Each summer, professional dancers and choreographers travel to Milwaukee to participate in the UWM Dance Department’s renowned low-residency graduate program. The program is designed to enable artists to maintain their careers during the regular performance season, devoting the summer months to intensive graduate studies. While in residence, students share their work in a variety of ways. One student is chosen each summer to mount a fully-produced thesis concert at Danceworks: this summer Keely Garfield Dance will be featured. The annual Dancemakers concert brings together two programs of work by the graduate students, and provides an unequalled opportunity to check in on the work of several prominent and emerging choreographers from across the country. The calendar is also dotted with a series of MFA Thesis performances and class showings open to the public.

Tom Strini on the "Endless Energy of UWM's Dancers"

Keely Garfield Dance

at Danceworks

July 17-18, 2009

Location: Danceworks Studio Theatre, 1661 N. Water St.
Performances: Friday, July 17 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, July 18 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: To order tickets, call Danceworks at (414) 277-8480.

Keely Garfield choreographs poetically subversive dance sagas that illustrate subtle and seismic shifts in emotional and physical states. She brings her company from New York for her MFA thesis concert, featuring “Limerence,” a “dense, dark poem of a dance” (The New York Times) that premiered in New York in March 2008, and “First Attempt,” first performed on Dancemakers 2008. More information: www.danceworksmke.org

Dance Magazine press (pdf)
New York Times press (pdf)
New York Times press (pdf)
Keely Garfield release (doc)

Dancemakers

July 24-25, 2009

Location: UWM Mainstage Theatre, 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Performances: Each night will feature a different program.
Friday, July 24 at 7:30 pm (an informal reception follows this performance)
Saturday, July 25 at 7:30 pm
Tickets: To order tickets, call (414) 229-4308.
$10/general admission
$7/students, seniors and UWM alumni, faculty and staff

Dancemakers showcases work by the professional dancers and choreographers who travel to Milwaukee each summer to participate in the graduate program.

The formal concert will be preceded each evening at 7 pm by Kimani Fowlin's Wo-Mantra: The Goddess Project. MFA student Fowlin and her collaborators, artist Teri Wagner and vocalist Kyane Howland, invite you to join them in the Inova/Arts Center gallery (above the theatre lobby) for this participatory performance journey. See below for more performance information, and a related workshop

Read about John Mario-Sevilla's career decisions in the latest issue of MovingOn, the semi-annual newsletter of Career Transition for Dancers.

Christina Briggs Winslow
Georgy
Choreographed & Performance: Christina Briggs Winslow
Costume: Patti Gilstrap
Georgy is a movement portrait of a woman who is confined. Illuminated by a bare light bulb that hangs down to just above her head, she inhabits ideas of being isolated, confined to one spot, stuck on one path; slave to a driving rhythm and imbued with the desire to break free. There will a glimpse of freedom from this structure, only to be submersed back into dark.
About the Artist
Christina Briggs is from Virginia, where she danced with The Richmond Ballet and earned a BFA in dance and choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has danced with a variety of choreographers in New York, including Carrie Ahern, Pat Cremins and Heidi Latsky. Briggs is the co-director of Incidents Physical Theater with Edward Winslow. Their work has been performed in New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Georgia, and Virginia. As a teacher, she has taught ballet, modern technique, and modern partnering classes at several universities and private studios throughout the United States and in Austria and is currently. Briggs is an adjunct professor at Hofstra University.

