Discover Dance Day - December 9, 2011

Sneak Peek of Julie Bour piece

Dec. Concert Tech Schedule

French Choreographer Julie Bour graces Wayne State University with her Fairy Tale

By: Megan Drabant

Once upon a time, there was a French choreographer who brought her European flair to a lucky school in the United States. That choreographer just so happens to be Julie Bour, artistic director of Compagnie Julie Bour, and the lucky school is our very own Maggie Allesee Department of Dance at Wayne State University (WSU). Bour graduated from the Conservatoire National de Paris and followed her career to work with a variety of renowned choreographers around the world including Angelin Preljocaj, Inbal Pinto and Cave Canem company. As assistant to the French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, Bour has re-staged his repertory in New York City and Bordeaux, France. Also, she had the pleasure to work with director Julie Taymor on the Opera “Grendel”. She received a Bessie Award for “Best performer of the year” in New York City.

Bour does not feel restricted by a style, a history or a technique. As a choreographer, she is driven by the need to question, mix and share. By exploring the dynamics of contemporary culture through the prism of who she is now, on any particular day, she creates work which resonates in the cultural moment. The key to Bour’s creative process is to work consistently with dancers who are committed to movement invention and to develop a technique and language over time. Bour founded The Flying Mammoth with Loic Noisette in 2006 as a bridge between the different arts, cultures and countries they have encountered over the course of their careers. The unorthodoxy and internationality of both her professional and personal paths are strongly present in her choreographic process.

As the Fall 2011 Allesee Artist in Residence, Bour worked for a week with the talented dancers of WSU through teaching morning modern technique classes and then rehearsing in the evening with the dancers selected to be in her piece. The dancers found Bour’s choreographic process to be quite refreshing and different than any other residencies they have experienced before. Senior, Jordan Holland describes Bour’s movement to be “Deep, visceral, and organic; everything has intention.” The work is very detail oriented; yet Bour’s process of developing movement directly on the spot with the dancers is different for many of the WSU students.

In setting her new work entitled “Rouge,” Bour found inspiration in the classic tale of Little Red Ridding Hood. However, Bour’s rendition of the story is twisted with a modern spin of three different endings. The multiple endings relate to the concepts of defeating, being defeated, and indecision. All three endings can be witnessed at one time during the piece as the whimsical, yet contemporary music strings the story along. Bour pushes the dancers to be strong characters and precision movers with musically, pedestrian movement. Overall, Bour’s new version of Little Red Ridding Hood is pleasantly enthralling with an underlying parallel between real life and fairy tale.

Come see “Rouge” performed at the informance on Monday, October 31, at 12:30pm in the Maggie Allesee Studio Theatre, 3317 Old Main Building, 4841 Cass Detroit, MI 48201.

This is a free event and seating is limited so please arrive fifteen minutes early. Also, “Rouge” will be performed at the December Departmental Dance Concert on December 1-2 at 7:30pm and December 4 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm in the Maggie Allesee Studio Theatre, where other works choreographed by both students and faculty will be premiered.

Dance Workshop Sunday Classes

To launch its new outreach program, Wayne State University’s Dance Workshop is pleased to announce weekend master classes that will be held on campus in the Old Main building on the 3rd floor. A wide variety of classes will be offered including ballet, contemporary, improvisation, and more! Classes are on Sundays from 3:00 to 4:30 P.M. The cost of the class is $5.

All proceeds of the master classes help support this student-run dance company’s showcase concerts, costume costs, and travel expenses to the American College Dance Festival. The company is dedicated to creating a professional dance environment at Wayne State University for students to showcase their works on both regional and national levels. Dance Workshop also strives to make educational dance opportunities available to the public.

Please visit http://www.dance.wayne.edu/docs/workshopmasterclassf11.doc for class schedules and guest teacher information.

