Joan Wadopian was visiting dance artist at the Fine Arts Center for 8 days in February setting a work on the afternoon students and teaching master classes to the morning dance students. The choreography is set to music performed by her father, Eliot Wadopian and will be performed in the Dance Concert on April 27.

Since 2005, Joan Wadopian has worked as a principal dancer with the New York-based modern dance company, Shen Wei Dance Arts (SWDA), performing at renowned festivals and venues in the United States, Mexico, Europe, Israel, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. Prior to joining SWDA, Joan performed with the Kevin Wynn Collection and as a guest artist with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre. She trained extensively at the Alvin Ailey School, and holds a BFA from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase (2002). In addition to performing with SWDA, she teaches Yoga, Pilates and movement based therapy classes to senior citizens.

Photos are of Joan Wadopian with the afternoon dancers.

FAC students took a field trip to see KyleAbraham/Abraham.In.Motion on
Saturday, February 18th at the Chapman Cultural Center Theater in Spartanburg, SC.
Dance magazine called choreographer Kyle Abraham

“

equal parts power and grace

”

. The program describes Kyle Abraham as having diverse training in classical music, visual art and dance forms, from ballet to hip-hop which gives range and depth to a sleek evocative work that probes the complex relationships between identity and personal history. Pictured in the back row are Jessica Wilson and Ashley Gilbert, theatre tech students; second row are Kaitlyn Schultz, Kendall Roberson, Sydney Parker, and Tara Taylor, dance students; front row are Andreia Wardlaw, Briana Hunter and Carley Tomlinson, dance students. Mireille Fehler, Lael King and Mattison Williams, dance students, also attended the performance, but are not pictured. Dirk Holleman, FAC Theatre Tech Director, drove the FAC Activity Bus and the field trip was arranged by Jan Woodward.

FAC Dancers performed Mi Corazon Esta en Fuego, choreographed by guest artist Brian McGinnis, in the Fine Arts Center fundraiser: A Taste of the Fine Arts on February 3rd. Pictured is former FAC dancer, Peter Base, who is now dancing with CBT (Carolina Ballet Theatre) and Anita Sun Pacylowski-Justo, the Director of the School of Carolina Ballet Theatre, who attended the special event.

Andrew Kuharsky was our guest dance artist for a week (January 30-February 3) setting a new piece of choreography on the AM dancers. The new work is titled In Memoriam with music composed by Tomas Luis de Victoria. Mr. Kuharsky is the director of the Greenville Ballet School and Company and has been on the faculty of the Fine Arts Center, the S. C. Governor's School for the Arts, and Wright State University. He danced professionally with Joffrey II, The Atlanta Ballet, and Les Grands Ballets
Canadiens. His choreography has been performed by companies in
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Georgia, Alabama, Virginia, Kentucky, Vermont, Texas,
and Scotland.

Angela Gallo, Chair of Dance at Coker College, taught two master classes at the FAC on January 23rd. Her background is in the Limón technique, so students were able to work more deeply in that movement vocabulary in her class. The morning class explored partnering and sharing weight toward the end of the class. She spent a few minutes in both classes talking about the Dance program at Coker and answered questions about the audition process as well.

Rebecca Lee, a FAC Dance Alumna, was a guest artist at the Fine Arts Center October 17-21 and choreographed a dance titled Birr for the AM dancers. She came to the Winter Honors Showcase Performance to see the dancers perform her work on December 16th and is pictured with the dancers following the performance. Rebecca received her M.F.A. from Florida State University in Dance.

FAC Alumna, Amanda Porter, performed in both of the evening concerts of the Florida State University’s Days of Dance, which were two different programs. Amanda performed in Rick McCullough’s Cool Tunes! on Saturday evening and another dance work titled Awakening on Friday night, choreographed by an FSU student. Gerri Houlihan, who has been a guest at the FAC, and is a professor of dance at FSU, also had a lovely piece of choreography performed on the Friday concert. Photos are of Amanda Porter in Cool Tunes!, and the FAC students after the concert in the lobby of the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre.

Jan Woodward, who earned her M.F.A. in dance from FSU had time to speak with Patty Phillips, co-chair of the department and one of her professors in graduate school, and Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, who is the Founder and Artistic Director of Urban Bush Women and was named FSU’s 2011-2012 Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor, the highest award granted to FSU faculty.

The FAC students visit Annie Fox’s dorm room and ask her questions about being a dance major at FSU and what college life is really like. Blake Ulmer, an FAC graduate (2011) and current FSU dance major, helped set up the dorm visit and talked with the FAC dancers, as well. Annie, who comes from Philadelphia, is a freshman majoring in dance.

Following the tour of the Dance Department, Larry Gerber, Professor of Voice and Coordinator of the Voice Program in the College of Music, gave a tour of the Music building and facilities along with graduate student Heather Stuyverson. Larry Gerber was the first voice teacher at the Fine Arts Center and was Karen Parks’ first voice teacher. Karen Parks is the current voice instructor at the Fine Arts Center.