Moravian College Magazine Summer 2000

unexpected sources. She enticed Leon Fritz ’81, a place-kicker were recognized with flowers. The evenings were a resounding on the football team, along with a couple of other guys, to do a success. You didn’t have to know the difference between a disco number which was quite a hit. pirouette and a timed step to enjoy the kaleidoscope of moveOver the years the dance club has had opportunities to ment on stage. perform in myriad places, from New York City to the BethleAfter twenty-five years of dedication, Dawn Ketterman hem elementary schools. They even performed in the lingerie Benner announced that she was stepping down as director of department of the now-defunct Hess’s department the Moravian College Dancers (although not from store. No, they didn’t have to model, but it could the faculty of the College). She is seeking more have brought new meaning to “dancing with time to share with her daughter and more Dance at Moravian support”! opportunities to work with “Choreograhas a link with academic as The tradition continues. Cindy Kurtz phers in Concert,” a group she founded well as artistic distinction. arrived at the dinner with her identical for Bethlehem’s 250th-anniversary Patricia McAndrew ’68 won a twins Jen and Jackie, who also dance. celebration.

Fulbright Scholarship as a result of Many of the returning alumni Dawn called herself a late bloomer her senior Honors thesis on August reflected on their relationship with as a dancer. She started studying Bournonville, the nineteenth century dance seriously in 1972. Her passion Dawn. Catherine Shiels ’92 noted, Danish ballet master. As part of her “Dawn was energetic, a perfectionist. took her to the Jenkintown School of Fulbright work in Denmark, Patricia She challenged us. She taught us Dance and the Martha Graham discipline.” Joyce Shiels, Catherine’s School of Dance. She also attended translated My Theatre Life: The Memoirs mother, said, “Dawn cared about kids.” the American Dance Festival in North of August Bournonville, published in Many of the former dancers stated that Carolina and crossed the border to hone 1979, the centennial of Dawn encouraged them to be creative and her skills in Canada at the Toronto Dance Bournonville’s death, by allowed them, as seniors, to choreograph Festival and York University.

Weslayan Press. numbers to be performed in concert. They all Although she has “retired,” Dawn will still felt that the “I-can-do-that” attitude fostered by serve as the faculty advisor to the Moravian College their dance experience helped them to be successful in their Dancers. She hopes to secure a dance minor at Moravian. post-Moravian life.

In addition, she wants to reinstitute dance master classes and Some of Dawn’s protegés have continued their studies in encourage an artist-in-residence program. dance. Kathleen Kececi DelGuercio ’85 recently completed her Replacing Dawn as artistic director will be Pattie Bostick, master’s in dance and dance education at Teacher’s College, professor of dance, teacher, choreographer, and world-experiColumbia University. Kathie has been teaching dance in New enced dancer, who has worked with Dawn as an assistant and York and New Jersey for the past fifteen years. Her dance rouguest choreographer. tine called “Montage, ” which her troupe debuted in New York, was specially composed for the 25th anniversary concert.

At far left, Al Lowe ’00 dances “From the Soul.” Above left, Kathie Kececi The gala featured many of Dawn’s long-standing particiDelGurcio coaches one of her dancers. Below left, a Ballet Guild dancer pants: the Ballet Guild of the Lehigh Valley, the Coral Nolan performs in the pas de trois from La Bayadère. Above, Kathie Kececi Dancers, and Margot Ging’s DanceGing Company. A feeling of DelGurcio’s dancers rehearse “Montage.” nostalgia pervaded the room each night as the alumni dancers Photos: John Kish/Stephen Barth Photography.

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