ADF Presents: Acts to Follow June 16, 2007, 8 pm

Baldwin Auditorium

After the performance, take your shoes off and join us on stage for a Dance Party as we celebrate five years of discovering dance made locally!

2007 Acts To Follow

alban elved dance company/KAROLA LUTTRINGHAUS, From !Hey!, Dancer: Karola Luttringhaus, Photo by Jeff Cravotta.

alban elved dance company/KAROLA LUTTINGHAUSalban elved dance company/Karola Lüttringhaus presents live performances of contemporary dance and engages in a broad range of residency activities. Featuring the works of German choreographer Karola Lüttringhaus, the company tours contemporary dance theater works nationally and internationally, from solos to group pieces for as many as 12 dancers. Lüttringhaus creates athletic and theatrical contemporary dance works, which seek to shape meaning from the rich array of emotional experience. Her work is fiercely physical, tracing the changeable electricity of thought and sensation that underlies human interaction and interpersonal relationships. The interdisciplinary nature of Lüttringhaus's works—which frequently incorporate live music, digital media, aerial work, and technologies—expands the boundaries of dance performance, creating startling and evocative psychological landscapes. The company’s repertoire is very diverse, containing works for the traditional stage as well as site-specific pieces for indoors and outdoors. Formed in Berlin, Germany in 1997, the company celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. The Classical Voice of North Carolina wrote, “… Marked by an unpretentious athleticism and a philosophic quality … the dances are closely reasoned sequences that exploit the physics of movement for its emotional resonance. Not pretty but often beautiful, Lüttringhaus's dances depend on the proud power and flexibility of the dancers' bodies—and their joint and mutual willingness to risk themselves.” “!Hey!,” presented at this year's Acts To Follow series, is a self-portrait. The creation of “!Hey!” was supported by H.D. Lüttringhaus, Studio 'Fit & Well' (Berlin, Germany), The Thomas S. Kenan Foundation for the Arts, Margaret Scales and Graydon Pleasants, The Academy of Dance Arts and Wanda Plemmons, Bob and Florence Turner, mad duck productions Graphic Designs, Swiftwater Media, and others.

(from left to right): Srija Yarlagadda, Dhanya Sandeep, Teja Yarlagadda, Shilpa Nagaraj and Swapanthi Nagulpally with (center) Jayanthi Balachandran-teacher & choreographer

Passionate about developing a deep understanding of Indian Classical Dance, Jayanthi Balachandran trained for many years in Bharathanatyam, one of the seven classical dance styles of India. She underwent training under Mrs. Chitra Visweswaran, one of India's leading classical dancers. Well-versed in not just the technical aspects, Balachandran has studied Indian classical dance theory, conducting a recital, choreography, stagecraft and teaching methodologies and has performed and taught in India and the U.S. for solo and group productions. Believing firmly in the universal language of dance, Balachandran currently enjoys teaching dance in universities, schools, and arts organizations to students of various ages through workshops and lecture-demonstrations, wherein she inculcates her message, “Dance Transcends Barriers.” She has successfully formulated her unique “Speaking Through Dance” sessions, wherein she incorporates her eloquent public speaking skills coupled with dance movements to educate audiences and bring to life a 2000-year-old art form. She is an Adjunct Faculty member in the Department of Dance at Meredith College and serves on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Dance Alliance. She is a recipient of the Regional Artist Grant from the United Arts Council of Raleigh and serves as a Grants Panelist for the same. Balachandran has choreographed in the Bharathanatyam style, highlighting the mimetic and rhythmic aspects that are unique to this style of dance. Her vibrant and talented dance ensemble presents a poignant hymn, “Lead us from untruth to truth; from darkness to light; from mortality to immortality. Let there be peace throughout the world,” followed by a “Thillana,” a fast-paced, rhythmic number comprising sculpturesque poses, mirroring those from the temples of India, and complex footwork coupled with intricate formations.

