The Movement 2019
Volume 6, Issue 4
UDEO Newsletter
Board of Directors Executive Board Karen Jensen Lori Higbee Tess Boone Julie Nybo
President President-Elect Treasurer Secretary
General Board
Holly Markgraf-Mayne Elementary Rep. Courtney Pearce High School Rep. Elisha Sutton Middle/Jr. HS Rep. Alexandra Bradshaw-Yerby Higher
Madisen Jones Heather Francis Rachel Hafen
Roxanne Paulsen Anna Mueller Sara Pickett Ariel Hortin
Katherine Call
Ed. Rep. Private Sector Rep. Advocacy Director Publicity Director Conference Chair Conf. Chair-Elect UHSDF Chair UHSDF Chair-Elect NHSDA Chair
Staff Sean Guymon
Executive Assistant/ Webmaster
Conatct us at: info@udeo.org treasurer@udeo.org elementaryrep@udeo.org jrhighrep@udeo.org highschoolrep@udeo.org privatesectorrep@udeo.org advocacy@udeo.org conference@udeo.org highschoolfestival@udeo.org
In this Issue: UDEO Fall Conference Information
Find details on the keynote speaker, presenters, schedule, and discount registration for the UDEO Fall Conference.
2019 UDEO Awards
Read about the amazing work of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Honoree and the UDEO Dance Educators of the year.
Arts for Life Intitiative
The Utah Partnership for Arts Education invites you to participate in a celebration of the impact of the arts on students lives. Read more about UDEO's involvement in this partnership and how you can get involved and share your story.
Samskara Screendance
Read about the Samskara Screendance project directed by Angela Rosales Challis and Conor Long that include 9 different dancers, 9 different locations, and 9 different cultures.
Performance Calendar
See the multitude of dance events (workshops, festivals, performances, etc.) being produced across the state of Utah during the coming school year.
Message from the
M
President
y family often attends the Utah Symphony events at Abravanel Hall in downtown Salt Lake City. As patrons walk down the hallway to their seats they pass photographs of iconic Utah Artists and supporters of the arts. I enjoy pausing to read about each individual and their contribution to the Utah Arts Community and am particularly delighted when I come across those who have contributed to and influenced our dance community. Images of Elizabeth Hayes, Anne Riordan, and many other “dance giants” line the hallway. I think of how we, as UDEO members, have been shaped by these individuals; directly or indirectly, personally or through a student of theirs. In Utah, we truly “stand on the shoulders of giants” and owe much appreciation to these trailblazers and carry the charge to keep their legacy alive. As a tribute to our dance pioneers, the UDEO Fall 2019 Conference will be themed, “The Rich Legacy of Dance in Utah” to honor the those who laid the foundation of dance in Utah.
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o review the past year of UDEO, last October the annual UDEO Conference was held at the lovely Beverly Taylor Sorenson Arts and Education Complex on the University of Utah campus. The keynote speaker, Deborah Damast (NYU Steinhart) gave an inspiring presentation on dance education and shared her experiences in taking students to Uganda to teach dance. We also had many other engaging presentations from our UDEO members, dance community, and a poster presentation/networking session.
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n February the 13th annual Junior High/Middle School Day of Dance was held in conjunction with Repertory Dance Theatre at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center in SLC. Due to the event’s popularity, the Junior High/Middle School Day of
Dance was expanded to three days to accommodate interested schools.
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ebruary proved to be a busy month for UDEO as we also held the 18th Annual Utah High School Dance Festival at Corner Canyon High School. This was a wonderful gathering of high school students from across the state that gave them an opportunity to learn from our top-notch dance community, share their choreography, receive valuable feedback, and watch each other perform in a gala performance. This event continues to be our largest event with approximately 800 students in attendance.
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he 2019-2020 school year will kick off with the annual UDEO Conference, which will be held Saturday, November 2nd at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. We will highlight dance educators who have left a legacy in the field of dance in Utah and learn how their practices influence dance education today. We hope you will attend and leave with a greater understanding of the legacy our Utah dance pioneers.
