Camille Brown and Brooklyn Mack will perform as guest artists at the 7:30 p.m. programs on Friday, April 24, and Saturday, April 25, in the Culture Center’s Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater when the West Virginia Division of Culture and History presents the 2009 West Virginia Dance Festival. This marks the 27th year of the event.
Brown attended Bernice Johnson’s Cultural Arts School, Carolyn Devore Dance Studios, LaGuardia High School of the Performing Arts, the Ailey School and received her bachelor’s degree in dance from the North Carolina School of the Arts. She has been honored with many awards and fellowships including a Best Choreography nomination for her work, The Groove to Nobody’s Business, a 2006 Princess Grace Award in Choreography, a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in Choreography, The Presidential Scholar of the Arts Award in Dance and the Project Next Generation Award, among others. Brown was a member of Ronald K. Brown/Evidence from 2001 - 2007. She also has performed the work of Dianne McIntyre, Nathan Trice, Matthew Rushing, Earl Mosely, Roger C. Jeffery and Rennie Harris.
Mack began his dance training at the age of 12 with the Pavlovich Dance School under Radenko Pavlovich and Milena Leben. After two years there, he was awarded a full scholarship to attend the prestigious Kirov Academy of Ballet per Madame Vinogradova. Upon graduation, Mack signed a contract as an apprentice with the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. He also has danced with the American Ballet Theatre Studio Company, and currently is with the Orlando Ballet. He has been featured as Oberon in Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Lead in Allegro Brillante; The Cavalier in The Nutcracker; Blue Bird in Sleeping Beauty; and The Lead in Serenade, among others.
The festival runs April 24-26. Two nights of performances beginning on Friday, April 24, at 7:30 p.m., will showcase the talent of West Virginia dancers who come to perform and take classes from a nationally-acclaimed festival faculty. The Friday night concert will feature performances by 18 West Virginia dance groups and Saturday night will feature another 14 groups. In addition, Brown will perform a solo on Friday night, and Mack will perform two solos on Saturday night.
The evening performances are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis; seating is limited. A schedule of both concerts is attached.
The West Virginia Dance Festival presents dance professionals leading workshops and classes, performance situations and a focus on dance as an art form. Thirty-nine dance groups consisting of more than 350 dancers will participate in this year’s festival. Classes begin on Friday, April 24, and continue throughout the three-day festival.
For more information about the 2009 West Virginia Dance Festival, call (304) 558-0162.
The West Virginia Division of Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. Its administrative offices are located at the Culture Center in the State Capitol Complex in Charleston, which also houses the state archives and state museum. The Culture Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. The agency also operates a network of museums and historic sites across the state. For more information about the Division’s programs, visit www.wvculture.org. The Division of Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
Friday, April 24, 2009 Performing Groups (in order of appearance)
Morgantown Dance Studio, Morgantown
Elizabeth Finklea, director
River City Youth Ballet Ensemble, Charleston
Michelle Raider, director
Oglebay Institute School of Dance, Wheeling
Cheryl Pompeo, director
Performing Arts Conservatory, Charleston
Krista L. Abdalla and Mary I. Wuletich, directors
Augusta Youth Ballet Company, Buckhannon
Nina M. Scattaregia, director
Jeslyn Performing Arts Center, Huntington
Jessica Lynn Fox, director
Next Step School of Dance, Lewisburg
Helen Haynes-Galford and Laura Kelly Richter, directors
The Art Center School of Dance, Huntington
Ella Hay, director
Capitol High School, Charleston
A. Michelle Legg, director
West Virginia Wesleyan College, Buckhannon
Gretchen Moore and Nina M. Scattaregia, directors
West Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts, Charleston
Sherry Keffer, director
Annabel Timms School of Ballet, Bridgeport
Annabel Timms, director
Guest Artist
Camille A. Brown
West Virginia Dance Company, Beckley
Donald Laney and Toneta Akers-Toler, directors
Trillium Performing Youth, Lewisburg
Rachel Oliver, director
Inwood Performing Arts Company, Inwood
Denna Smith, director
Alchemy Dance Project, Morgantown
Angela Dennis, director
Huntington Dance Theatre, Huntington
Jamie Turner, director
Dance Theatre School and Beckley Jazz, Beckley
Jerry Rose, director
Brianne Solomon, jazz director
Saturday, April 25, 2009 Performing Groups (in order of appearance)
Charleston Ballet, Charleston
Kim R. Pauley, director
Beckley Dance Theatre, Beckley
Jerry Rose, director
School of River City Youth Ballet, Charleston
Michelle Raider, director
Modern Dance Faculty Instructor
Julian Barnett
Princeton Dance Studio, Princeton
Janis Gunnoe, director
Jeslyn Dance Gallery, Huntington
Jessica Lynn Fox, director
Momentum Center for the Arts, Clarksburg
Jamie Kinney Stutler, director
Guest Artist
Brooklyn Mack
JADCO Contemporary Dance Company, Charleston
January Johnson Wolfe, director
Pineville Dance Theatre, Beckley
Toneta Akers-Toler, director
Trillium Performing Arts Collective, Lewisburg
Carli Mareneck, director
Schrader Youth Ballet, Parkersburg
Velma Schrader, director
Friends of West Virginia Culture and History Scholarship Winner
Madison Hoke, Alchemy Dance Project, Morgantown
Bridgeport High School Dance Ensemble, Morgantown
Stephanie Morris, director
Morgantown Youth Ballet Company, Morgantown
Lauren Slone, director
Guest Artist
Brooklyn Mack
Kat and Company Dance Studio, Morgantown
Katreena Snyder, director
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