Daniel Burkholder
Home
Choreographed & performed by Daniel Burkholder
Music: Philip Greenlief
Home is a meditative examination of the metaphorical and personal meanings of home. Source material was developed through free writing exercises that were used to create a history, context and a wealth of background of information. From this material two statements -- “Home is a nest” and “Home is my daughter's breath”-- are used as the the anchors for the two sections of the work. Whittled down to the essentials, Home combines pedestrian movement and striking visuals with supple movement phrasing and peculiar musical accompaniment to create an unexpected performance experience. Home is the first installment of a new work that will explore the personal narratives and societal issues of human migration and immigration.
About the Artist
Daniel Burkholder is a dance artist from Washington, DC who directs Daniel Burkholder/The PlayGround and co-directs Improv Arts, Inc. His work has been commissioned by The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and presented at theaters throughout the Metro D.C. Region, the Mid-Atlantic States as well as the San Francisco/ Bay Area and New York City. He currently teaches at George Washington University, Joy of Motion Dance Centers and is an artist-in-residence at the Lombardi Cancer Center at Georgetown University. Daniel is a Guild Certified Feldenkrais Practitioner and maintains a private practice.

Anna Marie Ewert-Pittman
Herrschaft
Choreography: Anna Marie Ewert-Pittman
Music: Kurt Weill. Lyrics by Ogden Nash.
Dancers: Anna Marie Ewert-Pittman, James Robey
About the Artist
Anna Marie Ewert-Pittman received a BFA in dance from Southern Methodist University. She has taught, choreographed and performed for many schools, companies, independent choreographers and venues. She is currently adjunct faculty at Brookhaven College School of the Arts.

Carey Foster
Trace Elements
Choreography: Carey Foster
Performers: Carey Foster, Julianna LaRosa, Eryn Mayfield-Smith
Music: 35th Parallel and 21st Century Duo
Costumes: Angela Rodriguez-Miller
Light & Set Design: Carey Foster and Iain Court
In this new work, Foster explores dimensions of shape, design, light and gesture.
About the Artist
Carey Foster is based in Boston, MA. She has toured nationally and internationally with Snappy Dance Theater, and performed throughout the Northeast with Prometheus Dance and Nicola Hawkins, among others. She currently performs with Sun Ho Kim and in her own work. In 2009, Foster was a guest artist at UMass Boston. In 2008, she was a guest performer with Sara Rudner, and David Parker & The Bang Group. Foster teaches at Walnut Hill School, Cambridge School of Weston, and for the Harvard Radcliffe Modern Dance Company. She received her BA from Southern Methodist University, and is working towards her MFA in Dance at UWM. She is grateful for her husband's deep love and support.

Cynthia Gutierrez-Garner
Urges
Music: Concerto #3 Sergei Rachmaninoff (excerpt)
Costumes: designed by Angie Vo, used courtesy of Gustavus Adolphus College
Urges is a trio set to an altered section of Sergei Rachmaniniff’s Concerto No. 3. The sweeping piano chords and supporting orchestral body inspired a range of movement as I explored the different physical directions that a dancer can be pulled in throughout their career. Whether by way of training by a variety of teachers or through the aesthetic of a given choreographer, dancers are constantly working towards fulfilling the vision of their director/choreographer/ teacher while at the same time uncovering their own stylistic preferences and impulses.
About the Artist
Cynthia Gutierrez-Garner received her B.F.A. Summa Cum Laude at the University of Minnesota in 1998. Her work has been produced in various cities including Minneapolis, Phoenix, New York City, and the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. From 1998- 2001, she served as the Choreographer in Residence for the Minnesota Dance Theater, under the direction of Lise Houlton. Original works by Gutierrez-Garner have been commissioned by Arizona State University, Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota State University, the University of Minnesota and the Zenon Dance Company, among others. Gutierrez-Garner’s work has seen support from organizations such as the Jerome Foundation, the McKnight Foundation, the Walker Art Center, and the Arizona Commission on the Arts. She currently serves as a Visiting Professor of Dance at Gustavus Adolphus College.