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s I complete my term as UDEO President, I wish to express my deep gratitude for the volunteer UDEO Board Members who diligently and passionately serve our dance community. Their tireless efforts make each and every event unique and successful. I also express appreciation to our UDEO community at large. I am proud to be a part of a warm community that supports and sustains each other within our various dancebased activities.
-Karen Jensen, UDEO President
ADVOCACY POSTER In 2018, UDEO, in partnership with the BYU ARTS Partnership, produced advocacy resources for administrators related to the support of dance programs in public schools. The resources include strategies for hiring highly qualified dance educators, allocating safe and appropriate spaces for dance, and ideas for supporting students and educators in existing dance programs. All of these resources can be found at www.education.byu.edu/ arts/principal-resources. In 2019 at the Utah High School Dance Festival teachers were given a poster of one of these advocacy pages. If you would like one of these advocacy posters please contact advocacy@udeo.org and we will send one to your school.
DANCE IN EDUCATION EMPHASIZES PROCESS not product ADJUDICATION not competition RATING not ranking SHARING not winning CREATIVITY not conventions FEEDBACK not trophies DIVERGENT POSSIBILITIES not singular solutions QUALITATIVE MERIT not quantitative tallies Dance education builds contributing citizens, visionary leaders, creative collaborators, and empowered artists.Â
Advocacy News UTAH PARTNERSHIP FOR ARTS EDUCATION When collaborating on the advocacy resources with the BYU ARTS Partnership, UDEO Board members began to work closely with other leaders from the Utah Music Education Association, Utah Advisory Council of Theatre Teachers, and the Utah Arts Education Association. The Presidents of these organizations decided to join together and form the Utah Partnership for Arts Education to strengthen our collective voice for arts education in Utah. The first initiative of this new organization is the Arts for Life Initiative. This initiative aims to highlight personal stories that reveal the rich significance and benefits of arts education on life and living. Read more about this initiative in this newsletter or visit www.artsforlifeutah.com.
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Li fe t im e Ac h ieve ment Award
Kathie Debenham MA, C.L.M.A. the creation of Synergy Dance Company, the Integrated Studies Dance emphasis, and oversaw the development, writing and eventual approval of the BFA in Dance, the BS in Dance Education, and the BS in Ballroom Dance. She served as the founding Chair of the Dance Department, then Associate Dean and Interim Dean of the College of Humanities, Arts & Social Sciences, founding Interim Dean of the School of the Arts, and Associate Vice President for Academic Programs before resuming her most-loved faculty role in 2012. Kathie has been recognized with the UVU Teaching Excellence award, and the prestigious UVU Trustee’s Award and the UVU Presidential Excellence Award.
Kathie Debenham, Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst, retired as Professor of Dance in June 2019 after teaching, creating and administering at Utah Valley University for 24 years. She saw UVU grow from 8000 to nearly 40,000 students as it changed roles from community college to regional state college to university. After teaching as adjunct faculty there from 1989-1995, she was hired as the first Dance faculty member through a national tenure track search in 1995 and worked with Connie Reynolds to begin to build the Dance program. Kathie developed the curriculum for the AS in Dance including
Believing whole-heartedly in institutional and community service, Kathie also served the institution as Director of Institutional Effectiveness, co-chair of the Strategic Directions Advisory Committee and the Faculty Workload Taskforce, chair of the UVU General Education Committee, member of the USHE General Education Task Force and the Re-Imagining the Undergraduate Experience Committee, and founding member of the UVU Women’s Council. She served for 8 years on the Orem Arts Council and advocated for arts access in the community. In each of these settings, Kathie found her Dance training gave necessary and essential creative and critical thinking abilities, the capacity to engage diverse perspectives, the ability to collaborate, to work through difficult situations, to be resilient, to communicate compellingly verbally and in writing, to stick it out until the job was done, to encourage others to contribute their strengths, and to find humor and joy along the way. Prior to joining the UVU faculty fulltime, Kathie taught as adjunct faculty at Brigham Young University from 1976-1995 where she also worked with Christine Ollerton as a co-director of the Young Dance-
