Joan Wadopian will be in residence at the Fine Arts Center from September 13-14. She has extensive performing experience with the dance company Shen Wei Dance Arts in the major venues world-wide. Shen Wei is currently one of the most important and celebrated choreographers and directors internationally in the field of dance. Ms. Wadopian has taught conservatory dancers to professional dancers throughout the country developing skills in dance technique, dynamics, and musical phrasing in such schools as the Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York City); Duke Ellington School for the Arts (Washington, DC); Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Performing Arts (Bethlehem, PA); and The Dalton School (New York City).

During her two-week residence (September 13-24) she will work in the studio each day with all of the dance students and will choreography a dance on the afternoon dancers to a piece of music composed and performed by Free Planet Radio, a music trio, which will be in residence at the Fine Arts Center working with student musicians and composers. Ms. Wadopian will perform with Free Planet Radio in an evening performance (September 23) at the Fine Arts Center, open to the public. Another level of collaboration is the fact that her father, Eliot Wadopian, is an award-winning bass player with Free Planet Radio.

An open rehearsal and informal performance for Fine Arts Center students and faculty is scheduled for September 23rd where she will give insight into her choreographic work and process. The dancers will perform to the rehearsal CD of one of Free Planet Radio's pieces and the the dancers will perform to the same piece of music played "live" by the Free Planet Radio musicans. We are expecting to have a lively discussion with comments, observations and questions from the audience as well as the performers. It is rare for two different arts disciplines to have this opportunity to interact artistically on such a personal and multi-generational level.

The life of this project extends beyond the two weeks Joan Wadopian is in residence as the Fine Arts Center dancers will perform the choreographed work in their dance concert May 6th. There may be other opportunities throughout the year for the dancers to perform the piece as well.

Brian McGinnis and Kate Skarpetowska perform in Boone, NC

Dancers and friends of Brian McGinnis and Kate (Katarzyna) Skarpetowska traveled to Boone, NC to see them perform with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company on July 16th. Brian and Kate performed beautifully in all three of the dances, but especially in the duet, "Prelude to a Kiss" in the dance piece Nature Boy: Kurt Elling, choreographed by Lar Lubovitch.

In the talk with the artistic director and choreographer, Lar Lubovitch after the performance, several in the audience wanted to know more about the duet and the dancers (Brian and Kate) as they thought that it was one of the most beautiful duets they had ever seen! They wanted to know how the two dancers made their dancing so seamless and fluid. The duet was definitely the highlight of the performance, not only in our opinion, but obviously many in the audience as well. Brian met with us following the concert.

Brian will be back in Greenville in early October and will be the featured guest in the Greenville District Dance Festival on October 9th.