![UAA Dance in Performance, Department of Theatre and Dance, 2017](https://www.uaa.alaska.edu/_images/ldp/.private_ldp/a936/production/thumb/cb1e76a8-b15d-42c7-9a5d-3626fbeab4d3.jpg)
Dance in Performance 2017
![Dance in Performance](/academics/college-of-arts-and-sciences/departments/theatre-and-dance/productions/_images/17-18%20dance%20in%20perfromance2.jpg)
Showdates: November 15 - 19, 2017
The UAA Department of Theatre and Dance proudly presents UAA Dance in Performance, showcasing 7 dynamic choreographers and 35 energetic performers in an evening full of dances packed with choreographic innovation.
Diversity in both choreographic styles and ideas are the distinguishing features of
this production. UAA Theatre and Dance professors Brian Jeffery and Melissa Jabaay,
along with Momentum Dance Collective artistic director Becky Kendall, are joined by
the next generation of Alaskan contemporary choreographers Katie O’Loughlin, Rhiannon
Roseman, Olivia Brown, and Marlee Hughes. With fresh ideas and stylish expression
these emerging choreographers have all been outstanding contributors to numerous UAA
Dance Program productions in recent years.
Performance run time: 70 minutes without intermission
Performances held at the UAA Harper Studio Theatre, 3700 Alumni Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508
- ProgramTempest
Choreographer: Rhiannon Roseman
Music: Max Richter
Sound Recordings: Rhiannon Roseman
Lighting Design: James Branstetter
Costumes: Diesel X
Performers: Brook Cinocco, Marissa Citro, Halsey Howard, Dawn Jensen, Stephanie Lahn, Annali Metz, Kristal Perez Aviles, Bella Saxe, Lily TurleyChoreographer’s Note: “A reconciliation with the storms of our past and the ones we continue to endure.”
Still Waiting…
Choreographer: Olivia Brown
Music: Ta-ku
Lighting Design: Meghan Stanford
Costumes: Diesel X
Performers: Kylee Guidry, Anna PadrickChoreographer’s Note: “…and just as the breath returned to her lungs, she began to feel again.”
Be Not Still: Dancing in Uncertain Times
Choreographer: Brian Jeffery
Music :Jon Hopkins, Matisyahu
Lighting Design: Daniel J. Anteau
Costumes: Diesel X
Dance Ensemble: Marissa Citro, Marlee Hughes, Stephanie Lahn, Kimberly McGrath, Kristal Perez Aviles, Rhiannon RosemanChoreographer’s Note: “I’m consistently inspired by the many generous and intriguing personalities that make up Dance Ensemble. Big thanks to all of the performers for their enthusiasm, playfulness and movement contributions.”
Kink
Choreographer: Katie O’Loughlin
Music: Bon Iver, Yotto
Lighting Design: Meghan Stanford
Costumes: Diesel X
Performers: Sienza Chandler, Kylee Guidry, Rique Hill, Ralph Marcelo, Anna Padrick, Ashley RoylanceChoreographer’s Note: “This piece is a special tribute to those who have been spoken over, spoken for, or unheard. I’m a firm believer that every voice matters, and my hope is that, one day, each of us will find the significance in pausing long enough to listen. For those who have been suffocated for too long, may you find your boldness again, and freely pour out the fierce beauty that you possess.”
Culmination
Choreographer: Marlee Hughes
Music: Daniel Pemberton
Lighting Design: Meghan Stanford
Costumes: Diesel X
Performers: Sienza Chandler, Jonah Gonzales, Bella Saxe, Lily TurleyChoreographer’s Note: “I am different from the rest, but deep inside all are the same.”
Look Closer
Choreographer: Becky Kendall
Music: Alexandre Desplat, Peggy Lee, Takenobu
Narrative: John Koenig
Lighting Design: Meghan Stanford
Costumes: Diesel X
Dance Ensemble: Marissa Citro, Marlee Hughes, Stephanie Lahn, Kimberly McGrath, Kristal Perez Aviles, Rhiannon Roseman, Ashley RoylanceChoreographer’s Note: “I don’t open up easily. I prefer to control how close someone is to me. It feels safer doesn’t it? It makes the world seem more manageable. The chaos and heartbreak we see everywhere less...personal. This is just how the world is. I’m just one person. But then I hear this quite whisper... Be brave. Don’t detach. Look closer. I’m willing to try. Are you?”