Julie Bour Residency Schedule

Sunday, 10/23	Monday, 10/24	Tuesday, 10/25	Wednesday, 10/26	Thursday, 10/27	Friday, 10/28	Saturday,10/29
Julie Arrives	Warm-up – studio C 10:30-11:30a AUDITION Studio B 11:45-1:20p Rehearsal 4:00-10:00p	DNC 3200/4200 Ballet III & IV 11:45-1:05p Rehearsal 4:00-10:00p	DNC 1010/2010 Modern I & II 9:35-11:25a DNC 3010/4010 Modern III & IV 11:45-1:20p Rehearsal 4:00-10:00p	DNC 3200/4200 Ballet III & IV 11:45-1:05p Rehearsal 4:30-10:00p	DNC 3010/4010 Modern III & IV 11:45-1:20p Rehearsal 3:00-9:00p	Warm-up 11-12:00p Rehearsal 12:00-6p
Sunday, 10/30	Monday, 10/31
Warm-up 11:00-12:00p Rehearsal 12:00-6:00p	Warm-up and Rehearsal 9:35-11:25a studio B (Modern I/II in studio A) Informance 12:30p

WSU Dance Kicks Off Fela! Ticket Sales with Flash Mob

Wayne State University dancers, under the direction of Professor Karen Prall, participated in a Flash Mob on October 1st at the Detroit Public Library. The occasion was the release party for the ticket sales for FELA!, the amazing, Tony-Award winning Broadway show directed by New York choreographer Bill T. Jones. FELA! is coming to the Music Hall February 14 - March 4 in celebration of Black History Month.


Tickets are now on sale at the Music Hall and can also be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.

Read more about FELA! here.

Ngoma Za Kongo

Ngoma Za Kongo, a high energy African Drum and Dance Company, will be in residence at Wayne State October 14-16th. They will offer classes and a performance during their residency, and they will also work with the African Dance Company at Wayne State, under the direction of Karen Prall.

Ngoma Za Kongo, meaning drums of the Kongo, is composed of several artists in continuous research of new sounds and expressions inspired by Congolese traditions. As a result of this research, the group presentation represents a diversity of sounds and colors from different regions of the Congo. The work is an original fusion of traditional rhythms, ritual dances, and the influence of a contemporary environment.

The artists of Ngoma Za Kongo dance, sing, and play various sounds of the African drums. Their explosion onto the stage drives you into the essence of their mythical rhythms, leaving you between a traditional and modern world. Enriched by the songs and sounds of the African drums, these rhythms and dances make Ngoma Za Kongo an outstanding group beyond the usual. Coming from different ethnic backgrounds, the members of Ngoma Za Kongo also naturally contribute to the diversity of this group from central Africa.

Classes:

African Dance Class Friday, Oct. 14th 5:00-6:30pm
African Drum Class Saturday, Oct. 15th 2:00-3:30pm
African Dance Class Saturday, Oct. 15th 4:00-5:30pm

ALL OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

Classes are $10 if reserved before Wed, Oct. 12. $20 at the door.
The Drum class fee: $10.00 (own drum), $15.00 (with drum rental).

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Concert

Ngoma Za Kongo in concert Sunday Oct. 16th 2:30-3:30pm
Tickets for the concert are $10 if purchased before Sat. Oct. 15th. $20 at the door.

The Ngoma Za Kongo performance is a musical journey to the republic of the Congo. Throughout this journey, the group draws the audience into an African rhythmical and musical environment, where you discover the different sounds, rhythms, dances, and colors from ten areas of the Republic of the Congo which are: Sangha, Likouala, Cuvette Ouest, Cuvette Centrale, Plateau, Pool, Bouenza, Lekoumou, Niari, and Kouilou.

Marcus White Audition - Sat. 9/24, 2pm. Studio C

LM Productions, in association with Marcus White/ White Werx, seeks trained dancers for a December musical. This is an Open Call for dancers.