Kathie has long been active in teaching and presenting regionally, nationally and internationally and has published widely in juried and invited settings on dance pedagogy, performance, movement analysis and somatic practice. As a founding board member and former Board Chair of the Utah Women in Higher Education Network (UWHEN), she presented in numerous settings on embodiment, art, and leadership. In 2019 Kathie received the UWHEN Distinguished Service Award. She is a Fellow of the Utah Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters and was the 2012 Honored Alumnus of the BYU College of Fine Arts. Currently Kathie serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for Latter-day Saint Arts (CLDSA) in NYC and as chair of the CLDSA Education committee. She is also a member of the Journal of Dance, Movement & Spiritualities Editorial Board. She and her husband Pat have enjoyed many years of artistic collaboration with family-making at the heart of their dance-making. Their daughters, Whitney Hasler, Marney Schaumann and Kelby Ellis each teach creative dance/Magical Movers in various settings and they have given them Makers and associate director of the BYU Children 13 dancing grandchildren. Presently Kathie is happily and Teens’ Creative Dance Program. While at BYU, creating a new chapter in her “one wild and precious Kathie joined with Chris and Cathy Black to create life.” [Mary Oliver, Summer Day] and present choreography for the plenary sessions of the BYU Women’s Conference. She was a member of the Provo Integrated Arts Team from 1976-1981 and worked with the Utah State Office of Education to provide arts in service to rural areas. As a faculty member at the Waterford School from 1985-1989, Kathie developed and taught the Dance curriculum for Preschool, Lower School and Middle and Upper Schools which she later developed for the Meridian School as well. During these years she was also an Artist-Teacher for the Utah State Arts Council. Along with Doris Hudson-Trujillo and her husband Pat, Kathie created, co-directed, performed with and choreographed for Contemporary DANCEWORKS (CDW) from 1986-2001. Funded by grants from the Utah State Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, CDW provided the directors and their professional colleagues with opportunities to create work and perform as well as conduct teaching residencies in Utah public schools as well as in the Midwest.
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D an ce Educ ator s o f t he Year
Jana Shumway Elementary Education
Jana Shumway received her BA and MA from Brigham Young University in Dance Education. She taught dance at The Waterford School for 10 years; Brigham Young University for 11 years; and has been a Dance Specialist for the Beverley Taylor Sorenson Arts Learning Program for 9 years; teaching at William Penn, Calvin Smith and currently Herriman Elementary. During Jana’s time at BYU she was a Visiting Professor for 3 years in which she was the artistic director for the BYU Kinnect Dance Company. Kinnect is an outreach company that performs and teaches at elementary schools in Utah. In 2013 Jana was the recipient of the Sorenson Legacy Award for Excellence in Arts Education. Jana has also written and shared dozens of integrated dance lesson plans while presenting at various art conferences throughout Utah such as: USOE Art Networking Conference, BYU Arts Express, UVU Art Education Conference, SUU’s Arts Fusion, Integrated Art Experiences at USU; several school districts’ Art Conferences, daCi Utah Day of Dance, and UDEO. Jana has a wonderful supportive husband, 4 children, 2 daughter in laws, 1 son in law and 1 granddaughter.
Jessica Stanley Secondary Education
Jessica Stanley graduated from Brigham Young University (BA) and her masters at Western Governors University. She is beginning her 11th year teaching at Lehi Junior High School. She is an inspiring teacher who is always pushing her dancers to go beyond the ordinary. In her years at Lehi Jr. High, Jessica has not only run a very successful dance program, but she has designed and integrated a special dance class for students with disabilities called Kaleidoscope where she teaches and provides meaningful performing opportunities for those enrolled. These classes and performances bring her students joy and a sense of accomplishment. In her classes she creates a safe, exploratory space where her students feel empowered. In addition to inspiring young middle school students, Jessica has had many student teachers and has been a mentor and role model to these young dance educators in the state of Utah.
