DANCE ON! Student Choreographers Showcase
November 17-19, 2005, Baker Theatre Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance, Muhlenberg CollegeWednesday, November 9, 2005 01:59 PM
The Muhlenberg Dance Association presents Dance On!, eleven modern dance pieces choreographed by Muhlenberg dance majors, in the Baker Theatre, Trexler Pavilion for Theatre & Dance of Muhlenberg College from November 17-19, 2005. Performances are Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m., and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
This concert of contemporary dance explores the young choreographer’s instincts to find their unique artistic voices through the graceful and unexpected beauty of bodies in motion.
Student choreographers are showcased each semester as a way for rising dance majors to present their work in a formal, public venue. The concert pieces are performed by their peers, student members of the Muhlenberg Dance Association.
The Showcase is an educational opportunity for choreographers and performers alike. As choreographer Kara Senich ’06 states, “This specific show is more about the process than the product.” Choreographer Courtney Romano ‘06 feels that her work on the concert has given her “a tangible experience at being a working artist.” The choreographers and performers learn from each other, as well as from faculty advisor Karen Dearborn, the artistic director of the concert and head of the Dance Program at Muhlenberg College. She has choreographed more than 70 works in concert, theatre, and musical theatre including national tours of the Tony Award-winning National Theatre of the Deaf and several Equity theatres. At Muhlenberg she has provided choreography for the MTA productions of Cabaret, On the Town, Wonderful Town and West Side Story, among many others. Dearborn is also the Artistic Director of Master Choreographers, a concert of guest artists and faculty choreographers to be staged in the Empie Theatre on February 9-11, 2006.
The Choreographers of Dance On! 2005 are: Katie Babick ‘06, Erin Cairns ‘06, Erica Cenci ‘06, Carly Nicole Friedlander ‘06, Caitlin Meehan ‘06, Liz J. Millea ‘07, Alexandra Reekie ‘07, Adam Reich ‘06, Courtney Romano ‘06, Kara Senich ‘06, Christopher Shepard ‘07. Costume designers are Megan Prima and Sara Carrero. Paul E. Theisen, Jr. is Lighting Designer and Technical Director. For further information on interviews, reviews or photos, please call 484-664-3693 or email [email protected] at Muhlenberg College.
BOX OFFICE INFORMATION
Tickets are $15.00 for adults and seniors, $8.00 for Youth 17 and younger. Call 484-664-3333, Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. or visit www.muhlenberg.edu/tickets on the web. For more information about the dance program at Muhlenberg College, visit The Department of Theatre & Dance on the Muhlenberg College web at www.muhlenberg.edu.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
KAREN DEARBORN has choreographed more than 70 works in concert, theatre, and musical theatre including national tours of the Tony Award-winning National Theatre of the Deaf and several Equity theatres. Recently she has provided choreography for the MTA productions of Cabaret, On the Town, Wonderful Town, West Side Story, Brigadoon, Cabaret, Oklahoma!, and SMT productions of …Forum, Guys and Dolls, Man of La Mancha, Boys from Syracuse,Oliver! and Annie Get Your Gun. She is currently Associate Professor and Director of the Dance Program at Muhlenberg College.
CHOREOGRAPHER PROFILES
KATIE BABICK makes her debut in Dance On! this fall. Previously, she has choreographed works for the Informal Concerts, including “Return to Tortuga,” “Me and Vitruvius,” and “The Karass of Many,” as well as completing an independent study last spring that explored the relationships between sculpture and dance. Katie has performed in numerous Student and Informal Concert pieces, and along with being a double major in art and dance, she serves as the secretary to the Muhlenberg Dance Association.
ERIN CAIRNS has previously performed in numerous Faculty, Student, and Informal Dance concerts, as well as in The Cup, Danceboom! at the Wilma Theatre in Philadelphia, with Charles Anderson’s dance theatre X at Marywood College, and in the American Dance Festival at Duke University. Erin’s choreography includes two works for the Informal concerts, and her debut work in the Student concert was presented last fall.
ERICA CENCI is presenting her second piece for the Student Concert. Erica was the Assistant Choreographer/Dance Captain for the MTA production of On the Town and was nominated as the Paper Mill Playhouse Rising S.T.A.R for choreographing The Pirates of Penzance at Westfield High School. Erica has performed in various Faculty, Student and Informal concerts as well as the MTA and SMT productions of Lures and Snares, New Voices, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, A Chorus Line, and Godspell.
