ArtsConnection's artists are committed to teaching and presenting the arts in a manner which facilitates the learning process and educational experience for all students. Students not only develop artistic skills, for example, but reflect on and assess their creative work as they go -- a process which is a natural part of all creative endeavors and one which can be transferred to academic learning and other activities.
Austin Dancers introduce students to the Swing Era (1935-1942), when the Lindy Hop was created, the "big band" sound reigned supreme, and dancers, vocalists, and bands gravitated to the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem. The history of this remarkable era comes alive as the dancers swirl and stomp to the music of Count Basie, Duke Ellington, and others. The show also includes Linda Austin, a female percussionist who adds a lot of rhythm to the performance. She collaborates with a tap dancer creating rhythms through drum and tap.
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This exciting ensemble of dancers and musicians is dedicated to sharing the rich heritage of Haitian folklore. The name "Bhathalah" refers to an aspect of Ogou, the God of Iron, who is very strong and plays a protective role in the community -- especially in regard to children. Under the direction of dancer Lionnel St. Surin, the performers in this troupe have realized a varied repertoire which provides an enlightening and exuberant journey through Haitian culture that is enjoyable for audiences of all ages and backgrounds.
Daniel Catanach
Daniel Catanach was born into a large Hispanic family and raised in Santa Fe, N.M. Catanach's ballet style is highly influenced by his Hispanic heritage, as well as the Native American cultures of the Southwest. He uses the classical form of ballet and various other forms of expression, to form a unique dance theatre supported by music and prose. Adding the influences of the inner-city, he has created a dance theatre vocabulary that embraces the cultural experiences of his rural upbringing and his current urban environment. Catanach works to take this classical dance form and use it to express modern societal issues.
Chinese Folk Dance Company
The Chinese Folk Dance Company is the highly regarded professional performing company of The New York Chinese Cultural Center (NYCCC), a community-based arts organization located in New York's Chinatown, that provides performances, classes, and workshops in traditional Chinese dance, movement, music, and visual arts for people of all ages. The Company is comprised of highly accomplished artists/teaching artists: dancer Amy Chin; dancer Beibei Gu; dancer and choreographer Xiaoling Yang; and visual artist George Chang. Noted for its high quality art education programs, the Company performs across the country in over 500 programs each year at theaters, schools, libraries, parks and community centers.
www.chinesedance.org
Andrea Del Conte Danza España
Andrea Del Conte is a nationally recognized performer, choreographer and teacher and the Director of Andrea Del Conte Danza España. She has studied Spanish dance in Madrid and New York City and has performed with Maria Alba, Estrella Morena and the New York City Opera. Ms. Del Conte is a recipient of Attitude magazine's Ethnic Dance Award for 1996 and a 1997 National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Award for excellence in teaches. She has been a guest artist at the Manchester Arts Center in Vermont and currently teaches at Lotus Music & Dance Studios in New York City. Del Conte's work Habanera is included in Francisco Millan Romero's documentary film of flamenco around the world.
Margot Faught
Margot Faught has worked extensively as a dance educator, arts project consultant, and choreographer throughout the country for the past 20 years. She received a B.S. and M.S. from Indiana University. Her consulting work and teaching affiliations include The Kennedy Center, Very Special Arts, Eastern New Mexico University, Indiana University, San Jose Museum of Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art, National Dance Association, and Joetsu University, Japan. Choreography credits include Kaleidoscope Dance Company of Seattle, Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis, and the Weathervane Theatre in Whitefield, NH. Along with her work for ArtsConnection, Faught is a teaching artist and a facilitator for professional development workshops for teachers at City Center.
Foot & Fiddle Dance Company
Foot and Fiddle Dance Company was founded in 1981 by choreographer and dancer Pat Cannon, who is the Director. With this group of talented dancers and musicians, Cannon has charted the genesis of American music and dance by demonstrating the multicultural origins of traditional, rural and urban dance forms. The evolution of these forms is demonstrated by blending Appalachian clogging and tap dance with Western square dance figures, Southwestern dance-hall styles, French Acadian music, and urban jazz and swing dance. The company's first international performance was in 1989 for the people of Lockerbie, Scotland. Other international touring credits include the Biennale de la Danse in Lyon, France; two world cruises aboard the QE2; and the First International Tap Dance Festival in Moscow, with performances in St. Petersburg and Siberia.