Bethany J. Hansen Higher Education
Bethany Hansen graduated from Brigham Young University (BA) and Jacksonville University (MFA) and is currently serving as the Assistant Chair of the Dance Department and teaching at Westminster College. She is also the Head of the Dance Department and Dance Conservatory Director at The Salt Lake School of Performing Arts. For almost 20 years, Bethany has been inspiring young dancers with her passion for dance education. One student said, “Bethany pushes her students to reach further than exceed what they thought was possible”. Her desire to reach out to every student individually makes her an incredible role model to many. “Bethany puts tremendous amounts of energy, care, and excellence into her pedagogical practice”. She is a passionate teacher who always goes beyond.
Lynne Larson Private/Professional
Lynne Larson is a tireless advocate for dance education in Utah schools and communities. In 2007, she was named Education Director for Repertory Dance Theatre and she spends time in the schools teaching and implementing high caliber dance lessons for all ages and levels in urban and rural settings. Thanks to her efforts, RDT was able to serve over 38,000 students and teachers last year. She partners with the Utah Department of Education's P.E. Department to present movement classes as a means to connect both P.E. and Dance standards in schools. She writes RDT's lesson plans, conducts teacher in-service workshops, and oversees RDT's pre-professional dance education workshops (SummerDance, now DanceWest and WinterDance). Colleague Nick Cendese says “[Lynne] is an outstanding teacher, leader, and mentor working each and every day to make dance a vital and important form of communication and expression for Utah's population.” Lynne is the Artistic Associate and Education Director for Repertory Dance Theatre and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the University of Utah in the School of Dance for the Teaching Methods/Pedagogy for Elementary Education classes. Lynne received a BFA in Dance from Western Michigan University and a MFA in Dance from University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.
UDEO ANNUAL FALL CONFERENCE
"The Rich Legacy of Dance Education in Utah" November 2nd, 2019 at Weber State University Dear Dance Educators, As we move into the new school year we are excited to move into preparation for UDEO’s Fall Conference. We are excited for the diverse and accomplished artists that are presenting classes. Our keynote speakers include the founders of Ririe- Woodbury, Joan Woodbury Shirley Ririe; as well as Linda C. Smith Executive Director or Repertory Dance Theatre. These legendary women will share their knowledge and years of experience with us. Other Breakout sessions will be taught by Patrick Debenham, Kate Monson, Pam Musil, Jeanette Geslison, among others. Classes will briefly highlight legendary figures that have influenced dance education and share ideas of how educators can apply it in their classrooms. We want to celebrate the rich history and legacy of dance education in our state as well as help our members to carry on this tradition in their own teaching.There will be presentations and time to connect with other educators. If you’re interested in presenting a visual presentation you can submit a proposal online or email info@udeo.org for submission details.Find all the details and registration at our website www.udeo.org. We thank you for your membership and support. All our best, Roxanne Paulsen UDEO Professional Development Chair
FALL CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
8:30-8:55 Check-in & Registration 9:00-9:30 Welcome 9:40-10:30 Breakout Session 1 10:40-11:30 Breakout Session 2 11:30-12:00 Poster Presentations & Networking 12:00-1:20 Lunch & Awards Presentations 1:30-2:50 Keynote Presentation 3:00-3:50 Breakout Session 3
KEYNOTE PRESENTATION Joan Woodbury, Shirley Ririe, & Linda Smith
SPECIAL PRICING FOR K-12 EDUCATORS The Utah State Board of Education has provided a generous grant that allows ALL DANCE EDUCATORS teaching in K-12 to register for HALF PRICE if you register by October 12, 2019. If more than five dance educators or BTS Specialists register from a single district, the sixth attends free! To get this special pricing, the District Arts Coordinator would need to register the entire group online. Educators will either need to use the discount code 'USBE' when registering OR use the direct link, https://udeo.org/fall-conference/USBE which will auto add the discount. DAC's will need to use https:// udeo.org/fall-conference/DAC or https://udeo.org/fall-conference/BTS to have it auto add the discount and provide the sixth teacher free.