Audition location: Old Main Building, 4841 Cass Ave. (Wayne State University), Detroit, MI

Studio C

Studio will be open at 1:30pm. Audition will start promptly at 2:00pm. We will go immediately into the choreography from the show.

Please provide a headshot and resume at the time of audition (if possible).

There is no fee for the audition.

Scott Bartell Sets New Work

Scott Bartell, an alumnus of Renaissance High School and Wayne State University in Detroit, and the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, is the current Artistic Director and Resident Choreographer of Jeffrey & The Artists, a new contemporary dance company in Detroit. He was in residence September 7 – 12, working with the Wayne State Dance Department’s Dance Company. An informance of his work was held September 12th to show the rest of the department.


Bartell is a former dancer with Spectrum Dance Theater under the direction of Donald Byrd. He also performed with Philadanco II and Smoke, Lilies, and Jade (Zane Booker). His training includes ABT Detroit Summer Intensive, and Jacob's Pillow Contemporary Traditions Program (Milton Myers), and he received the 2008 Excellence in Dance Award while at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.


Under the direction of Bartell, Jeffrey & The Artists is a collaborative of Artists of vast disciplines that create high caliber and thought provoking works relevant to current local, national and or global social themes. The company consists of highly technically skilled dancers and artists and will work with other artists on the local, national, and international level. It will also present dance works that embark upon a journey to connect and engage with community through dance. The training style and movement vocabulary will be derived from Scott Bartell.

Julie Bour, Fall 2011 Artist in Residence

Wayne State University’s Maggie Allesee Department of Dance welcomes Julie Bour, October 24–31, 2011, as Fall 2011 Allesee Artist in Residence. Wayne State dancers will present an informance, a demo of the choreography they’ve learned from Bour, on Monday, October 31, at 12:30pm in the Maggie Allesee Studio Theatre, 3317 Old Main Building. This is a free event and seating is limited so please arrive fifteen minutes early.

Bour is artistic director of Compagnie Julie Bour, an international, multi-cultural entity, relying strongly on the networks, experience and bridges provided by The Flying Mammoth, founded by Bour and Loic Noisette in 2006 as a bridge between the different arts, cultures and countries they have encountered over the course of their careers. The combination of energies, cultures and identities within and around Compagnie Julie Bour translate into a unique array of collaborations and interactions – and a unique voice. Motivated and inspired by her accumulated experience as a performer, teacher and assistant director around the world, Bour began her own choreographic work in 2006. Since then, she has created original works presented at New York City’s Dance New Amsterdam Theater, City Center’s Studio, Steps on Broadway, Florence Gould Theater, LaGuardia Performance Arts Theater, New York University’s Skirball Theater, Ambient Art Projects Gallery in Las Vegas and in the festival Cadences in Arcachon, France, where she was appointed “fil rouge” of the festival.

As a dancer, after graduating from the Conservatoire National de Paris, Bour’s career brought her to work with a variety of renowned choreographers around the world including Angelin Preljocaj, Inbal Pinto and Cave Canem Company. As assistant to the French choreographer Angelin Preljocaj, Bour restaged his repertory in New York City and Bordeaux, France. She also had the pleasure to work with the director Julie Taymor on the Opera Grendel. She received a Bessie Award for “Best Performer of the Year” in New York City. Bour will be collaborating with world-renowned videographer, Gilles Papain.

While deeply conscious of her experiences and influences, Bour doesn’t feel bound by a style, a history or a technique. As a choreographer, she is driven by the need to question, mix and share. By exploring the dynamics of contemporary culture through the prism of who she is now – on any particular day – she creates work which resonates in the cultural moment. The key to Bour’s creative process is to work consistently with dancers who are committed to movement invention and to develop a technique and language over time. The unorthodoxy and internationality of both her professional and personal paths are strongly present in her choreographic process.

Dancer Auditions June 8-9: Marcus White, Motor City Movement

Marcus White will be holding auditions in Detroit June 8th (at WSU) and June 9th (Ann Arbor). Please see the attached audition flyer, which provides all of the details.