Footprints Dance Company
Footprints Dance Company, a New Jersey-based modern dance company, was established in the fall of 1990 by Freddie Moore and Ray Tadio. Acclaimed for delivering its message of faith with creative vitality, powerful dance technique and exuberance, the members of Footprints are highly trained in modern, classical, jazz and ethnic dance. The Company's dancers have performed with world-renowned dance companies such as The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theater of Harlem, Donald Byrd/The Group, Martha Graham, Forces of Nature, and the Dallas Black Dance Theater among others. Since its founding, the company has performed in numerous community-based organizations including arts centers, churches, schools, prisons, and health and juvenile facilities.
Martita Goshen
Martita Goshen was born in Montevideo, Uruguay of American parents, and spent the early part of her life in Latin America and Europe. Ms. Goshen has studied with choreographers Charles Weidman, Twyla Tharp, Anna Sokolow, The José Limon Company, and Pilobolus, as well as with teachers Margaret Black, Pam Probisco, Zena Rommet and Christine Wright. Ms. Goshen has collaborated with a wide range of contemporary artists. Her recent works have used the music of David Darling, Steve Reich, Glen Velez, Kevin Volans; the words of naturalist/writer Barry Lopez, and the paintings of artist Carol Anthony. Ms. Goshen's dance company, Earthworks, strives to deepen environmental awareness and ecological literacy through performances, workshops, and arts-in-education programs.
Julie Ludwick has a Masters Degree in Dance and Dance Education from Teachers College. She worked for ArtsConnection for four years helping to design and document curriculum involving dance, music and theater. Prior to that, she worked with the New York City Ballet on a middle school project that included dance and language arts. She is the founder and director of the Fly-by-Night Dance Theatre.
Louis Mofsie
Louis Mofsie is the director of the Thunderbird American Dancers and a member of the Hopi and Winnebago tribes. He received his M.A. from Hofstra University and taught art for 35 years at the Meadowbrook School in East Meadow, New York. Mofsie has curated exhibits at the Whitney Museum of American Art, and other venues. He has been a guest artist at the Walker Art Center and has shown his own work at the Philbrook Art Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Woodards Museum and the Gallup Ceremonials, both in Gallup, New Mexico. Mofsie has illustrated the books The Hopi Way, Coyote Tales, and Teepee Tales and choreographed productions for the Lincoln Center Repertory Company, the Mercer Arts Center, and Theater for the New City. He has made several recordings, including Songs and Dances of the American Indian, and Authentic USA 1, and has lectured at the Museum of Natural History, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Columbia University, Wesleyan University, and New York University, among others.
Freddie Moore
Dancer Freddie Moore, is currently on faculty at The Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, Robin Horneff's Performing Arts Center, and William Paterson College. Mr. Moore has received national and international recognition as a choreographer and teacher and has performed throughout the United States and Europe. He is also the Artistic Director of the Hudson Repertory Dance Theater. Mr. Moore performed with the Alvin Ailey Repertory from 1987 to 1990. He has also performed with Donald Byrd/The Group, Forces of Nature, and the Blue Mercury Dancing Company, among others. He has toured with a revival of the Broadway musical The Wiz. His television credits include The Colored Museum directed by George C. Wolfe and The Lighthouse, a Very Special Arts TV Special.
Jessica Nicoll
Jessica Nicoll, a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College, is a dancer, choreographer, and teacher. She has appeared with Kei Takei's Moving Earth, Phyllis Lamhut, and Stephen Koplowitz, among others. Her own choreography has been presented at Performance Space 122, The Kitchen, the 92nd Street Y, and elsewhere throughout New York City. She teaches children and adults at Spoke the Hub Dance Company and the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center. She has been a guest lecturer at Sarah Lawrence College, the Dance Education Laboratory, and the New York Foundation for the Arts Common Ground series. Since 1990 she has been designing and leading staff development, dance education training, and family workshops around New York and throughout the United States.
¡Retumba!