Kate Hewson
Threads of Memory
Choreographed by: Kate Hewson
Music: Tim Russell
Costumes: Linda DiRaimondo and Kate Hewson
Dancers: Alleen Hager, Kate Hewson, Marina Kelly, Ken Loud, Kristi Minahan, Luv Seamon, James Vogel
Puppets courtesy of Madtown Liberty Players
Based on Hewson's personal experiences growing up in South Africa, this dance theater work engages two opposing forces of memory; her conscious attempts to access memories of and reconcile herself with a tragic childhood event and her subconscious efforts to forget and obscure what happened.
About the Artist
Kate Hewson is a modern dancer and artist based in Madison, WI. She has also lived and performed in Belgium, England, and South Africa, her country of origin. She has presented her own aerial and modern choreography and performed with Li Chiao-Ping Dance, Jin-Wen Yu Dance, Connolly Dance Company, Cherry Pop Burlesque, and the Madison Opera, and in many works by local and national artists. Kate was a member of Cycropia Aerial Dance Company for five years, and teaches modern dance in the community. She has a master's degree in Image Studies (Visual Culture) and a BA in French and International Studies. In addition, she is a freelance web designer and arts administrator, and runs an interdisciplinary arts residency program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Amy Kail
Barrier Reef
Original music: Matt Aiken
Sculpture: Peter Bulow
A response to the American Masterpiece Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Barrier Reef engages with Ishmael’s mythic perilous adventure on a whaling ship. The three female dancers embody many aspects and images in the novel including the male characters, parts of the ship, the ocean, whales, the ship wreck and allusions to Greek myth but ultimately express the perspective of the women and widow’s who are left behind. Matt Aiken’s haunting percussion score encircles the dance with delicate tones and discordant acoustical rhythms.
About the Artist
Amy Kail’s dances have been presented in NYC by The Kitchen, Dixon Place, Joyce SoHo, The 92nd Street Y, Alice Tully Hall and Here Arts Center. Her dances have also been shown in summer festivals and universities such as The White Mountain Summer Dance Festival and Brown University. As a dancer, Amy has worked professionally with numerous choreographers including Anna Sokolow, Barbara Mahler and Ruby Shang. Currently, she is a Teaching Artist with Lincoln Center Institute, The Joyce Theater Education Program and Orchestra of St. Lukes in NYC. Amy graduated from the Juilliard School with a BFA in dance.

Kate Kuper
Just Looking
Dancers: Anna Marie Ewert-Pittman, Olase Freeman, Amii LeGendre, Alison Leonard
Music: Larry Goldings, Youssou N'Dour, Kaki King and Evelyn Glennie
Who decides whatis meaningful and what's not? What do we do for ourselves and what do we do for others? So many questions and just one dance.
About the Artist
Kate Kuper is a Teaching Artist, a Kennedy Center Workshop Presenter and Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Dance at the University of Illinois. At UIUC, Kuper focuses on community outreach, dance education, and audience development. She is the founder and director of the Creative Dance for Children program and presents an annual lecture series called “Viewing Dance: Enriching the Audience Experience.” She has received Choreographic Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Illinois Arts Council, and the Chicago Council of Fine Arts.

Holly Jaycox & Kate Digby
PolyEsthers
Created and Performed by: Holly Jaycox & Kate Digby
Music edited by: Seth Warren-Crow
PolyEsthers is the first collaboration of Holly Jaycox and Kate Digby. The two met in 2008 in UWM's Dance MFA program and found they shared an affinity for fingers. Turns out they also like aerobicizing to 70s remixes, crawling upside down, and exiting. This summer, they've put it all together in a mysterious work that dances along the underbelly of elegance with lighthearted gravity.
About the Artists
Kate Digby is a dancer and choreographer living in NYC. She is currently performing with David Parker and the Bang Group (thebanggroup.org), Erika Batdorf/Moleman Productions (batdorf.org), and directs her own company Digby Dance (digbydance.org). But, her favorite job is being mom to 5-month old Bahiyyih.
Holly Jaycox explores movement, expression and creativity through both choreography and improvised performances. She has created and participated in many such performances primarily in Midwestern locations including Madison, Wisconsin, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chicago, Illinois and Detroit, Michigan. Holly is a founding member of TransSonic Music, a multi-disciplinary improvisational performance group that includes percussionists, vocalists, spoken word artists, visual/video artists and two dancers. She is also a founding member of and teacher in GLACIER, the Midwest's Contact Improvisation organization. Holly lives outside Lafayette, Indiana, where she is an adjunct instructor in the dance division at Purdue University, teaching technique and working with the resident modern dance company.