Samskara Screendance Project Dancing a Cross-Section of Humanity On the weekend of August 15-18, eight different cultural dance artists were filmed in eight different locations throughout Utah.The project aims to represent a cross section of humanity throughout time and geography. Through Samskara, viewers explore the realms of the past, present, and future as it is expressed through the human form and the tradition of dance. Angela Challis explains, "Samskara (Sanskrit) is the scope of experiences which we collect through our life journeys. This project celebrates humanity--our similarities and differences.” The Samskara Screendance Project was funded with generous grants from the Utah Film Commission Next Level Grant and from the Utah Division of Arts and Museums with the support of the Utah Dance Education Organization and special thanks to the BYU ARTS Partnership. The weekend began on a Thursday evening at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork where Jyosthna Sainath performed classical Indian Dance. Joshua Perkins was then filmed breaking at the HERC (Hip Hop Education Resource Center) in South Salt Lake on Friday morning. Later that same day, the beautiful 8-year-old Shyenne Utai was filmed at the Little Dell Reservoir and Sebastian Forbes, a 16 year old Bolivian Dancer, danced on location at the Bonneville Salt Flats. Saturday continued in a pasture in Farmington, UT where Presley Jewkes performed
a clogging routine on a piece of plywood, and concluded with Tanzanian Delfine Uwimbabazi performing on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. On Sunday, Joseph Runs Through’s Native American dance was set in the red rocks near Cedar City, and Mestre Jamaika’s acrobatic Capoeira was captured on the sand dunes of Little Sahara. Plans are in place to film a senior Japanese dancer from Logan in September. Presley Jewkes said about participating in the project, “It was a really neat experience! I loved it! I felt honored to represent clogging and everyone was so awesome to work with!” Shyenne Utai had similar sentiments. “I felt incredible and I had so much fun!" Delfine exclaimed that it was the best experience of her life, and Sebastian kept thanking the crew for the opportunity to be a part of the film. There will be a screening on November 23rd, 2019 at the Marmalade Library located at 280 W 500 N, Salt Lake City, UT 84103. A brief questionand-answer session with the dancers, director, and crew will follow the showing. Refreshments will be served. Follow the project on Facebook and Instagram @samskarascreendance for updates and behind the scenes photos and sneak peaks.
Join the Arts for Life Initiative Recently, Lori Higbee (Presidet-Elect) and Heather Francis (Advocacy Chair) had the unique opportunity to present on a panel at the annual Utah Advisory Council of Theater Teachers (UACTT) conference in Cedar City. The panel’s purpose was to introduce the Arts for Life Initiative, a statewide initiative promoting key benefits of the arts. The presidents of the state's professional arts organizations have united to advocate and promote the arts with the theme of Arts for Life. Leaders from UMEA, UAEA, UDEO, and UACCT have created a website of resources for teachers about social and emotional health and the arts. Through a social media campaign, teachers, and students are invited to share their stories of student growth and transformation as students engage in the arts using #artsforlifeutah. Sharing our experiences can help advocate for the importance of arts education and how the arts benefits our students by building resiliency and a personal voice that will help them through daily challenges. We encourage all UDEO members to share stories and moments from their teaching (student privacy considered) that will help move this initiative forward. Encourage your students to post moments from class that were especially inspiring to them and apply the #artsforlifeutah hashtag. It has been a wonderful experience working with the other Utah arts education specialists to achieve the same goal, advocating for the arts in education. This new initiative is just beginning, but we hope that with your help we can create a strong voice for the importance of the arts in all of our lives.
Reach Dance Company: Serving and Connecting to Others Through Dance Four years ago, at Christmas time, I sat with my teenage dancers at my studio. One of my dancers questioned, "What can we do to share our joy that comes from dance with other children who might not have the opportunity to take a dance class or see a dance performance?" This is when Reach Dance Company was born. I saw that my dancers needed to share what brought them joy and I knew had to make this dream of theirs a reality.
