Render, a short evening of new and evolving works by established choreographers Hansen, Roffe, and Aceto

Friday Render, a short evening of new and evolving works by established choreographers James Hansen, Heather Roffe, and Melanie Aceto.

June 15 @ 8 PM

James Hansen performed for 15 years with both modern and ballet companies in and outside New York City and is an Associate Professor and Undergraduate Program Director in the Department of Dance at The College at Brockport. He is an internationally accomplished choreographer and teacher who has been commissioned to create dances by professional dance companies including Cuerpo Escrito Danza in Santiago, Chile, the Pennsylvania Dance Theater, Moving Currents in Tampa, Thread Meddle in Chicago, and Second Wind Dance Company in Norfolk and by numerous universities including Ohio University, University of Washington in Seattle, and Case Western Reserve. He has been produced by several prestigious dance festivals including two summers at Jacob’s Pillow Inside/Out, the Toronto Fringe Festival (fFIDA), the International Dance Festival in New York City, The American Dance Guild Festival, Yes Virginia Dance, The Pasadena Dance Festival, DUMBO Dance Festival in Brooklyn, the National ACDFA conference at Washington DC’s Kennedy Center, and for two years at Encuentro Internacional de Danza-Teatro in Chile. His work has received enthusiastic reviews across the United States. Lisa Jo Sagolla of Backstage NY described Pulse as “full of blood,” “grippingly aggressive,” and “a wonderful example of how much the human body can communicate.” Leona Baker of Portfolio Weekly in Norfolk, VA described Three Olive Martinis as a “spiritual and tormented duet” that was “gifted and mesmerizing.” Julinda Lewis of The Richmond Times Dispatch described White W(h)oles as “breathtakingly sexy with startling lifts and the violent impact of a tango.” Marty Clear of the St Petersburg Times wrote Ophelia’s Reclamation “delivered lasting impact” and Erika Kinetz of the NY Times described Fade to Snow and Gray as a “thoughtful meditation on group dynamics.” Since founding James Hansen/Assemblage Dance, Hansen has received over $40,000 in grants for his choreography including support from New York State Council for the Arts and the Puffin Foundation. (photo courtesy of James Hansen)

Heather Roffe, MFA, is an Associate Professor and the Program Director of Dance at Nazareth College. Roffe is an active scholar in the field of dance, presenting nationally and internationally on Dance Pedagogy, Somatics, and Dance and Feminism, guest teaching in academic and professional venues, and creating choreography as part of her creative/academic research. She has performed nationally and internationally with the Garth Fagan Dance Company, and at Jacob’s Pillow, the International Dance Festival, and the American Dance Guild Festival, in her own work, with Bill Evans Dance Company, FuturPointe Dance, and Assemblage Dance. Roffe’s choreography has been presented in venues across the country and internationally, and has been commissioned by dance companies and college programs. Most recently, her choreography was presented in the International DUMBO Dance Festival in NYC, October 2017, at MAD Festival in November 2017, and at Montclair State's Northeast ACDA concert in March 2018. Roffe’s choreography has been described as “entertaining...but with a cutting edge...a sharp one,” (Carlsen, City Newspaper, 2012) “Her choreography is fascinating to behold, shifting from style to style. The movements are sometimes so different that it seems impossible that they spring from the same mind.” (Rezsnyak, City Newspaper, 2014) (photo courtesy of Heather Roffe)

Melanie Aceto is a dancer, choreographer, educator and researcher whose creative interests are in interdisciplinary solo and large group works. Melanie’s choreography has been performed internationally in Toronto, Guatemala, and Germany; nationally at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and at venues in Philadelphia, North Carolina, Atlanta, Virginia, and Kentucky; in NYC at The Kitchen, the Studio Museum in Harlem, Ailey CitigroupTheater, The Duplex Cabaret and John Ryan Theater, among others; and in Buffalo, NY at venues including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and the Burchfield Penney Arts Center. Current research projects include Choreographic Lineage, a web-based resource presenting the lineage of dance artists.www.choreographiclineage.buffalo.edu. Earning her MFA in dance from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Melanie is currently an Associate Professor at the University at Buffalo. www.melanieaceto.com (photo courtesy of Melanie Aceto)