Sara Procopio was a guest artist at the Fine Arts Center from March 5-8. Her biography is below:
Sara Procopio is a Brooklyn based dance artist, teacher and arts administrator. She is a founding and current member of Shen Wei Dance Arts, as well as the company's Artistic Associate.
Sara began her dance training at the Center of Ballet & Dance Arts in Syracuse, NY, and studied extensively at the American Dance Festival, and at Hollins University where she earned both her undergraduate and master's degrees.
Since moving to New York in 2001, Sara has performed with Shen Wei Dance Arts at some of the most renowned festivals and venues in the world. In addition to repeated engagements at the American Dance Festival, Lincoln Center Festival, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Venice Biennale, Spoleto Festival and Jacob's Pillow, she has appeared with Shen Wei Dance Arts at the Dorothy Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in the Los Angeles Music Center; Zellerbach Hall/CalPerformances, Berkeley, CA; Sadler's Wells and the Barbican in London; the Israel Festival/Jerusalem; the Het Muziektheater/Amsterdam; the Sydney Festival; the Esplanade/Singapore; Movimentos Festival/Germany; Montpellier Festival/France; Melbourne International Arts Festival/Australia; the Hong Kong New Vision Festival; Palacio de Bellas Artes/Mexico City; and most recently on television in China via the Hunan Broadcasting System.
Sara teaches classes and workshops regularly throughout the U.S. and abroad as an independent teaching artist, and also for Shen Wei Dance Arts. Recent U.S. teaching engagements include Hollins University, Peridance Capezio Center, American Dance Festival, Marymount Manhattan College, The University of the Arts, P.S. 5, Park Avenue Armory, Dance New Amsterdam, and in Italy at the Paolo Grassi School of Milan.

Sara Procopio was visiting dance artist teaching master classes at the Fine Arts Center for four days in March. Ms. Procopio is currently a visiting artist at University of the Arts in Philadelphia and will be teaching at the internationally renowned American Dance Festival this coming summer in Durham, NC, which is held at Duke University.

Sara Procopio taught four days of master classes to the Fine Arts Center dancers (March 5-8) . Ms. Procopio is a founding member with Shen Wei Dance Arts and her classes were mainly based on the technique of Shen Wei. Shen Wei Dance Arts performed at Spoleto last June as well as at the American Dance Festival in July and just recently in New York City in December.

Sara Procopio talked to students, parents and our guidance counselor, Gloria Collins, about dance in college and careers in dance during her residency at the Fine Arts Center.

Photos are of guest artist, Joan Wadopian, with the morning dancers during the eight days of her dance residency in February. She taught master classes and had a question/answer session with them giving the dancers information about her career as a professional dancer, college dance programs, and auditioning. Joan Wadopian has had a successful dance career dancing with the renowned Shen Wei Dance Arts. Previously she performed with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre having trained at the Alvin Ailey School and receiving her BFA from the Conservatory of Dance at SUNY Purchase.

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.