¡Retumba! (Resound!) brings to audiences the joy of life as experienced through the gift of diversity in its presentation of folkloric music and dance of Puerto Rico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba and Brazil. ¡Retumba! demonstrates the similarities and links of Caribbean music to Africa and Europe. As an all-female, multi-cultural dance and percussion ensemble, the group emphasizes the strengths and sensitivities of women performing together. Formed in 1981, ¡Retumba! has performed at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall with Pete Seeger, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, Central Park's Summerstage, and at colleges and universities throughout the tri-state area. ¡Retumba! is:
Yvette Martinez, Director, dancer and choreographer
Nancy Friedman, Musical Director, composer, and percussionist
Robyn Lobe, dancer, choreographer, and percussionist
Rod Rogers Dance Company
The Rod Rodgers Dance Company, founded 28 years ago by Rod Rodgers, has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad. The company is best known for their dance theater which explores and celebrates the Black experience and for unique, contemporary rhythm dances in which the dancers create the score with hand held instruments as they move. RRDC was sponsored by the United States International Communications Agency for a six week tour to Senegal, Nigeria, Zaire, Kenya, Zambia, Syria and Portugal, and more recently was featured in an International Festival of Contemporary Dance in Mexico City.
Amparo Chigui Santiago
Raised in the New York City Public School system, Ms. Santiago began her training in District 4 in a program which has grown into the Repertory Dance Company. She moved on to become a principal dancer with the internationally acclaimed Chuck Davis Dance Company and later for Fred Benjamin and Forces of Nature. Trained in Senegal and New York and in workshop sessions with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, she has toured throughout the Americas, Europe, Russia, and Africa, performing or choreographing for such artists as Miriam Makeba, C & C Music Factory, Alyson Williams, Tribal House, Urban Soul, Angelique Kidio, and Cameo.
Tsai Fung
The members of Tsai Fung are:
Lu Yu
Actor Lu Yu, is the Executive Director of the Tsai Fung Dance Company and the Director of the Performing Arts Division of Arts Resources for Teachers and Students, Inc. A co-founder of La Mama and the Yangtze Repertory Company, both in New York, Yu is a graduate of the National Academy of Arts in Taiwan in drama and cinema. He is also trained in ballet and classical Chinese dance. He has starred in television shows including CBS's Due South and produced and hosted radio shows including World Today for Voice of America in Hong Kong. Mr. Lu holds an M.S. in Education from Long Island University. His acting and choreography credits include the Four Seas Players of New York, the Downtown Music Theatre, and the Berkshire Theatre Festival.
The Rod Rodgers Dance Company, founded 28 years ago by Rod Rodgers, has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and abroad. The company is best known for their dance theater which explores and celebrates the Black experience and for unique, contemporary rhythm dances in which the dancers create the score with hand held instruments as they move. RRDC was sponsored by the United States International Communications Agency for a six week tour to Senegal, Nigeria, Zaire, Kenya, Zambia, Syria and Portugal, and more recently was featured in an International Festival of Contemporary Dance in Mexico City.
Amparo Chigui Santiago
Raised in the New York City Public School system, Ms. Santiago began her training in District 4 in a program which has grown into the Repertory Dance Company. She moved on to become a principal dancer with the internationally acclaimed Chuck Davis Dance Company and later for Fred Benjamin and Forces of Nature. Trained in Senegal and New York and in workshop sessions with the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow, she has toured throughout the Americas, Europe, Russia, and Africa, performing or choreographing for such artists as Miriam Makeba, C & C Music Factory, Alyson Williams, Tribal House, Urban Soul, Angelique Kidio, and Cameo.
Tsai Fung
The members of Tsai Fung are:
Lu Yu
Actor Lu Yu, is the Executive Director of the Tsai Fung Dance Company and the Director of the Performing Arts Division of Arts Resources for Teachers and Students, Inc. A co-founder of La Mama and the Yangtze Repertory Company, both in New York, Yu is a graduate of the National Academy of Arts in Taiwan in drama and cinema. He is also trained in ballet and classical Chinese dance. He has starred in television shows including CBS's Due South and produced and hosted radio shows including World Today for Voice of America in Hong Kong. Mr. Lu holds an M.S. in Education from Long Island University. His acting and choreography credits include the Four Seas Players of New York, the Downtown Music Theatre, and the Berkshire Theatre Festival.