photo by Michael Church

Founded in 2005, Caroline Calouche & Co. developed from a successful independent project called Dimension, which drew an audience of everyone from college football players to professional artists into the University Theater at Texas Christian University to see an evening-length dance work in October 2000. Since then, Artistic Director Caroline Calouche has continued to produce her choreography for festivals and dance companies in North Carolina, Texas, Germany, and Austria. Her unique, genuine, and physical choreographic voice has been praised by many throughout her artistic career. Caroline Calouche & Co. was formed with the mission of creating an arts organization dedicated to producing and promoting contemporary dance choreography in conjunction with multi-disciplinary artistic collaborations. The goal is to build cross-cultural dialogues with dance as a means to unite and educate the global community through an exchange of philosophies and methods. The company is a non-profit organization recognized under the IRS tax law of 501©(3). Currently, Caroline Calouche & Co. is touring its newest evening-length work, Risk, which has been performed in Gastonia, Charlotte, and Greensboro. The company has also presented repertory works in festivals such as the North Carolina Dance Festival, Piccolo Spoleto, and the ADF’s Acts to Follow series. Caroline Calouche, Artistic Director, began her training under Pat Wall at Gaston Dance Theatre in Gastonia, NC. She furthered her dance education at Texas Christian University, where she graduated with B.F.A. degrees in Ballet and Modern Dance. In 2004 she received a North Carolina Regional Artist Grant to further her dance and choreographic studies in New York City and Brussels, Belgium. From these experiences, she was accepted into the International Choreographic Exchange Program at the Salzburg Experimental Academy of dance for post-graduate work in choreography. After her studies and work in the U.S. and Europe, Calouche felt that it was time to establish her contemporary dance company in her hometown of Gastonia. Along with creating new works for Caroline Calouche & Co., she has choreographed for the Dance Department in the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Salzburg Experimental Academy of Dance, Gaston Dance Theatre, and Contemporary Ballet Dallas. Her work has been performed in the U.S., Austria, and Germany at festivals such as the American Dance Festival, Fort Worth Contemporary Dance Festival, North Carolina Dance Festival (Charlotte only), Piccolo Spoleto Dance Festival, and the Greensboro Fringe Festival. In addition, Calouche has collaborated with talented emerging directors to produce an independent film (Dandelion), a play (Enigma), and an evening-length dance production (Dimension). Calouche has performed with Martha Connerton/Kinetic Works (Charlotte, NC), Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth (Texas), and Contemporary Ballet Dallas (Texas). She has taught dance, GYROKINESIS®, and Pilates at The School of North Carolina Dance Theatre, The School of Gaston Dance Theatre, and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She currently works in the Education/Outreach Department as the main Teaching Artist for NCDT and serves on the Arts Education Committee for the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public School System. Calouche is also the creator and director of the Charlotte Dance Festival.

photo by Aaron Sandler

Choreo Collective is a collective of Triangle-area modern dancers and choreographers. For ten years, Choreo Collective has provided a supportive, nonjudgmental environment for choreographers and dancers to explore the creative process, experiment with new ideas, develop their artistry, perform and present work, and gain valuable administrative and production experience. Choreo Collective has also worked to present innovative and accessible performances that draw a diverse audience and build awareness and interest in dance in the general public, and to build and support the community of artists in all disciplines in the Triangle area by creating opportunities for artists to perform together, connect with each other, and collaborate. “Legacy: In Progress” has been developed by the members of Choreo Collective as part of a larger collaborative project exploring the theme of “legacy” from a variety of perspectives. This section of the project examines the idea of personal legacy: how we hope to establish it, the forces that shape it, how it changes over time, and the extent to which we are ultimately able to control it.

