BY BRENDA MARTINSON, Dance major
Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Department of Theatre & Dance is preparing for another
Fall Dance Concert with performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 7, and 2:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 8,
in the Ted Paul Theatre.
The Dance Concert will be very versatile due to the wide variety of artists who will be showcased. The concert
will consist of works by Director of Dance Dr. Julie Kerr-Berry, faculty member Daniel Stark, ballet teacher and
guest artist Gabriel Anderson, and guest artist from Minneapolis, Penelope Freeh. Along with faculty work, there also will be
student work showcased at the Fall Dance Concert. Sophia Pimsler, Michelle Collins and Brenda Martinson were selected to show
choreography for the Fall Dance Concert. Student work will also be shown in the Student Showcase at 2:00 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 9, also in the Ted Paul Theatre.
Kerr-Berry started the dance program at Mankato State and is now the Director of Dance. She is well known
not only in the Minnesota dance world, but really, the entire dance world. She was recently nominated for Dance Educator
at the Sage Dance Awards in Minneapolis and is continually putting work on the stage. Kerr-Berry’s piece this semesteris called Tribe. Her motive behind the piece is to
give stage time to all dancers and she said her piece is based around the idea of a circle.
The dancers for the piece are Alexandra Bennett, Shareen Brazil, Matilda Buffum, Lexi Chouinard, Jordan Erickson,
Meagan Gerber, Amber Hommer, Megan Marcy, Brenda Martinson, Montana Mattieson, Angelica Morales, Brooke Neville,
Sergio Peredia, Heather Rudd, Gerae Stack and Amy Wilson. Kerr-Berry gets a sense that the end product will be one that is of an
urban tribe of people in a city. The city is non-specific in terms of location, but entails three sections.
Stark gained recognition for his piece Crash, which was performed at the Kennedy Center for the Performing
Arts in Washington, D.C., in May 2012. His new piece has 10 dancers: Michelle Collins, Bridget Carlson,
Sydney Burch, Alexis Heruth, Alexa Lautenbach, Emily Magnuson, Jessica Erickson, Jordan Erickson, Adelle Vietor and
Brooke Neville. They were chosen at an audition in lateAugust. Stark explained that the dance was first built on movement, and now
he is determining what that movement is trying to say. Stark believes
the content of this new work is based around the extremities of emotion and how to reveal the reasoning
behind emotions.
“We may try to label or put justification on emotion as well because of our rapid emotion swings, but do we
really know why?” asked Stark. He is still exploring what this work means to him as well as the dancers, saying that it is still in process
and that everyone involved plays a role. He hopes that his movement will connect with the audience and
also challenge his students as artists.
Anderson is a new face at Minnesota State University this fall. Anderson is the new ballet teacher for the
dance department, but has also brought a creative mind to the stage with choreography. Anderson’s dancers
include Chris Jones, Michelle Collins, Sophia Pimsler, Sydney Burch, Alexis Heruth, Alexa Lautenbach, Emily
Magnuson and Jessica Erickson. Anderson’s artistic direction has steered more towards trying to capture and sculpt a mood in
the subtle movements of the dancers. As far as the idea behind the piece, Anderson said it is about the concept and
questioning of progress. “The initial idea for this piece centered on the concept of progress, questioning its purpose, and its
purported benefits,” Anderson said. Anderson said he wanted to continue to work with the movement and it is
still in process, but his end goal was to get the audience thinking.
Freeh is an ongoing artist who is well known for dancing with James Sewell Ballet. Freeh also is an adjunct
ballet teacher at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The dancers who have been carefully selected for this fall’s guest
artist piece are Michelle Collins, Bridget Carlson, Sydney Burch, Alexis Heruth, Alexa Lautenbach, Emily Magnuson,
Jessica Erickson, Jordan Erickson, Adelle Vietor and Emily Higgins. The understudy for this piece will be Lauren Sieverson.
This will be a new dance that Freeh will be creating on students. Freeh has not indicated a theme or title. The theatre and dance department
have asked Freeh to work in a ballet-based movement vocabulary, but it can be on
any topic she chooses. The work will bring a taste of ballet to a concert that is more modern based.
Collins is a new Bachelor of Fine Arts dance major this fall. “Parallel Dream,” is a piece she has continually refined
and worked on this past semester. The dance features Collins as well as Paul Montalvo. Collins said her piece is
ever-changing, but is created around the concept of being manipulated by sources. “The piece incorporates the grace and
elegance of ballet into modern and involves many lifts throughout,” said Collins. Collins said her piece is very
acrobatic and she is excited to see how the movement continues to progress in different spaces
and how it will look on stage as well.
Pimsler, a junior in the dance program, has created a dance with the title of “Floccus.” Pimsler has
choreographed for both the Fall and Spring Student Showcases in the previous year, one of which was featured
at American College Dance Festival 2012 in Madison,WI. Pimsler has performed in the Fall and Spring Dance
Concerts, but has never had a piece of her choreography on the main stage. Pimsler said the theme of “Floccus,” is about
a community emphasizing with one another while exposing each individual’s true identity and feelings. Pimsler’s
dancers are Jordan Erickson, Brenda Martinson, Emily Higgins and Emily Magnuson.
Martinson, a sophomore in the dance program, is also performing in her own dance, “Trial 5812.”