Qi Shu Fang
Qi Shu Fang started learning Peking Opera with her sister, Chang Mei Chuan, well known for martial roles. Ms. Qi then studied at the Shanghai Dramatic School. After winning the first prize in a competition for rising actors, she won accolades from Mei Lan Fang, regarded as the greatest master of the art, for Fighting Thrice Again Chang Yeuh Wo. Traveling to Japan and Europe, her performance in the Flaming Phoenix won acclaim at Hamburg's International Drama Festival and from the Paris Soir. In Japan, she is regarded as "one of the most beloved and familiar" of Chinese opera actresses. She now brings her special talents, and those of her colleagues from Shanghai, to American audiences.
Ding Mei Kui
Ding Mei Kui was born to a family with four generations' experience in Peking Opera. Beginning his training at the age of six, he entered the Shanghai Drama School in 1958. In addition to his martial roles as the Monkey King and the lead in The Three Forked Pass, Ding is recognized as among the foremost director/choreographers in the field. In Japan, aficionados have formed a study club to follow his special style stressing the characterization of personalities, rhythms of speech and action, and beautiful stage scenery. His interpretations of The Flaming Phoenix and The Legend of the White Snake have won high praise in Hamburg and Vienna. In an entirely different sphere, Mr. Ding choreographed a West Coast staging of Mr. Butterfly.
Margaret Yuen
Margaret Yuen is the founder and director of her own company and school, the Red Silk Dancers and Young Dancers of Chinatown, Inc. Ms. Yuen has performed and presented numerous concerts and programs in schools, museums and community centers throughout the tri-state area. As a teacher and choreographer, Ms. Yuen has worked many years with the American Museum of Natural History developing in-depth cultural curriculums for schools and has done residencies for the Atlanta Chinese Dance Company, the Chicago Youth Center and Boston's public schools. Ms. Yuen's work in promoting harmony through dance has been featured on CBS, ABC, ACV and the Chinese Television Network and was recognized by a "Pioneer in the Arts" award from the NYC Council President in 1993.
Qi Shu Fang started learning Peking Opera with her sister, Chang Mei Chuan, well known for martial roles. Ms. Qi then studied at the Shanghai Dramatic School. After winning the first prize in a competition for rising actors, she won accolades from Mei Lan Fang, regarded as the greatest master of the art, for Fighting Thrice Again Chang Yeuh Wo. Traveling to Japan and Europe, her performance in the Flaming Phoenix won acclaim at Hamburg's International Drama Festival and from the Paris Soir. In Japan, she is regarded as "one of the most beloved and familiar" of Chinese opera actresses. She now brings her special talents, and those of her colleagues from Shanghai, to American audiences.
Ding Mei Kui
Ding Mei Kui was born to a family with four generations' experience in Peking Opera. Beginning his training at the age of six, he entered the Shanghai Drama School in 1958. In addition to his martial roles as the Monkey King and the lead in The Three Forked Pass, Ding is recognized as among the foremost director/choreographers in the field. In Japan, aficionados have formed a study club to follow his special style stressing the characterization of personalities, rhythms of speech and action, and beautiful stage scenery. His interpretations of The Flaming Phoenix and The Legend of the White Snake have won high praise in Hamburg and Vienna. In an entirely different sphere, Mr. Ding choreographed a West Coast staging of Mr. Butterfly.
Margaret Yuen
Margaret Yuen is the founder and director of her own company and school, the Red Silk Dancers and Young Dancers of Chinatown, Inc. Ms. Yuen has performed and presented numerous concerts and programs in schools, museums and community centers throughout the tri-state area. As a teacher and choreographer, Ms. Yuen has worked many years with the American Museum of Natural History developing in-depth cultural curriculums for schools and has done residencies for the Atlanta Chinese Dance Company, the Chicago Youth Center and Boston's public schools. Ms. Yuen's work in promoting harmony through dance has been featured on CBS, ABC, ACV and the Chinese Television Network and was recognized by a "Pioneer in the Arts" award from the NYC Council President in 1993.
