Doug Varone and Dancers @dovadance - Tumblr Blog

SHOW LINE-UPS ANNOUNCED!

Here’s your guide for who to see when at The CHIN Project this weekend. Tickets are available online HERE or at the door. See you there!

Friday at 8pm Annie Nya Kathleen Nicole Heather Caitlin Cameron

Saturday at 3pm Kathleen Belle Nya Nicole Sarah Heather AJ Sunday at 3pm Annie Belle Nya AJ Sarah Caitlin Cameron Sunday at 7pm Annie Belle AJ Sarah Caitlin Cameron

#dovadevices2015

Here’s a sneak peak of some rehearsal footage from Sarah Padilla in Dallas TX.

“This process has been both challenging and rewarding. Doug has pushed me to explore new ways of thinking to get outside my box. At times I’ve been completely out of my comfort zone making new choices, but I’ve found new and satisfying ground. It’s been so incredibly nice having Doug’s eye throughout the creation process. His years of experience are invaluable and have been so evident through his constructive commentary during my creative process. It’s really amazing to have someone so established in the dance world take an interest in helping upcoming artists like me.”

Catch the final showing August 7-9 at the 92nd Street Y

#dovadevices2015

DEVICES: Choreographic Intensive - Tickets On Sale Now!

The CHIN Project is just around the corner! Catch incredible new work from ten emerging choreographers Aug. 7-9th at the 92nd Street Y. Buy your tickets at the door or online HERE.

DOVA is proud to present two more choreographers from the DEVICES Class of 2015. Read on!

Belle Baggs (pictured left) is a dancer, choreographer and Yoga teacher. She is Clinical Assistant Professor and Co-Program Coordinator of the University of Idaho Dance Program. She is a Certified Movement Analyst and holds her Master of Fine Arts in Modern Dance from University of Utah. She was a member of the Performing Dance Company in Utah and has danced professionally as a founding member of the Idaho Moving Project (I~Move) and with inFluxdance. She is recently a co-founder of the BASK Art Collective—a group of artists engaging in community projects considering social projections and sources of empowerment for women in the Arts.

Heather Roffe: (pictured right) is an Assistant Professor and the Program Director of Dance at Nazareth College, and is certified in the Bills Evans Technique. She has performed with the Garth Fagan Dance Company, and at Jacob’s Pillow, the International Dance Festival, and the American Dance Guild Festival, in her own work, with Bill Evans Dance Company, and Assemblage Dance. She has also co-directed, choreographed, and performed for FuturPointe Dance. Roffe’s choreography has been in venues across the country and internationally, and has been commissioned by dance companies and college programs. In her choreography, Roffe explores the human experience (emphasizing relationships and divisive memes).

#dovadevices2015

We are so excited to present the Devices: Choreographic Intensive Class of 2015.

Each artist has begun crafting a choreographic project under Doug’s mentorship and will be showing their work at the 92nd Street Y August 7th - 9th.

Dr. Nyama McCarthy-Brown (top left) is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Indiana University. This summer she was awarded a fellowship to attend the 2015 Mellon Summer Dance Studies Seminar at Northwestern University. In July, Nyama will present a duet with her son, "Shadow Cast Over Hope," at the Dancing While Black Performance Lab in Port of Spain, Trinidad. Originally from San Francisco, Nyama received her BA Degree in Political Science from Spelman College in 1999 and completed her MFA at the University of Michigan in 2003. She was awarded a doctoral fellowship from Temple University, in Philadelphia, and completed her PhD in 2011.

Caitlin Cullen (top center) is a poet of movement and performance, originally from Boise, Idaho. She has collected a BFA in Dance from the University of Oklahoma where she received the Scott Salmon Choreography Honor. Miss Cullen has worked with dance makers such as Austin Hartel, Jesse Zarrit, Vanessa Voskuil and Ming Yang. Since 2012 Caitlin has premiered original works in New York, Oklahoma, North Carolina, Idaho, Utah, and Arkansas. Caitlin draws most of her inspiration from the truth of Nature and the beauty of laughter. Caitlin is an activist for love, with choreography that is established from a perspective of compassion.

Kathleen Helm (top right), originally from Southern California, received her M.F.A. in Dance from CSU Long Beach in 2015. Kathleen has performed in works by Kevin Iega Jeff, Gary Abbott, Rebecca Bryant, Mike Esperanza, Robert Moses, Helen Pickett, Andrew Vaca, Joshua Ishmon, Diana Stanton, and Jessica Kondrath. Her choreography has been presented at Chicago Freelance Dance, the SoCal Dance Invitational, and the American College Dance Festival Gala. Most recently, Kathleen was one of four emerging choreographers selected for the 2015 Breaking Glass program. Her experience through the DEVICES intensive has been incredible, and she is honored and grateful to be a participating choreographer!