CARLY NICOLE FRIEDLANDER has performed in various Student and Informal Dance concerts and will dance in our upcoming Master Choreographers. Her previous works include “Red Light, Green Light” for the 2003 Spring Informal Concert and “Unwatched Exposure” for the 2005 Spring Student Concert, as well as teaching for the Muhlenberg Performing Arts Camp, Stagedoor Workshop and the Pennsylvania Youth Theatre. Carly has also been seen in MTA and SMT productions such as A Chorus Line, George M!, and Cabaret. She holds an internship at Trio Talent Agency in West Hollywood, CA, teaches jazz classes for the MCDC program and models for the Dance Distributors catalogue.
CAITLIN MEEHAN is a senior Dance and French double major who is presenting her second piece for the Student Dance Showcase after co-choreographing “Precipice” in the spring of 2004. Caitlin has performed in many Faculty, Student and Informal concerts as well as performing “Search Party: reports from the field” choreographed by Jennifer Kayle
at the A.P.E. Performance Space in Northampton, Massachusetts. Caitlin recently spent a semester abroad in Aix-en-Provence, France, studying classical ballet, improvisation and choreography with Ballet Preljocaj, a professional contemporary dance company.
ALEXANDRA REEKIE is proud to be presenting her debut piece in the Student Concert. Previously, Alex choreographed “Peculiar Confines” in the Spring 2005 Informal Concert as well as numerous shows off campus, including Peter Pan and How to Eat Like a Child. On campus, she has been seen performing in Faculty, Student, and Informal pieces and will be choreographing the MTA mainstage, The Pillow of Kantan, this spring. Alex is a Dance and Communications double major and a Muhlenberg Scholar.
ADAM REICH makes his choreographic debut in this concert. Previously, Adam choreographed a piece for the Spring 2005 Informal Concert entitled, “He Said, He Said.” He has performed in Muhlenberg Faculty and Informal Concerts, the National Gala for ACDFA at the Kennedy Center in 2004, and was a participant in Charles Anderson’s “Parables of Mutants and Madmen” performed at DanceBoom! in Philadelphia and at ACDFA as well as in the Muhlenberg Faculty Choreographers Concert in 2005. He is also an active member and participant in MTA and SMT productions and is a member of the Dynamics.
COURTNEY ROMANO is proud to be presenting her second work for a Student Choreographers Showcase after previously choreographing two works for the Informal Concert. She has performed in many Informal, Student and Faculty concerts as well as multiple MTA and SMT productions including Summerfolk, Pippin, New Voices 2004, On the Town, Into the Woods, Three Tables, Ensemble, Diva’s Cabaret, A Chorus Line, Annie Get Your Gun, and most recently as Sally Bowles in the MTA’s Cabaret. Courtney also performed in “Search Party: reports from the field” choreographed by Jennifer Kayle at A.P.E. Performance Space in Northhampton, Massachusetts.
KARA SENICH is making her concert stage debut as a choreographer. She previously choreographed two pieces for the Informal Concerts as well as SMT’s The Cat in the Castle. She has been a movement instructor for the Stagedoor Workshop and the Musical Theatre Workshop for teens during the summers of 2004 and 2005. Kara has performed in the MTA’s productions of New Voices 2005, On The Town, and BASH. She has also appeared in numerous Faculty, Student, and Informal Concerts and works on campus as a dance office assistant and a peer tutor.
CHRISTOPHER SHEPARD is making his choreographic debut in the Student Concert. Previously, he has choreographed “Kleine Welten…” for the Informal Dance Concert and “Marginalia” for The Cup. He has performed in numerous Faculty and Student Dance Concerts as well as dancing with Charles Anderson’s dance theatre X in “Parables of Mutants and Madmen” at DanceBoom! in Philadelphia. Chris has also appeared in many MTA productions including On the Town and Christmas on Mars. He is the MTA co-social coordinator in addition to helping spearhead a Poetry Slam organization on campus.
The Muhlenberg Dancers performing in Dance On! 2005:
Katie Babick, Brittany Beatty, Rachel Breckman, Meagan Bruskewicz, Erin Cairns, Gabe Campagna, Tracey Dunn, Ashleigh Edwards, Heather Fox, Erin Goldrick, Dany Guy, Monica Hanofee, Sara Hogrefe, Lindsey Howard, Kaitlyn Johnson, Samantha Jonson, Stephanie Lauren, Monica Levy, Maura McCarthy, Meagan Meehan, Jenny Piersol, Heather Podvey, Tori Puff, Kristina Quirolgico, Alex Reekie, Vanessa Rowan, Elizabeth Seavy, Catherine Simonetta, Lauren Sion, Kate Thompson, Olivia Wingerath, Kristin Zieser.