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Our first tour to Guatemala came six months after our conversation. There, 10 dancers performed educational lecture demonstrations, taught creative dance, and delivered much needed school supplies to four underserved schools. The feedback from the children and teachers was incredible. The principal at one rural school, located on an active volcano, told us, “By coming here and sharing dance with us, you have inspired us. You make us feel important. God has brought you to us today!”. In 2017 we traveled to the jungle of northern Peru. We performed and taught at four schools, special needs school, a remote jungle village, and a community event. One teacher said, “These children do not have much to smile about, but today you brought them joy!”. This past June we toured small communities in the southern and central part of Puerto Rico. We taught and performed at three schools, a children's summer camp, and four senior citizen centers. One senior citizen exclaimed, “You dancers make me feel young again!”. It was rewarding to get to know these cultures as well as to share something that means so much to us with them. Dance has the power to inspire! No matter what language is spoken or where you are in the world, dance can be a powerful tool to reach out and connect with others. Our performances have brought joy, laughter, and happiness. Children have felt empowered and inspired after our creative dance activities. The senior citizens felt alive and joyful. It was rewarding to see the power of dance in action! I encourage you to find ways to teach your students to use dance to reach out and inspire others. Find ways for your dancers to connect with your communities. Who could benefit from a class, or performance? Many senior living centers would love for your dancers to come and perform, spend time with residents, and make connections. Reach out to local refugee centers, children's crisis centers, or local children’s community programs that would benefit from a class or interactive performance. Serving and connecting with others through dance can help your dancers find a sense of purpose, deepen their understanding, and strengthen the power they have to use their talents to connect with others and make the world a better place. Written by Lori Higbee, Owner/Director of Reach Dance Company a Non-Profit Corporation
November 16th
Tanner Dance, Univeristy of Utah
Register at www.daciusa.org/dayofdance/utah
1-5pm
Performance Calendar COLLEGIATE
Southern Utah University Fall Dance Concert: Continuum November 22-23, 25 Spring Dance Concert: Tabula Rasa February 29, March 2, 6-7 The University of Utah Performing Dance Company October 5, 17-19 Modern Dance Student Concert October 24-26 Fall Utah Ballet 1 Oct. 31 - Nov. 2,Nov. 7-9 Ballet Showcase November 21-23 Modern Graduate Thesis Concert December 5-7 Utah Ballet II February 6-8, 13-15 Modern Dance Student Concert II February 20-22 The School of Dance Gala March 5-7, 19-21 Modern Dance Senior Concert I April 2-4 Modern Dance Senior Concert II April 16-18 Ballet Senior Show April 29 Weber State University Orchesis Dance Theatre November 14-16 Snow College Dance Concert November 15-16 Brigham Young University World of Dance September 19-21 DanceEnsemble November 8-9
BYU DanceSport Championship November 15-16 Ballet Showcase November 5-16 Christmass Aound the World December 6-7 Swan Lake: BYU Theatre Ballet January 23-25 Contemporary Dance in Concert February 6-8 US Amateur DanceSport March 11-14 DanceEnsemble March 13-14 Senior Dance Showcase March 27-28 Parsons Dance April 10 Ballroom in Concert April 10-11 Ballet Showcase Workshop April 11 Utah Valley University An Evening of Balanchine Presented by UMB and RBE Novemeber 14-16 Ballroom Dance in Concert November 22-23 Synergy Dance in Concert "Velocity" December 5-7 Repertory Ballet Ensemble in Concert February 13-15 MosA.I.C. Hip Hop Showcase February 26-28 Trajectory: The Contemporary Dance Ensemble in Concert March 5-7 Capstone Dance Concert April 9-11 Ballroom Dance in Concert April 17-18
Dixie State University Student Dance Concert November 21-22 Fall Dance Class Showing November 25 Dance in Concert April 2-3 Ballroom Dance Concert April 6-17 Spring Dance Class Showing April 20
PUBLIC SCHOOL District Dance Concerts Alpine School District October 25 @ West Lake High Canyons School District January 9 @ Hillcrest High Jordan School District January 13 @ Herriman High Granite School District March 2 @ Cottonwood High High School Dance Concerts Herriman Dance Concert March 12-14 Hillcrest Dance Company April 16-18 Hunter Dance Company April 15-17 Orem Dance Concert December 13-14 May 1-2 Westlake Dance Concerts December 3-4 April 28-29 West Jordan December 5-6 April 16-17, 20 Corner Canyon December 12-14 April 23-25