Joel Valentin-Martinez
Who cares! Just another...
Choreography: Joel Valentin-Martinez
Costume design: Joel Valentin-Martinez
Music: Tacvba:12/12, by Kronos Quartet and Cafe Tacvba
This piece is a work in progress and it is a reflection of the times we live in. It is about the Mexican and Mexican-American experience. This is about one mans struggle to exist in a society that continue to reject and at times dehumanize him. In this piece we find our character in an imaginary Caribbean town, in Mexico, where time, space and history are compressed for the pleasure of the modern tourist.
About the Artist
Joel Valentin-Martinezis a Sr. Lecturer in the Department of Theatre at Northwestern University where he teaches courses in contemporary dance and world dance genres. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, he grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area where he initiated his studies in dance. From 1990-2003 he performed nationally and internationally as a member of Garth Fagan Dance (Tony and Bessie award winner). His dance piece Tlatelolco Revisited (2008) was commissioned by Luna Negra Dance Theater and performed at the Harris Theatre, Chicago. As a choreographer he has collaborated with the visual artist, John Jota Leaños, with his multi-media opera Imperial Silence: Una Ópera Muerta/A Dead Opera in Four Acts (2008), which premiered at the World Theater in Monterey Bay and continues to tour throughout California. He has been a guest artist around the country, including S.F. State University where he mounted his piece, Brasos y Abrazos (2009). Mr. Valentin-Martinez has also served as rehearsal director for residencies by Delfos Danza Contemporánea, Nora Chipaumire and Robert Moses. At Northwestern University he mounted his work, Ask me in the morning light (2009), which was selected by the Joyce Foundation in New York City for The A.W.A.R.D. Show! 2009. He also reconstructed Nora Chipaumire’s Groundswell for the 2008 Danceworks concert and choreographed the musical SPUNK as part of the mainstage season. Prior to arriving at Northwestern University, he taught at Arizona State University and the University of Rochester.

MFA Thesis Performances

All events are free.

Leonard Cruz: The Perfect Whisper

July 11-12, 2009

Location: UWM Studio Theatre, 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd.
Performances:
Saturday, July 11 at 4 pm
Sunday, July 12 at 7 pm

East meets West with meditation and improvisation in Leonard Cruz’s MFA thesis performance, The Perfect Whisper. The idea of spiraling in Southeast Asian thought and practice is a movement meditation, and a symbolic echoing of energy on many different levels: planetary orbits in our solar system, protons and electrons dancing around a nucleus, the rhythmic beating of our hearts. Cruz choreographs and performs with three other men and one woman: Simon Andreas Eichinger, Olasebikan Freeman,Javier Marchán and and Fareedha (Kai’) Williams-Appah. The men will transform themselves into the cycles of the four seasons as well as the four elements (Earth, Water, Wind and Fire), as the woman portrays Mother Earth.

Kimani Fowlin: Wo-Mantra The Goddess Project

Performances: July 24 & 25, 2009 at 7 pm

Workshop: July 26, 2009 at 1 pm

Location: Inova/Arts Center Gallery (above theatre lobby),
2400 E. Kenwood Blvd.
More info/RSVP: (646) 245-8521

Performance
Graduate student Kimani Fowlin, in collaboration with visual artist Teri Wagner and vocalist Kyane Howland, offers Wo-Mantra: The Goddess Project, prior to the Dancemakers performances on July 24 and July 25. The three artists have come together to create a visionary performance journey, a Goddess Walkabout, to promote a healing environment/presence for all participants. The audience will be encouraged to participate in this engaging work that requests your input and energy.