Cameron McKinney (middle left) is the Artistic Director of Kizuna 絆 Dance in NYC and performs with Dante Brown | Warehouse Dance, Renegade Performance Group, Christal Brown / INSPIRIT, and Seymour::dance collective. His work has been presented by LDIF (UK), The Moving Beauty Series, Bailout Theater, and Triskelion Arts, among others. He has been commissioned by the Steffi Nossen School of Dance, The Moving Beauty Series, and SpectorDance Studio.He created Loft Technique, and has taught in four states, as well as internationally in Japan and the UK. This summer, he will also be on faculty at the Southern Vermont Dance Festival.

Sarah Padilla (middle center) received artistic and academic scholarship to pursue dance at Southern Methodist University where she had the opportunity to develop and showcase her own unique style of choreography in several student productions. She graduated summa cum laude from SMU with a BFA in Dance Performance and a minor in Religious Studies in 2014. As a choreographer, she tends to blend styles from her diverse training background, with the rhythms of tap often intersecting the technique of ballet and modern. Sarah currently lives in the Dallas area with her husband Kyle where she continues to train, teach and choreograph.

AJ Sharp, (middle right) originally from Michigan, is a dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher in Brooklyn. AJ is a graduate of Oakland University with a BFA in dance. While at OU, AJ had the pleasure of working with artists such as Alexandra Beller, Lindsey Dietz-Marchant, and Dusan Tynek. AJ has also worked with The Median Movement and shown her own work throughout the city. AJ is excited to continue teaching, performing, and creating in NYC.

Nicole Stanton (bottom left) is currently Chair and Associate Professor of Dance at Wesleyan University, as well as faculty for Curatorial Practice in Performance and the College of the Environment. She also taught at the Ohio State University, Yale University, and Antioch College. She has been an artist, educator and administrator with In The Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theater, the Minnesota Dance Alliance, the San Francisco Mime Troop, and San Francisco’s Make A Circus.She received her MFA in choreography from Ohio State University and studied West African dance with the Maimuna Keita African Dance Company as well as contemporary dance at the Center for New Dance Development.

Annie Wang (bottom right) trained at Martha Graham and the Boitsov School of Classical Ballet. She has shown at Showroom Gowanus Gallery, Chocolate Factory Theater, WestFest, Cloud City, Ailey and Graham. She independently produced and performed in a dance film of her own choreography, “Echo” and was an inaugural resident at Vermont’s Marble House Project. There she developed the performance work “Full Circle” with painter Lex Braes. Recently she spoke on a panel with Lex Braes, Irene Hultman, and Karen Wilkin, was accepted into Doug Varone’s DEVICES, and was also selected as an Associate Artist at the ACA by Reggie Wilson.

*Not Pictured: Belle Baggs and Heather Roffe

Stay tuned for updates from our choreographers as they share photos, videos, writing, and much more to document their process.

Summer Workshop Blog Series: We’re Not Dance-Bots, We’re People

The DOVA workshop is unique in that in addition to our classes being taught by current and former company members, they also live in the same housing complex, participate in social events are generous with their time to connect to students. All the dancers and teachers promote a communal experience through their friendly and unpretentious attitudes. I’ve always felt welcome and respected when approaching the dancers.

The Q&A event with the company members was a great example of this. We were comfortable asking everything from what it’s like working with Doug, advice for moving to NYC (and other cities), how they keep busy when not performing and even how they have been affected by the dance community’s notorious gender asymmetry. As a recent college grad, I found what they had to say both reassuring and sobering. There are a lot of sad truths to the life of a dancer. Even professionals struggle with balancing dance, health, relationships, and financing. Most of the company members have had to work crazy hours at unfulfilling jobs to keep their dance momentum going. Often their first jobs as performers have been less than satisfactory and unpaid. Dance as a field is underfunded and as Alex Springer pointed out, the lack of dance education in schools really takes it toll.

