The dancers held a car wash on September 10th to raise funds for the annual dues for NHSDA (National Honor Society for Dance Arts) year. Dancers receive recognition on their college application and are eligible for nomination, by the Chapter Sponsor, to receive the NDEO Artistic Merit, Leadership, and Academic Achievement Award. We have had 3 dancers place at the national level for this award! NHSDA is the dancer’s honor society and a good way for dancers to receive recognition for their hard work in dance. We want to thank Mr. Bill Tyler and Chick-Fil-A in Greer for hosting the event.

Photography Instructor, Rod Fincannon, took photos of the dancers creating with their bodies numerals 0-9 to be used as the numbers for the month of January in the calendar that another faculty member, Jim Campbell, is designing. The calendar will also include photos from other departments from the Fine Arts Center and will be for sale later in the year.

Dancers are: Jacqueline Calle, Lael King, Coryn Owens, Maren Trofatter, Mattison Williams

Jacqueline Calle (Dance) attended the Lar Lubovitch Dance Workshop at Skidmore College for pre-professional and professional dancers in Saratoga Springs, New York this summer. The workshop was led by Lar Lubovitch and his ten-member dance company, which includes Brian McGinnis and Kate Skarpetowska who have been dance guest artists at the Fine Arts Center.

In repertory she learned Smoke Rings, which was a solo originally choreographed for Mikhail Baryshnikov, an excerpt from Legends of Ten, which is Lar Lubovitch’s newest work on the company, Cryptoglyph with music by Meredith Monk and two older works Marimba and Pardon My Affection and the duet Concerto 622.

Jacqueline saw the Lubovitch company perform Legend Of Ten, North Star and Coltrane's Favorite Things among others in lecture demonstrations. The Lar Lubovitch Dance Company also performed a full dance concert at SPAC (Saratoga Performing Arts Center). She also had the opportunity to see the New York City Ballet perform Balanchine's Apollo as well as Justin Peck's world premier of The Enormous Room at SPAC as well.

Photos: Jacqueline Calle, Brian McGinnis and Lar Lubovitch; Class during the Lubovitch Summer Intensive.

Mireille Fehler (Dance) attended the five-week Atlanta Ballet Summer Intensive this summer. The program was led by John McFall (artistic director) and Sharon Story (Centre's Dean). Mireille was also accepted into the American Ballet Theater’s (ABT) Summer Intensive in Alabama, but chose to attend the Atlanta Ballet program.

Photo of Mireille Fehler in partnering class during Atlanta Ballet's Summer Intensive

The FAC dancers Caroline Hafer, Kara Nichols, Anna Noble, Samantha Patterson, Kaitlyn Schultz and Hannah Winton and theatre tech student Andrew Mulkey took a field trip to Spoleto to see the Corella Ballet at the end of May. Jan Woodward and Dirk Holleman organized the trip, which also included a brief visit to the beach.

Samantha Patterson, a junior in Dance III, was a state winner in SC for the prestigious National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) Artistic Merit, Leadership, and Academic Achievement Award and earned high enough marks to be considered at the national level.

Samantha placed as a Finalist at the national level, which means that she is one of the top five in the nation to receive the award, one of the highest dance honors program in the US. Her solo, titled “Crutch” is on their website. For more information and to view her solo go to: www.ndeo.org

Gerri Houlihan, Professor of Dance at Florida State University and Interim Dean at the American Dance Festival, restaged her dance “Mercy” on the dancers in October. The dance was performed throughout the year and closed the concert on May 6th. The uplifting and fun dance is choreographed to music by Roy Orbison.

Joan Wadopian (dancer with Shen Wei Dance Arts) choreographed “Spatial 9” to music composed and performed by Free Planet Radio. The choreographic work was a collaboration between the choreographer and the dancers. The music was a little more challenging using counts in 4, 9 and 12. A grant from the Metropolitan Arts Council helped pay for the two-week residency to set the new work. We were fortunate that she was able to join us in the audience and on the stage for the May 6th concert.

Gerri Houlihan restaged her dance Mercy. Hebrides was choreographed for the dancers last year by Brian McGinnis and was performed again, but this time on a proscenium stage. Rebecca Lee choreographed Poppets and was invited onto the stage for bows.

Student pieces of choreography

FAC Dancers performed works by Rebecca Lee and Brian McGinnis in the FAC Dance Concert.