In this stimulating and corporeal performance the audience will have an opportunity to create their own yoni clay bowls that symbolize love, peace and wholeness. Fowlin, Wagner and Howland will summon the goddess spirit in an abstract format. They will lead the audience on a journey through the transformed gallery space. As a gesture of manifesting the affirmative, the audience will be encouraged to contribute to a Goddess Altar. All levels of dance, art and music experience are welcome

The fascination of the Goddess and her presence throughout the world has been a life-long passion of Kimani’s:“I search for her presence whenever I travel. I am touched by this powerful feminine icon.  The reclaiming of the maternal and feminine in an effort to restore balance in this patriarchal structure is a constant quest that I am always embarking on.” She looks forward to sharing her Goddess exploration with the Milwaukee public.

Workshop
Fowlin and her collaborators, artist Teri Wagner and vocalist Kyane Howland, offer a free Wo-Mantra workshop. Activities will include the sound quest - Humming Mothers; the writing quest – Wo-Mantra; the perfect picture – Shape It; and Mandala book-making. Experience an hour of your physical self expression and affirmation of the Wo-Mantra given by Fowlin, Wagner and Howland.

Kimani Fowlin, a Native New Yorker and co-founder of ChoreoConcepts, Kimani was selected as a choreographer to compete in the American College Dance Festival in Columbus, Ohio. She co-directed M’Zawa Danz from 1995 to 2000 with Maia Claire Garrison; during this time she choreographed and performed as an independent artist with Ronald K. Brown, David Rousseve, Youssef Koumbassa, Andrea E. Woods, Souloworks, Umoja Dance, Harambee Dance Company, Antibalis (a 15-member Afrobeat orchestra). She has toured and performed at Joyce Soho, The Brooklyn Museum, Wave Hill, SOB’S, Long Island University, Miami Dade Performing Arts Center, The National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Dance Place and The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Kimani has performed internationally in Lima, Peru where she received a grant to teach, choreograph and perform. She had the great honor of collaborating with acclaimed composer and percussionists Manongo Mujica and Julio Chocolate Algendones. Her work abroad also includes performing and teaching in Russia as part of the Fifth International Festival of Movement and Dance on the Volga, performing in Ghana for Panafest 2003 and choreographing and performing in Greece with funk R&B band Milo Z in 2006. As an AFAA Certified Group Fitness Instructor she teaches at Crunch. She is also on the teaching staff at Rutgers University at Mason Gross of the Arts Campus, Sandra Cameron Dance Center and Community Works. Kimani premiered recent works at Dance Theater Workshop in February 2008 and at BAX in November 2008. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Dance at UWM, where she last premiered Café Study #1&2 at Dancemakers showcase in July 2008. Her most recent work premiered in June 2009 at Escualita’s in NYC. Kimani deeply thanks Teri, Danny, Seth, Simone, Janet, Ferne, Iain, Kyane, UWM Dance Department, Jay, Micki, Daniel, Cynthia, Sandra Cameron Dance Center, all those who contributed to the work and her family and friends for assisting her on this artistic journey.

Teri Wagner, MFA, is an artist and an educator. She is Chair of the Master of Arts in Visual Studies at Cardinal Stritch University. This is a program she designed and teaches in, that is now serving its eleventh cohort of students who are also art teachers working in the field. Teri makes art in many media including sculptures, textiles, paintings and digital works. Her art works have been shown in juried and invitational shows regionally, nationally and internationally. Most recently, she had a one-person show in Weimar, Germany and an invitational show in Bavagna, Italy. Her works also won a prize in a juried show at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Teri has conducted work shops and lectured widely, including at the Bauhaus-Universitat in Weimar, Germany; Wesley Institute in Sydney, Australia, and Pieve International School in Perugia, Italy. Teri has had an abiding interest archetypes of the Feminine that continues to inform her art practice.

Composition 1 and 2 showing

July 29 at 1:30pm FREE

Location: Mitchell 254, 3203 N Downer Ave.