PROFESSIONAL
Dance Theatre of Harlem Weber State University November 9
Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company Traces September 26-18 Allegory January 31-2/1 Catalyst April 9-11 Repertory Dance Theatre Inside Outside October 3-5 Sounds Familiar November 21-23 Emerge January 3-4 Regalia March 7 Earth Tone April 16-18 SALT Contemporary Dance Salt in Concert Oct. 24-26, Nov. 1-2 Salt 2 in Concert March 5-7 Link Showcase May 31 Pan July 6-11, 13-18 Body Logic Dance Company Anniversary Concert January 16-17 Choreography Festival April 4 Diavolo Utah Valley University April 3 & 4 Parson's Dance Brigham Young University April 10, 2020 Axis Dance Company Kingsbury Hall Nov 7 (Student Matinee)
Nov 21-23 Taylorsville High School 7 pm
UDEO is sponsoring the first ever All State Dance Ensemble this Fall. This event will include three days of dance and choreography for an evening performance. The purpose of the All State Dance Ensemble experience is to provide a high quality choreography and performance opportunity to students excelling in their dance programs across the state. The hope is that this experience is connected to achievements within the Naitonal Honor Society for Dance Arts. Learn more about the registration process below and contact NHSDA Chair, Katherine Call, at nhsda@udeo.org for any questions you might have. How does it work? Dance Company directors will hold a small audition from their dance company seniors using footage of a phrase provided by the choreographer. From there, they will choose between 5-10 dancers (depending on the size of your dance company, it can be less than 5), to attend rehearsals for the All State Dance Ensemble. Please try to send National Honor Society for Dance Arts members or at least those who will have their NHSDA points within the academic year. Who can participate in All State Dance Ensemble? Dance educators are encouraged to select seniors that have exceptional performance and technical dance ability, adequate academic achievement, and are or may be inducted NHSDA dancers from their audition process. However, if the dance company has excepetional sophomores or juniors that have the talent and decorum to work in a professional setting, then they are invited to audition and participate as well. What does it cost? After they are chosen, these dancers will need to pay $45 to attend and their director will register them through the UDEO website. It will be a similar process to registering and paying for Utah High School Dance Festival. The $45 is the same cost charged to choir and music students. When is it / What is the schedule? November 21 3:00 pm-9:00 pm, November 22 8:00 am - 9:00 pm, and November 23 9:00 am - 4:00 pm, with a performance at 7:00 pm. There will be lunch and dinner breaks built in.
2019 All State Dance Ensemble Choreographer
Rachel Repinz Rachel Repinz is a New York based dancer, choreographer, teaching artist, and accessibility advocate. Rachel received her BA in dance and design from SUNY Buffalo State College, and is an MFA candidate in Temple University’s dance performance and choreography program. Rachel has presented her work nationally and internationally, at venues including the biennial Decolonizing Bodies: Engaging Performance conference at UWI Barbados, the 2018 NDEO conference held in San Diego, DaCi's national conference, the Institute of Dance Artistry and more. In the past year, Rachel has been honored to perform works with Dr. S. Ama Wray, Enya-Kalia Creations, and Awilda Sterling-Duprey among others. In addition to her performance and choreography work, Rachel co-founded the National Honor Society for Dance Arts at Temple University, and has been a recipient of the Temple University Vice Provost Graduate Student Award, Hildsendager Fund, Cooper-Newell Foundation Performer Scholarship, and the Lucille and Jack Yellen Scholarship for Dance. Most recently, Rachel has returned from Tokyo, Japan, where she conducted fieldwork research on pedestrianism for the concert dance stage in preparation of her upcoming MFA thesis concert, set to premiere in Philadelphia, PA in Fall 2020. To keep up to date with Rachel and see an archive of her past works, visit her at @RachelandDancers on Instagram. "As a choreographer, I would self-describe my work as Modern based with Jazz/Tap influences. Some things that are important to me as a choreographer are: Improvisation, rhythm and musicality, good technique and being able to quickly pick up/remember choreography. Some things that are not as important to me are acrobatic/other tricks. I think it would be beneficial for students to improvise during the audition and also demonstrate musicality/personality by doing walks on the beat across the floor." Visit www.UDEO.org or follow us on Instagram and Facebook to find the link to the audition video.
