Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Alfred University dance theater concert to feature work by visiting choreographer

The Alfred University (AU) dance theater concert, scheduled for 8 p.m. Feb. 16 in the Miller Theater, will feature an original dance work by a New York City-based choreographer, as well as new dances by faculty members and students.
Tiffany Mills, choreographer, teacher, performer and artistic director of Tiffany Mills Company, will visit the University through the Marlin and Ginger Miller Guest Artist program. She will be creating an original dance work with 14 Alfred University students. The dance work, It Only Happens Once… Yesterday and Tomorrow, is based on the idea of a recurring dream that begins exactly the same way.  Mills will be engaging the student dancers collaboratively, allowing the students to experience how Mills creates work with her professional company, explained D. Chase Angier, associate professor of dance in the Division of Performing Arts, College of Liberal Arts & Sciences at Alfred University.


The concert will also feature new work by Angier and by Robert Bingham, visiting artist in residence, as well as by AU students Walner Edmond, Krystal Redding, and Kaitlin VanderWeide.
The program will include small ensemble pieces and large group works, set choreography and structured improvisation, singing, and dynamic performances by students and Laurel Jay Carpenter, a performance artist and associate professor of fine arts in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.
Marketa Fantova, associate professor of theater design, and Stephen Kurzdorfer, a senior theater major, are designing the lighting for the performances.
Those wishing to reserve seats for one of the performances are asked to call 607.871.2828 or to email performs@alfred.edu.
Mills will also present a dance class, open to all members of the community, at 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 4, in Room 300 of the Miller Performing Arts Center.
Mills’ work, said Angier, “focuses on human relationships and is grounded in partnering and improvisation. Her exploration is fueled by collaboration across media; she has most recently worked with filmmaker Ela Troyano; composers John Zorn and Ikue Mori; and experimental theater director Peter Petralia.”
Tiffany Mills Company’s collaborative work has been presented at: Portland Institute for Contemporary Art’s Time Based Art Festival (OR), Wexner Center for the Arts (OH), Contemporary Dance Theater/National Performance Network (OH), Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival Residency Program (MA), Guggenheim Museum Works & Process Series, Duke on 42 Street, Symphony Space Dance Sampler, Lincoln Center Out-of-Doors, Dancing in the Streets, Joyce SoHo, Danspace Project’s City/Dans Series, Dance Theater Workshop Fresh Tracks, PS 122 Avant Garde Arama, Movement Research, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, HERE, Dance Place (DC), and internationally in Mexico and Canada. She has received multiple grants from national and international funding agencies. 
Edmond, a senior in the School of Art & Design, is a graduate of Gettysburg Area High School. His parents are Camile Jeanlus and Thermolien Edmond of Gettysburg, PA.
Redding, a senior theater major in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, is the daughter of Vera Leak of Oxon Hill, MD, and Keith Redding of Fort Washington, MD. She is a graduate of Friendly High School.
VanderWeide, a senior biology major and a graduate of Midlakes High School in Clifton Springs, NY, is a daughter of John and Amy VanderWeide of Clifton Springs.
A resident of Brockport, NY, and a graduate of Brockport High School, Kurzdorfer is the son of Thomas Kurzdorfer of Brockport.

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