photo by Dominque Reade

A Durham native, Allison Daniels blends modern, contemporary, jazz, ballet, and ethnic dance to create a unique choreographic style which reflects her interests in performing arts as a choreographer, performer, and educator. Training at a local studio as a child, Daniels had the opportunity to perform with Chuck Davis’s African American Dance Ensemble and take David Howard technique classes at Duke University. Dance became her outlet to worlds and cultures besides her own. Twenty-four hours after high school graduation, Daniels made the life-changing decision to attend the ADF, bringing modern dance into her life. At the ADF, she studied with Donald MacKayle and was chosen to perform in Talley Beatty’s repertory. Daniels attended Alvin Ailey American Dance Center in New York City on a talent-based scholarship and learned the intricacies of modern dance from luminaries such as Ana Marie Forsythe, Denise Jefferson, and Joan Peters. While at Ailey, Daniels was selected for a solo choreographed by legend Kelvin Rotardier. She returned to North Carolina during breaks to choreograph and teach for various organizations and schools, including the Durham Arts Council. Allison left New York City to become a member of Durham-based Laura Dean Musicians and Dancers. Now residing in North Carolina, Allison is a freelance choreographer starting nosi dance theater, teaching daily at Legacy Studios, and performing at various venues. Her goal is to get dance the exposure it deserves by creating works of relevance, rawness, and excitement to engage a broad spectrum of audiences. Allison Daniels will premier “promise…”, a choreographic work that blends dramatic movement and heartfelt soul as it contradicts itself by interweaving introverted contractions with extroverted releases, supple theatrics with energetic purpose, and soft expression with raw music. As an emotional journey, “promise…” opens with disappointment as two Women find themselves facing the demise of their individual dreams of love. As anger sets in, more Women join them to figuratively smack their past lovers thru each musical accent, creating a struggle to remain in control. They quickly delve into self-loathing and ultimately give up on themselves. Meanwhile, other Ladies have been watching them and appear onstage during the musical transition. The Ladies try to explain and convince the Women that sacrificing themselves is not an option. Both Ladies and Women grow together in their support of one another and realize the promising optimism in their own lives.

photo by Sallie DeEtte Mackie

Lauren Winslow Kearns is the Artistic Director of the recently formed kearns dance project, a professional company dedicated to making new dance, multimedia performance, and dance for the camera. She was the former artistic director of bodytalk dance, a Los Angeles-based repertory dance company that toured from 1999-2006. Kearns is a national and international choreographer, having choreographed over forty professionally produced pieces and receiving twenty-two grants and fellowships to support her artistic and scholarly projects. Her second dance video, Everywhere I Look, is part of the permanent collection at the Jerome Robbins Dance Division of the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts at Lincoln Center in New York City. As a performer, she has danced for numerous New York and Los Angeles-based choreographers and received her Screen Actors Guild card for principal work in a national commercial. In addition to her choreographic career, Kearns is the Coordinator of the Dance Program and Assistant Professor of Dance at Elon University in Elon, NC. Prior to this appointment she was the Director of Dance and a tenured faculty member at Rio Hondo College in Whittier, CA, where she received the 2004 California Dance Educator of the Year Award and was featured in the July 2004 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine. Kearns has an M.F.A. in Dance and an M.A. in Dance Education from UCLA and holds national certifications in Vinyasa Flow Yoga and Classical Pilates. Seeing. Meeting. Connecting. These words describe “Swinging on a Bench,” a new duet choreographed by Kearns and presented at Acts to Follow.

For more information on kearns dance project, please go to www.womenarts.org and search on Kearns.

Photo by Allan Anderson

Christine Kiernan graduated from Columbia College in Columbia, SC, with a B.F.A. in Ballet. She was a founding member of Random Dance Company, Columbia’s only modern dance company at the time, and adjunct faculty at Columbia College. After the company disbanded, she performed with the Power Company, a new modern dance company in residence at Columbia College. While pursuing her M.F.A. in Performance and Choreography at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro she was the recipient of a graduate teaching assistantship, teaching ballet, modern, and jazz technique, as well as dance appreciation. She was awarded her M.F.A. in Performance and Chorography in 2005. Currently, Kiernan is adjunct faculty at UNC-Greensboro, works for the North Carolina Dance Project as an arts administrator, and teaches at Weaver Academy of Performing and Visual Arts. In addition to performing and choreographing independently, she performs with the Jan Van Dyke Dance Group and has been a member of John Gamble Dance Theater since 2003. Most recently, her choreography has been shown in Physical Initiation at the Greensboro Cultural Arts Center and in The Greensboro Fringe Festival. Kiernan will present “Besides,” which features an original score created by Matt Snellgrove.