Lost in Conversation
Choreographer: Melissa Jabaay
Collaborators: Boa Her; choreographic contribution, Jordan Crenshaw; playwright, Tyson Hewitt; stage combat
Music: Sound of Silence performed by Disturbance; Somewhere over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo’ole; Without Me performed by Eminem; No Business Like Show Business performed by Irving Berlin; Hindi Sad Diamonds performed by Nicole Kidman; Sweet Dreams performed by Marilyn Manson; Once Upon a Dream performed by Lana Del Ray; Discombobulate performed by Hans Zimmer; Despecito performed by Justin Bieber; Fever performed by Peggy Lee; You Don’t Own Me performed by Grace; Legend of the Sword performed by Daniel Pemberton; Shadrack performed by Louis Prima
Lighting Design: Kyle Campbell
Costumes: Diesel X
Performers: TeShawn Anderson-Johnson, Jacee Arnold, Kavya Bhagawatula, Jordon Crenshaw, Bao Her, Dawn Jensen,Stephanie Lahn, Jamie Logan,Luna Rose McCarthy, Isaac McElwee,Petra Murray, Rhiannon Roseman,
Tia Wagner, Tehya YoungChoreographer’s Note: “my mind wanders to so many places...or maybe these places simply wander to me.” Author unknown
- Production Crew
New Dances Director: Brian Jeffery
Faculty Technical Director: Daniel J. Anteau
Stage Manager: Mary Alley
Assistant Stage Manager: Grant Kniefel
Lighting Designers: Daniel J. Anteau, James Branstetter, Kyle Campbell, Megan Stanford
Lighting and Sound Board Operator: James Kendall
Master Electrician: James Branstetter
Costume Shop Manager: Kaie Promish
Wardrobe Crew: Caroline Teal, Stephanie Lahn, Marissa Citro, Kimberly Allely
Lighting Crew: James Branstetter, James Kendal, Grant Kniefel, Isaac McElwee, Isaac Mendel, Casey Eichhorn, Aurora Hoefferle, Julia Arn
HOUSE
Communications & Graphic Design: Asia Bauzon
House Manager: Paitton Reid
Box Office: Lawrence Wynn, Cedar Cussins - Choreographer & Designer Bios
Daniel J. Anteau received a B.A. from the University of Alaska Anchorage and his M.F.A from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana in Lighting Design. He now serves as department chair, professor in design and technical director for the dance program. Professionally, Daniel’s lighting designs have been seen across Alaska & Hawaii, in New York City and internationally in Africa.
James Branstetter is a UAA student with a duel major in Mechanical Engineering and Technical Theatre. He has assisted in Middle Ground and New Dances 2017. He enjoys building sets and designing lights. He lives his life by these words of wisdom, ‘...Don’t Blink!’.
Olivia Brown began dancing when she was six years old at Center Stage Dance Studio in Anchorage, Alaska. Her training has included styles in jazz, modern, ballet, pointe and breakdancing. She has a love for all kinds of dance, but her absolute favorite style is ballet. While attending UAA, Olivia began taking a hip hop class to continue dancing, and shortly after became involved in Dance Ensemble at UAA. Olivia is currently studying to be a physical therapist and plans to open her own dance studio one day.
Kyle Campbell enjoys designing lights, however most of the time this leaves him in the dark.
Diesel X has had the joy of putting costumes on thousands of beautiful bodies over many, many years. Diesel and his trustworthy companion Sock Monkey often travel on fantastic adventures to far away exotic places as they wander the planet in search of the truth. Next stop, Shanghai!
Marlee Hughes My first love in life was dance. Dancing is my passion and how I easily express my thoughts and feelings. I have been dancing for 19 years and I have been trained in all kinds of dance genres that include jazz, hip hop, ballet, contemporary, drill team, swing, tap, and clogging. After marrying my husband and moving to Alaska two years ago, this is my 4th semester dancing at UAA.
Melissa Jabaay is excited to be choreographing for UAA Dance in Performance. She is an adjunct faculty member in UAA’s Department of Theatre and Dance where she teaches Contemporary Modern Dance. She has been honored to participate in UAA’s dance productions in several ways over the past ten years. She loves working with large casts and trying to find ways to make everyone standout. Before earning her Bachelors in Theatre and Dance at UAA she danced for Cirque Productions, Minnie Madden Productions in conjunction with Carnival Cruise Lines, Busch Gardens and Momentum Dance Collective. In addition to her work at UAA she is currently on staff at Alaska Dance Theatre and is a guest artist at local schools. She is also seasonal stage manager and lighting designer for Alaska Dance Theatre and Momentum Dance Collective.
