By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Even Exchange Dance Theater of Raleigh will perform on the first night of the festival, Friday, Nov. 6. Photo by Robin Gallant
Contact: (336) 334-4314
Posted 10-15-09
GREENSBORO — On Nov. 6 and 7, UNCG will kick off the 19th year of the state’s premiere dance event, the North Carolina Dance Festival.
The concerts, each with a unique program, begin at 8 p.m. in Aycock Auditorium, 408 Tate Street. Free parking is available in the lot behind the Weatherspoon Art Museum.
Tickets cost $15 for general admission, $12 for students and seniors, and $9 for UNCG students. A special rate of $6 per person is available for groups of 10 or more. For reservations and further information, call the UNCG Box Office at (336) 334-4849.
The N.C. Dance Festival is organized and directed by the North Carolina Dance Project under the direction of Jan Van Dyke, chair of the UNCG Department of Dance. In addition to dance performances, the festival offers outreach classes in every community it visits.
The festival strengthens dance in the state by cultivating audiences, nurturing leadership in the field, and providing opportunities for performance and education. After opening in Greensboro, it will travel to Boone, Raleigh, Charlotte and Wilmington.
Joan Nicholas-Walker will be among the performers on the festival's second night, Saturday, Nov. 7. Photo by Carmon Rinehart
On Friday night, works by Eleanor Smith of Raleigh, Cyrus Art Production of Greensboro, Even Exchange Dance Theater of Raleigh, Kinetic Works Dance of Charlotte and Helen Simoneau of Winston-Salem will be featured.
Saturday’s concert will showcase dances by Kim Jones of Charlotte, Natalie Marrone of Raleigh, Joan Nicholas-Walker and Courtney Greer of Raleigh, Cindy Mancini of Rocky Mount and Van Dyke Dance Group of Greensboro.
Choreographers and Companies
Eleanor Smith received her BFA in dance from Florida State University and her MFA from UNCG. She is a member of Raleigh’s Rainbow Dance Company and has performed with the John Gamble Dance Theater and B2 Tribe from Greensboro. She has been invited to be an artistic associate with Even Exchange Dance Theater for the 2009-10 season.
Duane Cyrus, director of Cyrus Art Production, is an assistant professor at UNCG. He holds a BFA from the Juilliard School and an MFA from University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana. He has performed with the Martha Graham Dance Company, with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and in the original London production of “The Lion King.”
Even Exchange Dance Theater, a collaborative modern dance company, has been an artistic presence in Raleigh since 1997. Founding members have collectively danced for more than 160 years and have degrees from NYU, VCU, ECU and Meredith College. Their work is informed by training in art, design, modern dance, yoga, Body-Mind Centering, tai chi, contact improvisation, music, engineering and a sense of humor.
Martha Connerton, director of Kinetic Works Dance, has toured with the dance festival four times in the past decade. Choreography credits include NY Theater Ballet, American Ballet Theater II, Louisville Ballet and NC Dance Theatre. Kinetic Works’ education programs are in demand throughout the Carolinas in the form of KINETYX Dance Ensemble, Active Learning Performances and KINETIKids Artist in Schools.
Helen Simoneau is a native of Québec, Canada. She graduated from the NCSA with a BFA in contemporary dance and trained at the Laban Centre in London. She served as adjunct faculty at the NCSA from 2004-08 and is pursuing an MFA in dance at Hollins University/American Dance Festival. Upcoming performances include a 10-day tour of Germany in the fall.
Kim Jones received her MFA from Florida State University and her BFA from Marymount Manhattan College. She has danced with the Martha Graham Dance Company (2002-06), with the Metropolitan Opera Ballet (1998-03) and in the U.S. Tour of “The King and I” as a principal dancer (2005). She is a full-time lecturer at UNC-Charlotte and has taught at the Martha Graham School, The Ailey School, and The Place, in London.
Natalie Marrone received her MFA in choreography from The Ohio State University in 1998, the same year she founded The Dance Cure and began her field research on southern Italian folk dance in honor of her Italian American heritage. She is an adjunct assistant professor at Elon University and is a principal college dance consultant through her consulting company Dance Decisions.
Since receiving degrees in dance from George Mason University (BFA) and The Ohio State University (MFA), Joan Nicholas-Walker has worked as a performer, choreographer, instructor and arts administrator in several states. She choreographs, teaches part-time at Meredith College and provides administrative assistance to a local dance company. She resides in Raleigh with her husband and two daughters.
Courtney Greer graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts with a BFA in contemporary dance and holds a certification in Pilates. She teaches at Enloe High School (Raleigh) and has taught at N.C. Governor’s School, NC State University and the UNC School of the Arts. Her work has been produced at dance festivals both regionally and internationally.
Signature Dance Ensemble, resident company at The Imperial Center in Rocky Mount, was established in 2006. Artistic Director Cindy Mancini trains the dancers and choreographs for this emerging troupe. Classical technique provides the foundation for innovation in style and aesthetic partnering blended into an unexpected theatrical experience.
Jan Van Dyke is director of the Jan Van Dyke Dance Group and produces the N.C. Dance Festival. A 1993 Fulbright Scholar, Van Dyke spent a semester teaching dance in Portugal and was awarded an N.C. Arts Council Choreography Fellowship the same year. In 2001, she was honored by the North Carolina Dance Alliance for contributions to the development of dance in the state. Head of the UNCG Department of Dance, she was recently honored by Dance Teacher Magazine with the 2008 Dance Teacher Award for Higher Education.