Marcus White's Website
Audition Event (Facebook)
Motor City Movement Event

Capstone Concert Tech Schedule

Two WSU student dances selected for ACDFA 2011 Gala Showcase

Congratulations to seniors Aaron Smith ('11) and Bryan Strimpel ('11) whose works, "Deterior" and "Cause a Frenzy," were selected for this year's ACDFA Gala Showcase concert on Saturday, March 19th at the University of Akron. Click here for the concert program.

Spring Concert Tech Schedule

Spring Concert tech rehearsals (rev)

MONDAY 3/7
3:30p-4:30p- Facts and Figures (Christyn Sherban)
4:30p-6:00p Sadhak (Meg Paul)
6:00p-7:00p- Dinner
7:00p-8:30p- As Stated (Christopher Huggins)
8:30p-10:00p- Onstage Tour

TUESDAY 3/8
3:00p-4:30p- Dyad (Ron De Jesus)
4:30p-6:00p- Flueve Kongo (Karen Prall)
6:00p-7:00p- Dinner
7:00p-8:30p- ‘Til Death Do Us Part (Ray Mercer)
8:30p-9:30p- Cause A Frenzy (Bryan Strimpel)

WEDNESDAY 3/9
3:00p-4:30p- Motor (Larry Keigwin)
4:30p-5:30p- Deterior (AaronSmith)
5:30p-6:30p- To Exasperate (Megan Montgomery)
6:30p-7:30p- Dinner
7:30p-? Crew Clean-up

Larry Keigwin, 2011 Allesee Guest Artist-In-Residence

From January 24-31, the department welcomes Larry Keigwin, our Winter 2010 Allesee Artist in Residence. Larry Keigwin is artistic director of KEIGWIN + COMPANY, founded in 2003 to create and share provocative, witty and engaging dances. Combining physicality with theatricality, K+C’s electrifying brand of contemporary dance samples a variety of mediums and fuses art with entertainment. K+C has performed at The Kennedy Center, The Joyce Theater, Jacob’s Pillow, American Dance Festival and more. Keigwin has created 16 dances, including the large-scale choreographic event Bolero and recent acclaimed works such as Runaway (2008), the site-specificSidewalk (2009) and Bird Watching (2010). Now a centerpiece of K+C’s outreach work, Bolero incorporates a cast of community members and dancers into a tableau of a specific demographic or geographical region. Based on the success of Bolero ADF (2007) and Bolero NYC(2007/2009), K+C has developed Bolero Colorado, Bolero Santa Barbara, Bolero Suburbia and most recently, Bolero Akron.

In addition to his work with K+C, recent commissions include Works & Process at the Guggenheim, The Juilliard School, The New York City Ballet's Choreographic Institute and The Martha Graham Dance Company, among many others. This past summer, Keigwin was named the Vail International Dance Festival’s first artist in residence, during which time he created and premiered a new work with four of ballet’s most prominent stars. He most recently staged the opening event of Fashion Week: “Fashion’s Night Out: The Show,” which was produced by Vogue and featured over 150 of the industry’s top models strutting in formation around the fountain and plaza at Lincoln Center.

In 2004, Dance Magazine named Keigwin in their annual list of “25 To Watch.” Keigwin’s other choreographic credits include work with the pop band Fischerspooner, comedian Murray Hill, and as an associate choreographer for both The Radio City Rockettes and the Off-Broadway musical The Wild Party. Keigwin has also created Keigwin Kabaret, a fusion of modern dance, vaudeville, and burlesque presented by the Public Theater at Joe's Pub and by Symphony Space. He is a co-founder of the Green Box Arts Festival in Green Mountain Falls, Colorado, a multi-disciplinary festival designed to increase cultural opportunities in the region, as well as provide creative residencies to young, emerging choreographers.