Brian Jeffery has directed over 30 productions for UAA’s Department of Theatre and Dance. He originally hails from Chicago where he was active in the city’s performing arts communities for over twenty years. He has previously served on faculty at Northwestern University, Columbia College Chicago and University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. As artistic director of XSIGHT! Performance Group for fifteen years his vision of exploring the amalgamation of theater, dance and the visual arts, has been consistently recognized by popular and critical acclaim. Jeffery created over fifty original multidisciplinary works for XSIGHT! and toured throughout the U.S. as well as Australia, Egypt, Cyprus, The Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Yugoslavia. Jeffery has premiered work on numerous professional companies internationally, notably Danz Abierta of Havana at the National Theater of Cuba, Trinity Irish Dance Company at the Joyce Theater New York City, Itinerant Theatre Guild at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Scotland, Lucky Plush Productions Chicago, and Ghana Dance Ensemble in West Africa. Jeffery has lectured and presented on many conferences including African Studies Association, American College Dance Association, Congress on Research in Dance and Society of Ethnomusicology. Jeffery is also part of Secrets Under the Skin, a collaborative multidisciplinary art installation that reflects upon religious rites and rituals linked between Ghana and Cuba as a result of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Secrets has been presented at numerous venues internationally since 2010. http://www.uaa.alaska.edu/spotlight/secretsundertheskin/
Becky Kendall is a choreographer, performer, and instructor who thrives on creating movement based in the collaborative approach. She is the Artistic Director of Momentum Dance Collective, as well as a Core4 member of the Light Brigade and a 2013 Rasmuson Fellow. Since receiving her Bachelors of Science in Health with a concentration in Sports Medicine, Becky has worked with numerous artists in New York, Colorado, Washington, and Alaska performing with Interweave Dance Theatre of Boulder, the Seattle Bridge Project, On The Boards productions, and many collaborations with local artists in the Anchorage area. Her work has been featured in productions by Momentum, the Light Brigade, West High School and East High School, and the University of Alaska Anchorage. She has taught modern dance for local schools and studios including Dance Spectrum Alaska and Alaska Dance Theatre, and as adjunct faculty for UAA Theatre and Dance.
Katie O’Loughlin is a recent graduate from UAA’s Department of Theatre and Dance. During her Senior Year in the department, she received two separate research grants: one was to complete her own evening-length dance production in which she deepened her understanding in the connection between the technical and choreographic side of performance. The second was to travel to Havana, Cuba and study the choreographers, directors, and dancers in the area. Currently, Katie is working in the community as a dance instructor and choreographer. In the next few years, she hopes to visit as many countries as possible, and eventually land herself in Graduate School to study Dance and Production.
Rhiannon Roseman was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska and is proud to call this place her home. Her love for dance was ignited at Dance Spectrum Alaska where she studied Tap, Jazz, and Ballet for ten years. While in high school Rhiannon continued her dance training at Alaska Dance Theatre with a focus in Tap Dance under the instruction of Valerie Thurston. Rhiannon is currently studying Early Childhood Education, Children’s Mental Health, and Dance at UAA. In addition to her scholastic endeavors, Rhiannon is the Tap instructor at Alaska Dance Theatre, and is constantly inspired by her student’s love of dance. This is Rhiannon’s sixth dance production with UAA, her second year performing with Dance Ensemble, and is honored to be choreographing her first piece for UAA this fall.
Meghan Stanford is originally from Chippewa Falls, WI. She is a junior Theatre Major at UAA, with her studies focused around scenic design and technical direction. Her past credits include lighting design for pieces from New Dances 2016, Dance in Performance, and Middle Ground. She also designed for New Dances 2017 while acting as stage manager for the production. She hopes to pursue a job in the future that could incorporate her skills to create and entertain people, while also having fun with it.
- Production Photos
UAA Dance Ensemble is the resident student dance company at UAA. The purpose of the Ensemble is to replicate
the experience of being part of a professional performance company. Members of the
Ensemble typically work each semester with a recognized guest artist, are featured
in two concerts a year at UAA, and travel out of state to attend American College
Dance Association Conferences. 2017-18 Ensemble Members: Marissa Citro, Marlee Hughes,
Stephanie Lahn, Kimberly McGrath, Kristal Perez Aviles, Rhiannon Roseman