Martinson has performed in the Fall and Spring Dance Concerts in 2011 and 2012. Martinson’s dance, “Trial 5812,”
is one she has
worked on since May last year, but she said it has continually been changing in movement and meaning. Martinson said
this piece is devoted to showing how to deal with trials and find a heart of perseverance. The numeral, “5812,” is based upon the
58th book of the bible, James. Martinson said her movement challenges the audience to look beyond the current
circumstances people all face and see the hope tomorrow brings.
As far as movement goes, there are many different types of dances this fall. Each choreographer and
performer has a story to tell within a concert that involves many voices. The Fall Dance Concert will be very versatile
due to the wide variety of artists who will be showcased. Sophomore dance major, Amy Wilson said, “All of the dances
are different and still in process, but the end product will be one worth seeing.”
The 13 Minnesota State University, Mankato Dance students who performed in faculty member Dan Stark’s piece, Crash (2010), at the American College Dance Festival Association regional conference in Madison, WI, March 28-April 1 get another chance to perform when they head to Washington, D.C., and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Gala Concerts May 25-27. Two years ago, the last time selections were made, Stark’s piece Politics Religion Sex was selected.
Twenty-five Minnesota State Mankato students attended the Regional Conference at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. The festival included 500 participants from around the country. Crash was first selected to the Gala concert for the conference, along with eight other dances. Then it was selected from those to perform at the Kennedy Center.
Says Stark: “Performing at the Kennedy Center is an artist's dream and represents accomplishment at the highest level. By [attending] this event, our students will be given an incredible opportunity, will gain knowledge and experiences that will be brought back and used to foster growth of our Minnesota State Mankato dance community, and will create recognition of our Dance program at the national level.”
Dancers in Crash are: Chris Jones, solo; Joseph Crook and Nicole Einerson in duet; and Sydney Burch, Shareen Brazil, Bridget Carlson, Brittany Ford, Alexis Heruth, Emily M.X. Higgins, Alexa Lautenbach, Jaclyn Vlasak, Geneva Walters and Kayla Wittstein. Faculty designers are: George E. Grubb, sound, Steven Smith, lighting, and Catherine Schmeal-Swope, costumes (based on original designs by Jessica Guthrie).
In addition to Crash, student Sydney Burch’s piece, Introductions (2011) was performed at the adjudicated concert. It featured performers Burch, Heruth and Lautenbach, with sound by Grubb, lighting by Smith and costumes by Schmeal-Swope.
Also, Sophie Pimsler choreographed a dance that was performed in the Informal Concert: 21 Blues (2011). Dancers were Pimsler, Heruth, Lautenbach, Alicia Olson and Amy Wilson.
ACDFA's membership currently stands at over 300 institutions. According to the national website:
“The National College Dance Festival highlights, on the national level, the outstanding quality of choreography and performance that is being created on college and university campuses by bringing together schools from all over the country to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The 30 participating schools have been selected by nationally recognized adjudicators at each of the 11 ACDFA regional conferences. Selections are based on outstanding artistic excellence and merit.”
A past Andreas Guest Artist, fancy dancer Larry Yazzie
The Department of Theatre & Dance will host its second High School Dance Workshop from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, in the Performing Arts Center studios. Registration is open now by clicking here; more communication and finalized schedule to follow based on enrollment numbers.
For more information, contact the Department.
• Zenon Dance Company
• Flying Foot
Forum
• Zorongo Flamenco Company
March 1: Flying Foot Forum Dance Company; clogging and hambone, and some jazz roots.
March 30: Classical Javanese dance artist Tri Sutrisno
April 12: Brazilian dance artist Marciano Silva dos Santos
April 24: Tango dance artist Gretchen Larson
Classes meet from 12:30-1:55 p.m. in PA 126. Please contact Dr. Julie Kerr-Berry for information.
The Department will participate in the American College Dance Festival at theUniversity of WI, Madison; March 28-April 1, 2012. In March 2013, the Minnesota State Mankato Department of Theatre & Dance will host the regional festival.
Another past Andreas Guest Artist, Francis Kofi
The Minnesota State University, Mankato Department of Theatre & Dance presented one of its dance pieces, “Politics Religion Sex,” at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, in May 2010. Choreographed by faculty member Daniel Stark, it was selected following its performance at the Regional Gala Concert of the American College Dance Festival Association March 17-21 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
Thirty-two dances from 24 colleges and universities from around the country, as far away as New Mexico and Washington, competed in the festival (schools are not limited to competing in their own region). Adjudicators were made up of a panel of three nationally recognized artists in the field of dance.
From those 32, seven were selected for the Regional Gala (including “Stay,” a student-choreographed work by Katie Drietz from Mankato), and two, including “Politics Religion Sex,” earned performances at nationals.
For 22 years, Minnesota State Mankato has been involved with the American College Dance Festival Association and on several past occasions (2006, 2007 and 2009) has had dances adjudicated and invited to the regional conference’s esteemed Regional Gala Concert.
Dance became an academic major at Minnesota State Mankato in 2005 and is the only one of its kind in MnSCU. The Department of Theatre and Dance offers the only Dance Education major in the state of Minnesota. Director of Dance, Dr. Julie Kerr-Berry, currently serves as the Regional Director of the North Central Region of ACDFA.
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