February 4th Fine Arts Center dancers took a field trip to see the Merce Cunningham Dance Company’s final performance in North Carolina at the Durham Performing Arts Center. The company will disband in December 2011, which is two years after Merce Cunningham’s death. The dancers saw the company perform Sounddance (1975), Duets (1980) and Biped (1999).

Merce Cunningham’s dance company was formed at Black Mountain, NC in 1953 and influenced American art and the avant-garde. He worked with musician and composer John Cage and artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns.

On Friday the dancers visited UNCSA in Winston-Salem, NC where they were able to observe a partnering class and have a campus tour. On Saturday morning the dancers visited Duke University where the acclaimed American Dance Festival is held every summer.

Photos were taken on the campus of Duke University.

The FAC chapter of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts inducted new members on Friday January 21^st. The NHSDA is part of the National Dance Education Organization with a chapter in South Carolina. For more information: www.ndeo.org The new members are Caroline Hafer, Rhiannon Laymon, Coryn Owens and Samantha Patterson. Charlotte Brown and Lauren Pittman earned the Star Award.

Rebecca Lee is setting a dance work on the AM class. She is a graduate of the FAC and recently earned her MFA from Florida State University. Photos are of Rebecca rehearsing the dancers.

Gerri Houlihan was our visiting dance artist October 18-23 during which time she restaged one of her choreographic works Mercy on the FAC afternoon dancers. The dance is in several sections set to music performed by Roy Orbison. She is currently a Professor of Dance at the Florida State University and serves as Interim Dean at the American Dance Festival. Ms. Houlihan has an extensive and impressive biography having attended Juilliard at the beginning of her senior year in high school, performed with renowned dance companies such as the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company as well as directing her own dance companies for many years.

She teaches company classes for the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater when she is in New York and was the mentor of Robert Battle, who has been named the new Artistic Director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. She has trained dancers who are now dancing is the major dance companies throughout the world. Joan Wadopian, one of our previous guest artists this year, loves taking her classes, too, which she does when Shen Wei Dance Arts performs at ADF during the summer.

The photos are of rehearsals with Gerri Houlihan during her residency.

Gerri Houlihan was our visiting dance artist October 18-23 during which time she restaged one of her choreographic works Mercy on the FAC afternoon dancers and taught two master classes for the morning dancers. We were fortunate to have Don Shabkie accompany the master classes on the keyboard. Photos are of the technique class with the AM dancers.

Brian McGinnis was the highlighted guest artist at the Greenville Dance Festival held October 9th, where he taught the FAC dancers in the advanced modern /contemporary dance class. The photos were taken during his master class at the Greenville Dance Festival.

Twenty-five (25) FAC dancers as well as other dancers in the Upstate participated in the 5^th Greenville Dance Festival on October 9th, which was held in the FAC and Wade Hampton High School. FAC dance students took classes with Brian McGinnis in modern dance/contemporary, Japanese with Toshiko Joerger, Classical Indian dance with Krishna Kumar Venkataraman and Sivakami Bhavnandnan, dance improvisation with Dr. Stephanie Milling, African dance taught by Melina Palumbo, ballet with Andrew Kuharsky, and yoga with Janice Batson and Brian Delaney. Other classes at the Festival were English Country dance with Eve King, improvisation with Jennifer Becker and Cathy Maschek, and jazz with Michelle Bays. A lecture/demonstration was held at the end of the day with dancers performing Classical Indian, Japanese and African dance.

Brian McGinnis was choreographer and artist in residence at the Fine Arts Center from October 4-8. He set a new choreographic work on the PM dancers, titled “Terminus”, which is very fast-paced to music by Frederic Chopin. “Terminus” is the last section in the dance 3 Shorts of 8, which he choreographed during the week of his Greenville residency for three different groups of dancers. The first section is “Orsa” which he choreographed for the ARMES dancers, the second section is “Medius” which he choreographed for the FAC AM dancers, and “Terminus” which is the last section, for the PM dancers. The photos were taken during the PM rehearsal with Brian.

Brian McGinnis was choreographer/artist in residence at the Fine Arts Center from October 4-8. He set a new choreographic work on the AM dancers and also taught them master classes. Brian’s piece is a very sculptural adagio. The photos were taken in class rehearsing the new dance piece.

The evening performance with Joan Wadopian and Free Planet Radio in the black box theatre at the Fine Arts Center, was packed! The solo dancer and the 3 musicians improvised together so that they truly became 4 instruments. It was a rare opportunity for Joan and her father, Eliot, to perform together.

Strings students performed with Free Planet Radio as did FAC faculty Dr. Jon Grier and Steve Watson. The four-day residency and performance with Free Planet Radio was made possible by a grant from The Braitmayer Foundation.

The two-week choreographic residency with Joan Wadopian was made possible in part by a grant from the Metropolitan Arts Council.