I love that Casey Loomis said how dance aggressively latches on to your identity. This must be a result of the competition for jobs in dance. There’s a fear that if we don’t dedicate each waking moment to advancing our dancing bodies, then we won’t “make it”. I found that the DOVA dancers, however, have much more holistic values. Most mentioned how when they’re not rehearsing they rest and devote time to their other interests. Sometimes they just get sick of dance and need a break. Xan Burley reminded us to reevaluate our attitudes, goals, and time distribution when dancing no longer feels like the luxury that it is. I really took this to heart. Dance should excite us, and within dance, we should follow people, classes, and concepts that excite us…but sometimes we’re excited by things that are not dance related. Those impulses are just as valuable; we’re not dance-bots, we’re people.

Expanding on that, I believe that a better case for dance education can be made when we explore those other impulses and integrate them back into the field. When the population at large starts to see how the information we learn through dance relates to literature, to biology, to social interaction, to body politics, to environmentalism and on and on and on… we can start to heal the effects of disembodiment. As Xan said that night, the body is powerful. It gives us a lot of information that we’ve learned to ignore and I believe that includes our human desire to work together and lift each other up. These connections in mind, I am reassured of my commitment to this field, knowing that as soon as I need to, I can take a break from it. I’m leaving the workshop and entering the working world with a more confident, generous, and community-oriented perspective.

-Kim Sauers

#dovasummer2015

Summer Workshop Blog Series: The Privilege To Be Ourselves

Attending Doug Varone’s Summer Workshop has given me many tools as a dancer. I’ve learned more about anatomy from Pilates, how to release my arms yet still be strong in technique, and how to pick up complicated phrasework quickly. However, I think the most valuable realization I have had is how to be human. So often, I separate my worlds of dancing and not dancing, but Doug’s work and the community he builds allows for these worlds to blend.

I have always found it difficult to connect with people and maintain friendships in dance settings and made it a goal for myself to be as open and friendly as possible. I have never gone to such a large intensive and really craved new relationships. This community was the perfect setting to begin achieving that goal. Even though there were a lot of us, there was a beautiful practice of openness and non-judgement. We were given the privilege to be ourselves within choreography and not only see the humanity in each other but in the company members as well. So often, we see professional dancers as perfection, as untouchable and closed off from those of us just entering the dance world, but here we were all the same: beautifully human, faulted and raw. At the improv jam this became obvious. We were all just a mix of dancers, of humans at different stages of life. High-schoolers, undergraduates, graduates, professionals, all uniting to do what we truly love.

This workshop has given me the confidence to be myself and not to compare myself to others. It has allowed me to find connections with others and to build friendships. The dance world is small and I truly hope to see all of these wonderful people again.

-Kara Beadle

#dovasummer2015

Summer Workshop Blog Series: Think In More Expansive Ways

This workshop has taught me to think in more expansive ways and to constantly challenge my thoughts and physical habits. I quickly realize that the amount of discipline I was investing in my training was not enough. At first, technique class was very challenging due to the rapid pace of the class, but the constant practice allowed me to become more observant to detail and work more efficiently. During every class I have learned to work quickly and effectively. There was a particular movement in the workshop where this new skill was beneficial. I was absent due to sickness and the next day the class had already learn an entire section of a piece. I had to quickly learn the dance in half the time as my peers. I was able to learn the whole thing and this is something I do not believe would have been as easy if I had not taken this workshop.

-Alvaro Nunez

#dovasummer2015

Summer Workshop Blog Series: Learning To Learn

Doug Varone and Dancers work very quickly; Doug follows his instincts when choreographing and his dancers learn material on the spot. During the hour long phrasework class, Company members teach us combinations (nearly entire dances) without speaking, repeating sections only three times. We're supposed to observe small details, use of energy, and the value of each movement. During the first week, this class was frustrating for me. I couldn't pick up as much as I wanted or as quickly. Now, coming to the end of the second week, I learned a seven section dance from Casey in thirty minutes.

It's amazing how quickly the brain can develop and adapt to different situations. The company members not only taught us phrases but also learning strategies; for example: watching a phrase instead of always doing it, changing your position in the room, recognizing strategies that help you, remember steps, and skipping over whatever you don't remember. Make it a dance- be you. In Doug's Choreographic Devices class, he gives us ten minutes to complete entire composition studies. As days have passed, I find myself being less stressed within the time constraint because I am making quick, instinctual decisions without judgment. I never expected that learning to learn quickly could benefit so many aspects of me.

