Dances at MuCCC Mixed Bill 2

Saturday June 18 at 8:00 PM

purchase tickets at https://www.muccc.org/events/dances-at-muccc

Saturday June 18 at 8:00 PM

Mixed Bill 2

Provocative and dynamic dances by a range of artists

“UNDERNEATH” by ANTHONY ALTERIO, is one of those pieces that comes around once in a lifetime. It has something for everyone, dance lovers, movie lovers, pop culture lovers, and more. It is a piece that you can't explain with words, but understand when you see it, and when people ask you about it, well, you don't want to give anything away and tell them to see it themselves. 

ALTERIO is currently on faculty in the Theatre & Dance Department as Assistant Professor of Dance at State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia. He is a native of Pittsburgh, and began his professional dance training at The University of Colorado-Boulder, receiving a BA, double-majoring in Dance and Psychology and went on to attain an MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan. Alterio is a member of Interweave Dance Theatre, the resident company of the Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop as well as Co-Director of a summer dance intensive geared toward the LGBTQIA+ community called Excessive Realness.

ETHAN BECKWITH COHEN (Sacathenia Dance) will present a trio, a spin-off from a longer work concerning a mythological world and the characters within it.

DONNA DAVENPORT & MICHELLE IKLÉ have been dancing and choreographing together for many years. Their symbiosis drives this new work, “Pulse,” as they explore the intersection between inner impulses and musical rhythms. Underlying the choreography are years of teaching neuro-developmental patterns, somatic practices, and expressions of rooted jazz dance. Iklé (MFA, RSMT) is a native of Rochester; Associate Professor and Chair of Dance at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS); and Co-Director and Teacher Trainer at Eastwest Somatics Institute. Iklé specializes in jazz and modern dance forms, partnering, and somatic integration in technique classes and performance. She has performed extensively throughout upstate NY and received choreographic commissions for her somatically-derived choreography. Davenport (EdD, RYT), also known to upstate NY audiences, has presented choreography and performance at MuCCC for several years. She is a Professor of Dance, focused now on embodied activism, composition, movement science, and inclusive pedagogy.

A native of Rochester, JENNA HANLON graduated Summa Cum Laude from Slippery Rock University with a BA in Dance and a minor in Technical Theater. As a dual resident of NYC and Rochester, Jenna balances 3 careers as a professional Modern/Contemporary Artist, Theater Technician and Postural Alignment Therapist with The Egoscue Method. She draws inspiration from her acts of daily living; grounding down like earth, rising with the tides and free falling with the wind. With early roots as a competitive gymnast, Jenna is now an active yogi and adrenaline junkie. Her current work is built on a research based improvisational platform incorporating body mechanics. Hanlon writes:  The darkness will always reveal the light. "My soles do the listening, steps as light as air. The darkness unfolds. Is it me standing there? I escape through the trees, seedlings from the start. Rooted. Rising. Cracking open to start." “shadow realm” emerged during the pandemic with movement created word for word from the above poem (a snippet) crafted in response to an oracle card reading.

“Make it in the Most Simple Way” is a duet reaching to reflect on the gravity and impermanence of the physical self.  NANCY HUGHES is an educator, performer, choreographer, and event organizer. Her work has been performed across the United States and in France. Most recently Nancy has performed in work by JoAnna Mendl-Shaw, Paul Matteson, and Daystar Dance while choreographing for musicals including The Full Monty. She has received grants from NYS DanceForce, Northampton Arts Council, and Arts Services Initiative (ASI). Throughout the year Nancy produces events like Mission Improvable: Contact Improvisation (CI) Intensive and the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts (EVFA) Youth Performance Workshop. She has taught CI as an adjunct professor in SUNY Brockport‘s department of dance and teaches at Taylor’s Academy of Ballet. Residing in Buffalo, NY she performs in museums, homes, and silos.

“Day of Tragedy” by NATALIA  LISINA asks: “Why do people always invent enemies for themselves? We live under the same sky and on the same earth. What to share? There are no chosen ones ... This solo is a movement reflection on the War between Russia and Ukraine.”  Lisina was born in Kazan, Russia. She received her bachelor’s degree in dance at Kazan State University of Culture and the Art and continued her dance education at North Karelia College (Finland) and at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre (Canada). In addition to the American Dance Festival, Lisina has participated in training workshops and festivals internationally (Paris, Moscow, Vilnius). She danced as a member of the chamber ballet Panther, in Kazan, Russia. Currently she is a member of BIODANCE company in Rochester, choreographing and dancing professionally with different artists. She is an MFA student at SUNY Brockport and a teaching assistant.

NATALIE MARINO’s “Post Pose” is a narrative solo work, guiding the audience through a journey of self healing. The work explores the time and effort involved in recovery, and the high and lows of the process. As the work unfolds, movement evolves. This piece investigates the vague line between pedestrian gesture and refined movement. Marino is a dance artist, circus performer, choreographer, learner and dreamer located in Western, NY. She received her BFA in Dance, with a minor in Communication from SUNY Fredonia in 2021. Natalie spent the winter of 2022 workshopping at Iberostar Resorts in Cancun, Mexico. Her performance credits also include, "Peanuts Block Party" at Cedar Point. Natalie works with a small project based dance company; the company presented "Internet Man" at Dances at MuCCC 2021.

Austen Kelly & Jean Rubingu met in a class as dance majors at SOTA. Each had language challenges, one a Black refugee from Congo and one a White with an invisible disability. Despite their differences, they became friends and supported one another. Over the years their friendship deepened into being essentially brothers by choice. While they each have performed separately, they formed PARADIGM SHIFT DANCE as an "outside the box" collaboration to choreograph, teach, and perform serious dance art projects to challenge current thinking about dancers, dance, and what it means to be "fully human".  “Point of Contact” is a study of weight, geometry, and physics sharing one point of contact, contact never broken.

EMMA VOIT’s “Glitch” is an exploration of gender through the lens of technology. Like technology, the system of gender is fallible and prone to breaking. The binary isn’t a sustainable machine, as the gender experience is not always one option or the other. “Glitch” offers a perspective on what happens when gender meltdowns. Voit (She/They), currently residing in Buffalo, NY, is a recent graduate of SUNY Fredonia, where she earned her BFA in Dance. They’re a queer and genderfluid artist and performer, who’s original works explore different parts of her identity and life experiences. She has previously worked with Anthony Alterio on his works “Full Blown,” “FLUFF,” “Untitled No. 56,” and “Underneath.” Emma debuted “Glitch” as a Part of SUNY Fredonia’s Mainstage production of “New Works Now” and has traveled the piece to Ohio University for an ACDA Conference. She is grateful for the opportunity to present her work again.

Tickets $12 in advance, $15 at the door, $12 students and seniors

For further information:

https://www.facebook.com/dancesatmuccc

or contact dancesatmuccc@gmail.com

All programs subject to change.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts.

Photo courtesy of Natalia Lisina, “Day of Tragedy”