Utah High School Dance Festival March 6th-7th, 2020
The Utah State Board of Education (USBE), in conjunction with the Utah Dance Education Organization (UDEO), is sponsoring the Nineteenth Annual State High School Dance Festival on Saturday, March 7, 2020. USBE and UDEO hope that you will join us and other Utah high schools and participate in this day of sharing, inspiring, learning, growing, and performing. The Festival will take place at Snow College in Richfield, UT. This Festival is similar to a high school level, one day ACDFA. The Festival is a full day of adjudication, tech rehearsals, and diverse classes in the morning and afternoon finishing with the Gala Performance at 6:00 p.m. Lunch and dinner is on your own. Each school may bring two works for adjudication (at least one must be a student-choreographed piece.) The dances will be judged on choreography, performance, and technique. Schools will be adjudicated using a standard of excellence, rather than competing against each other for a ranking. Additionally, each school may perform one dance in the Gala Performance. The Gala Performance is free to the public and non-ticketed. Dancers are requested to watch each other and stay for the entire concert. Dancers who are members of their school’s “National Honor Society for Dance Arts” will be recognized at the Gala. Awards and adjudicator remarks will be given to teachers at this time. Friday, March 6th, there will be a special master class/audition for select seniors/juniors. There is a minimal fee and requires registration to the festival and for the master class. More information on this event will come with confirmation of your registration. Participation fees are according to your UDEO/NDEO membership status. Please carefully review the attached state festival policies carefully. These fees cover classes, guest teachers, adjudicators, trophies, the gala performance, and rental fees. USBE and UDEO recognize that many dance programs are on a tight budget yet hope you will find this an educational and unique experience worth attending. Thank you for all the time you invest in your high school students. I also urge you to become an active member of the UDEO. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely, Ariel Hortin UDEO High School Festival Chair
UHSDF T-Shirt Design Contest Submit a T-shirt Design for Utah High School Dance Festival. Design winners will have their design printed on festival t-shirts and receive a free t-shirt as well as recognition at the UHSDF Gala Performance. Students and directors are welcome to submit ideas. Design Details • Design must include “Utah High School Dance Festival” or “UHSDF” • Must include the year 2020 • Must be a design for one side of the t-shirt, no sleeve designs • Indicate whether it would be on the front or back • Indicate the color of t-shirt you would prefer the design to be printed on. • No more than two colors in the design Submit a .png or vector file to publicity@udeo.org by January 10th. The UDEO Board will then select the top three designs and present them for voting on social media. Voting will end January 25th. Email publicity@udeo.org with any questions.
Utah Dance Festival-
Saturday March 7, 2020 Master classes hosted at Creative Arts Academy Gala performance at West High School.
Continue YOUR dance education.
Drop-in classes for adults, no commitment!
DANCE CLASSES
FOR ADULTS EVENINGS & WEEKENDS
ROSE WAGNER CENTER | 138 W BROADWAY
HIP HOP // MODERN // FL AMENCO J A Z Z // A F R I C A N // B A L L E T BO LLY WOO D // PR I M E M OV E M E N T (4 0 +)
w w w. R DTu t a h . o r g
UTAH DANCE EDUCATION ORGANIZATION (UDEO) is dedicated to the art form of dance as an essential educational component of life-long learning. This mission is accomplished by celebrating and promoting the rich diversity of dance in Utah. The primary goals of UDEO are: UDEO will develop a membership comprised of dancers, educators, choreographers, presenters, collaborative artists, administrators, dance companies, educational institutions, and advocates. This will provide an opportunity for increased effectiveness in networking, advocacy for dance, dissemination of information, and communication. UDEO will improve the quality and training of dance education in Utah by providing opportunities for creating, performing, and observing dance for all. The organization will address professional development, research and documentation, assessment and leadership. UDEO will build and support a Utah dance community that focuses on the education of the whole person in and through dance as an art and as a cultural manifestation.
www.ndeo.org
UDEO ARTS EDUCATION C/O Tess Boone 4829 South Viewmont Street SLC, UT 84117