-Rebecca Van Dover

#dovasummer2015

Summer Workshop Blog Series: It Is Okay To Be Human

As week three of the DOVA Summer Workshop is about to commence, I am reflecting on how much I have already grown since the beginning of the workshop. I came into the workshop hoping to stay as open minded as possible to all the information that was about to come at me. I knew that I would be asked to do things differently and see things differently, and I wanted to stay receptive to that. I have tried to throw myself into everything that has come at me, following teachers' directives without fear or self-doubt, and that has made this workshop one of the greatest growth spurts of my artistic life. One of the first ideas that hit me during week one, and perhaps the most important so far, is to let go of judgement. Whether it’s scrutinizing your technique in class, or when choreographing, judging your work can put you in a negative place. When asked about how he choreographs so quickly, Doug said, "I never judge what I do. I used to and it was painful." This statement really resonated because I know I am harshly critical of my own dancing and choreography. Doug's words, and similar sentiments from the Company, have inspired me to change the way I work, so that I am improving in a positive way and not constantly judging what I do. Another instance that led me to change the way I work occurred in Alex's technique class. He wanted us to recognize that the connection we share with each other outside of class is the same inside class. He illustrated this by stepping in and out of the classroom door, showing he was the same person on both sides. Though this was a funny moment, it really got me thinking. Every dancer in class is simply a human being. Not a "dancer," but a human being dancing. We need to remember how this fact connects us, and how it is okay to be human—have fun, see each other, make mistakes— even when we are being "serious dancers" in technique class. Lastly, I have changed the way I work as a choreographer in the Devices elective with Doug. He has his own incredible way of working, which is so rapid that it seems impossible. But the biggest takeaway I have gathered from our classes is to go with your instincts. You can't spend hours deliberating or being meticulous. Trust your artistic inclination to take you somewhere amazing, and again, don't be judgmental of yourself! I can't wait to see how these new ways of working continue to affect my dancing and my life, even after the workshop ends.

-Julia Neto

#dovasumer2015

Summer Workshop Blog Series: Common Threads We Never Would Have Guessed We Had

I grew up in a small town and attended a very small university, so I have felt at home in this small community of people attending the workshop. The fact that the majority of us are all living together in the same housing area of campus has aided the community feel I get here. This first week has been a lot about me getting to know these people who I am living and dancing with each day. I have already felt a bond begin to form with these new friends.

The mapping exercise was the evening event on day one. Doug asked us to move to a specific location of the room based on our ancestry, childhood, education, religious belief, age, height and many other categories and then create a gesture to represent those aspects of our lives. This was the first way we started to get to know one another. Many of us found that we grew up near one another or had the same childhood memories. The exercise also showed the vast age range of the group, and I was astonished to find that I was among the older group. I felt like this exercise opened the door for conversations with these people who were perfect strangers. It gave us something to talk about and common threads we never would have guessed we had.

At the potluck dinner on the fourth day we all hung out in the grassy area outside our apartments. Everyone brought and enjoyed food, played Frisbee, listened to music and had lively conversation with these people who were all strangers only four days earlier. I felt a shift happen and everyone had this relaxed and open energy. I left the potluck exhilarated because of all the warm energy I got from my new friends. I can’t wait to see what the next two weeks have in store for us as dancers and as friends.

- Katherine LiPuma

#dovasummer2015

Summer Workshop Blog Series: In The End We Are All People

Being able to take class, dance, learn, and then observe the DOVA dancers during rehearsal is both incredibly inspiring and incredibly daunting. It sheds light on the duality that comes with professional dancing, or any other artistic career path for that matter, which is great for any aspiring dancer. In the first place, this summer workshop provides participants with the opportunity to personally interact with the company members during classes by learning from them and dancing with them as equals. We get to see that our teachers are human beings, just like us. They aren’t simple knowledge machines that spit out combinations and corrections, but individuals with personalities that like dancing just as much as any of us do. In this sense, it becomes clear that although company members are older, wiser, and more experienced than most of the participants in this workshops, in the end we are all people - people that like using their bodies to make art.

However, when the company rehearses or shows pieces of their repertoire our roles change and the dancers become something more like super-humans. As a student, these short glimpses into professional dancing are incredibly precious but also terrifying, since it is easy to wonder if I will ever be in that spot. It is strange to think that just minutes before the rehearsal I could have been joking around with one of the dancers, or that we were performing the same combination during a class. As an audience member for the rehearsals and the showings, I sit in awe as the company moves, creates, and recreates ethereal pieces of art. If there is something I’ve learned during this workshop so far, it’s that professional dancers are at the same time humans and super-humans, students and teachers; flawed and perfect.

- Mariana Orozco Arango

#dovasummer2015

Say Hello to some of our Summer Workshop Students!

We are pleased to introduce some of our Summer Workshop students! Throughout the next three weeks, they’ll share posts and pics about their experiences and discoveries during this workshop. Let’s get to know what they are all about!