Anna Smith Milling started dancing in her hometown of Corning, NY, under the instruction of Lois Welk. Milling has been a creative spirit from birth and loves to explore all types of art and expression. While attending Appalachian State University her concentration was dance and expressive arts therapy. She transferred to Meredith College, where she earned her B.A. in Dance with a concentration in performance and choreography. Milling is also a visual artist who enjoys drawing and creating with paint, clay, and jewelry. Milling has performed in community works with American Dance Asylum, Sean Curran, David Dorfman, and Liz Lerman. Since moving to the Triangle she has performed with many local choreographers and companies, including Carol Finley, Jess Shell, Katherine Ferrier, Post Cards Project Dance, Nick Walk Dance Project, Choreo Collective, and Immediate Theater. Milling is currently a dance educator for Wake County Public School System and sells art on the side. She attended the ADF in 2004, performed in Acts to Follow with Jess Shell in 2006, and is glad to be a part of the experience again this year. “–Ion” is a work in progress that is based on internal feelings and how they affect time and relationships. This piece was created in collaboration with with dancers, Marissa Boisvert and Nikki Pilson.

photo by Heather Nabors

Heather Nabors received her M.F.A. in Choreography from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and her B.A. in Dance from Coker College in Hartsville, SC. Since 2005, she has been an adjunct dance faculty member at Greensboro College, where she teaches jazz, modern, choreography, and dance ensemble. Nabors is also a part-time Program Director for the North Carolina Dance Project and a dance instructor with City Arts Dance. Her work has been presented at The Saturday Series, Greensboro Fringe Festival, and the UNC-G Dance Department Alumni Concert. “Conversational Interludes” (2006) is a duet performed by Nabors and Christine Kiernan. It is work about being trapped in a never-ending conversation. The piece is performed to the music of Lou Harrison.

photo by Robert C. Coghill

Karla Finger Coghill is the Artistic Director of Sidelong Dance Company. Formed in 1999 in Winston-Salem, this professional company draws on the expertise of dancers living and working in the local community. The company has presented thirteen evening length programs to the public since its formation. Sidelong Dance Company has also performed with the North Carolina Dance Festival, The North Carolina Dance Alliance Annual Event, and the ADF’s Acts to Follow. Coghill received her M.A. in Dance from American University where she was later appointed as an adjunct lecturer. While at American, Coghill was honored with a graduate teaching fellowship as well as the Evelyn Swarthout Hayes award for her outstanding contribution to the arts. Prior to founding Sidelong Dance, she performed extensively with Washington D.C. companies Shadowdance and D.C. Dance Theater. Her choreography can be seen in the repertory of Project:Motion in Memphis, TN; Sister's Trousers Dance Company in Sterling, VA; and Mt. Airy Dance Theater in Mt. Airy, NC. Coghill has also set pieces on students at Salem College and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem; Dance and Company in Harrisonburg, VA; and the Suitland High School Visual and Performing Arts Center in Maryland. Coghill is currently teaching dance at the Academy of Dance Arts in Winston-Salem and at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and has taught previously at Wake Forest University. Sidelong Dance Company will perform Karla Finger Coghill’s “Your call is important to us…,” a piece set to a telephone sound collage and the music of Antonio Vivaldi. Through movement and text, Coghill delves into the deep-seated frustration and hopelessness felt when trying to talk to a real live (not recorded) human being at a telephone customer service center. Buttons are pressed. Choices are made. Can one achieve closure, find resolution, or at the very least make contact?