing, Yappers were upset because “we need to eat our vegetables.” For their Festival Finale performance students and their faculty created a production entitled, Healthy Hoopla featuring dances based on food themes, a Rap song, and colorful sculptures about healthy eating. Many children and their families also enjoyed dinner in the Bates Dining Commons on the evening of the performance. Many thanks to Lots to Gardens and the Bates Dining Commons for making this creative learning opportunity a success!

Thanks and congratulations also go to Bates College alum and youth advocate, Julia Sleeper, who helped identify immigrant students to participate in the Youth Arts Program for the past two years. We are pleased to collaborate with her new venture, Tree Street Youth, an afterschool and summer program that provides homework help, tutoring, and recreational activities to local youth.

Watch a video of their process: Youth Arts Makes Healthy Hoopla

UN/STABLE LANDSCAPE: Horses and Dancers Enliven Chance Encounter Farm

For three weeks last summer choreographer, JoAnna Mendl Shaw and The Equus Project joined forces with Carl Flink and Black Label Movement to create UN/Stable Landscape, a site-specific performance installation at Chance Encounter Farm in Pownal, Maine. This magical event used the pastoral landscape to explore how horses and dancers interact. Nearly 300 audience members found their way to Pownal and, despite heat and rain, most were captivated by this unusual performance. As one audience member notes, “I have seen hundreds of dance performances in my life, and this was one of the most sublime, exciting (yet quietly so), and expansive in its use of the landscape, the horses and dancers. The trust between animal and human was heartwarming and undeniably a pleasure to watch.” BDF has supported several creative residencies by JoAnna Mendl Shaw in recent years and was thrilled to host this deeply moving and successful event.