Top Row (Christofer Medina, Julia Neto, Kara Beadle)

Middle Row (Kim Sauers, Konrad Morawski, Mariana Orozco Arango)

Bottom Row (Rebecca Van Dover)

Julia Neto Julia is a Massachusetts native, currently studying dance at Hofstra University. She enjoys both performing and choreographing modern dance. Julia had an amazing experience at the DOVA Winter Workshop, and can't wait to see what summer has in store!

Kim Sauers Kim is a recent graduate of Skidmore College, where she studied a variety of dance styles and developed a fondness for improvisation, choreography, performance studies and "floppy modern." Right now, her dream is to travel the world making strange and alluring works of multi-disciplinary performance.

Rebecca Van Dover Rebecca currently attends the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and is originally from Pueblo, Colorado. Dance has always been a huge part of her life, and she is excited for the Doug Varone and Dancers Summer Workshop to become a part of that! Some specific interests she has are dance composition, travel, and the investigation of how dance can relate to life— to enhance, answer (and ask), create presence, and heal.

Kara Beadle Kara Beadle is a dance major and psychology minor in her third year at Texas Woman's University. She is originally from San Antonio Texas where her passion for performance first budded at the age of three. Though her studies mostly revolve around improvisational modern dance, she has always kept up with her love of ballet, jazz and tap.

Mariana Orozco Arango Mariana was born and raised in Bogota, Colombia. She graduated as a dance major from Idyllwild Arts Academy, and currently attends Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University.

Christofer Medina Christofer lives in Miami, FL and attends New World School of the Arts. He has been dancing for seven years and has done works by Gerard Ebitz, Peter London, Anna Gonzalez, and Robert Battle. He has trained in the Ailey School, Miami City Ballet, and Mark Morris Intensives.

Konrad Morawski Konrad is a student at the College of Brockport pursuing a BFA in Dance. Originally from Warsaw, Poland, Konrad enjoys traveling abroad during the summer or when there is spare vacation time. At home, some activities he enjoys doing outside of dance are going on long (or short) walks with his dog, swimming, and collecting cacti.

Less than a week till our workshop starts… Are you ready? #dovasummer2015

We're thrilled to announce that tickets are on sale for The CHIN Project, the culmination of DEVICES: Choreographic Intensive. Join us at the 92nd Street Y Sept. 12-14 for four different showcases, each featuring a different selection of choreographers. Tickets are limited! Buy at the door, or purchase online here. Check out our website for more info.

Since returning from my time at CHIN in NYC, my rehearsal process has been about allowing-letting go, stepping back, not holding on so tightly to material.

Over the past two months (two months already?!?) this mindset seems to have allowed for a quicker creation process yielding complex sections of dense material. Throughout the process, I’ve felt free and even… shall I say it… joyful. Improvisation with my material has also been integral. During one of these improvisations I found my way to the ground, allowed myself to stop moving. And there, captured on video, was something very joyful.

Allow allow allow. And be joyful.

-Mauriah Donegan Kraker

#dovaDEVICES2014

Doug Varone and Dancers presents: The CHIN Project - September 12-14, 2014

~Doug Varone and Dancers is pleased to present the work of 16 hand-selected emerging choreographers in the CHIN Project, the culminating event of the DEVICES: Choreographic Intensive (CHIN).~

Show Times:

9/12 @7:30p

9/13 @3:00p

9/14 @3:00p & 7:30p

**Specific performance programs TBA

Tickets are $7 and will go on sale soon - stay tuned for details

#dovaDEVICES2014

from a works in progress showing, curated by Kensaku- CRUSHED MUFFINS on 7/26 was a great platform to show a version of this piece that was completely not ready to be shown. Now I am following a new map and a fresh tidal wave of activity is underway. here's to forcing yourself to put other eyes on the work way before you want to. these mock up costumes will not be used for the september show, and were $15 each from a store on flatbush ave called "girls 2000" - the person working the register was an 8 year old boy named Isaac who wanted to know if he could buy tickets to my show on ticket master, and whether there would be 6,000 people there.

-Lisa Fagan

#dovaDEVICES2014

Last Tuesday's rehearsal (7/29/14) was the first day that I felt like I had actually started creating the dance I needed to make for this adventure. Four rehearsals and countless hours of planning, and nothing goes to plan. Goes to show that it's good to stay open and consider all possibilities.

-Nathalie Matychak

#DOVAdevices #matychak #dance #nyc

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