Alchemy

the School of Dance presents

Assistant Concert Director: Constance Anderson in association with

Concert Director: Pamela Geber Handman

Concert Director’s Welcome

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to Alchemy, our legacy concert! This year, we are celebrating our 75th year as a College of Fine Arts at the University of Utah. Dance at this university – previously the Departments of Ballet and Modern Dance, now unified as a School of Dancehas a rich history intertwined with the legacies of several professional dance companies in our community including Ballet West, Repertory Dance Theater, and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. The choreography that you will see tonight celebrates the enduring influence and lasting significance of these long-standing relationships.

The University of Utah has some of the longest-standing dance programs in the country, offering BFA and MFA degrees in both Ballet and Modern Dance. Ballet West, Repertory Dance Theatre, and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company grew out of the University’s dance programs.

Looking back… Dance classes at the University of Utah were developed by Maud May Babcock, the first female faculty member at the University. Babcock established the University of Utah Departments of Speech and Physical Education, the original departments to house dance classes before any dance majors were established. In 1906, dance classes were offered as general physical education courses. Dr. Elizabeth R. Hayes was appointed the Director of Modern Dance in 1940, a time when all dance classes were still housed in the Physical Education Department. In 1953, Dr. Hayes established the BFA in Modern Dance and in these early years, hired Joan Woodbury and Shirley Ririe, both of whom later founded Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. Willam F. Christensen arrived on the University of Utah campus in 1949 and developed the Ballet program in 1951. This was one of the

first ballet programs at an American university and by 1962, students could major in Ballet and earn a BFA. At this same time, the University’s College of Fine Arts was formed. In 1966, the newly established Ballet and Modern Dance Department was united with one Departmental Chairperson, D. Gordan Paxman, with Mr. Christensen as the Director of Ballet and Dr. Hayes as the Director of Modern Dance. But in 1977, the two departments opted to separate. In 1988, Dr. Hayes officially retired from the department after 48 years, having taught longer than any other female faculty member at the University of Utah.

In 1955, Mr. Christensen formed the University Theatre Ballet and presented the first performance of The Nutcracker to Salt Lake City audiences, right here in Kingsbury Hall. The University Theatre Ballet eventually developed into the nationally-recognized Ballet West. In the 1960s, both RirieWoodbury Dance Company and Repertory Dance Theatre were established by Joan Woodbury and Shirley Ririe. By 1966, Repertory Dance Theater (RDT) began. When a $370,000 Rockefeller Foundation grant was awarded, RDT became the first full-time modern dance company outside of New York City. Virginia Tanner, founder of Children’s Dance Theatre (1949) was the project director for the Rockefeller Grant, also helping to establish Salt Lake City as a dance center in the United States. Linda Smith, alumnus of both Children’s Dance Theatre and the Department of Modern Dance, became a founding member of RDT. Linda Smith later became RDT’s Artistic Director in 1983 and has served in this leadership position ever since.

Ballet West, Repertory Dance Theatre and Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company grew out of the monumental efforts from early faculty and alumni in the University’s Departments of Ballet and Modern Dance. By the 1960s, Salt Lake City began to rise as a cultural center for dance thanks to these early innovators and advocates. K-12 public schools also began offering dance classes as a regular part of the curriculum, a

unique opportunity, one unlike other states in the US.

The dance legacy on the University of Utah’s campus also includes the building in which the School of Dance is now housed. Our current Alice Sheets Marriott Center for Dance was built in 1989 after nearly two decades of fundraising. The “old dance building,” originally constructed for physical education but used for many different purposes, had been built around 1905. The Utah Legislature provided $3 million for the new dance building while the J. Willard Marriott family contributed the remaining $2 million. The main theatre in the Alice Sheets Marriott Center for Dance was named after the founders Elizabeth R. Hayes and Willam F. Christensen.

There are many who left a lasting imprint on the School of Dance and the larger Salt Lake City dance community. The faculty, staff, and students of the School of Dance wish to dedicate Alchemy to two deeply influential dance leaders in our community who passed away this past year: Joan Woodbury and Bené Arnold. Both of these dance leaders helped forward the legacy of dance at the University of Utah in monumental ways.

Joan Woodbury (1927 - 2023)

Bené Arnold (1935 - 2024)

While we look back and honor those who came before us, setting the stages upon which we dance today, I invite us all to consider our places within this legacy, and the legacies we will leave for the generations after us. What gift might each one of us be able to contribute to make things better for those who follow us? How do we hope to leave our own marks on history? What do we hope to leave behind for others to continue building upon?

We are so glad you are here with us to celebrate this legacy. We hope you enjoy the performance this evening.

- Pamela Geber Handman Professor, School of Dance Concert Director

University of Utah Land

Acknowledgement

We acknowledge that this land, which is named for the Ute Tribe, is the traditional and ancestral homeland of the Shoshone, Paiute, Goshute, and Ute Tribes. The University of Utah recognizes and respects the enduring relationship that exists between many Indigenous peoples and their traditional homelands. We respect the sovereign relationship between tribes, states, and the federal government, and we affirm the University of Utah’s commitment to a partnership with Native Nations and Urban Indian communities through research, education, and community outreach activities.

Statement from the School of Dance Faculty Regarding Repertory Work

The School of Dance, as an educational institution and training ground for future dance professionals, values historic repertory for its cultural signifigance and the educational benefits the reproductions of these works offer our community. All artists create works that reflect their own sensibilities and offer artistic commentary on the era. When choreographic works are restaged and presented in a later era, they may not be representative of current cultural conversations and norms and may be interpreted in a variety of ways. We invite audience members to read program notes for the historical contexts of each work.

Coppélia (excerpts)

Originally choreographed in 1879 by Arthur St. Leon and first choreographed in the United States in 1939 by Willam F. Christensen for San Francisco Opera Ballet.

The first full length Coppélia seen in America was Willam F. Christensen’s version choreographed for the San Francisco Opera Ballet. It premièred on October 31, 1939, at the San Francisco War Memorial Opera House, with the choreographer dancing the role of Franz. Mr. Christensen again staged it when he came to the University of Utah for what was then called University Ballet Theatre in 1958. The Utah Civic Ballet revived it in 1966 and Ballet West performed it many times. When Ballet West toured in the early 1970’s, they performed several condensed versions of it as a one-act ballet. This restaging involves excerpts from Act I beginning with the energetic and rousing Mazurka set for eight couples and a lead couple that starts the festivities. Following the Mazurka will be the Wheat Pas de Deux. This duet references the superstition that if a young woman shakes a sheaf of wheat that will tell her if true love is in her future. Swanhilda continues to dance with her friends in technically demanding variations and a coda. The Wedding Pas de Deux from Act III is followed by a grand finale in which the whole cast dances.

Excerpts from Willam F. Christensen’s Coppélia are presented with the permission of Ballet West and the Willam F. Christensen family.

Choreography: Willam F. Christensen (1939)

Staging: Emma Capen, Tauna Hunter

Rehearsal Directors: Bruce Caldwell, Emma Capen, Tauna Hunter, Maggie Wright Tesch

Music: Leo Delibes

Lighting Design: Emily Bertelli

Stage Manager: Rebecca Johnson

Audio Visual Specialist & Editor for

Introductory Film: Benjamin Sandberg

Costume Design: Steve Rasmussen

Refurbished by the Marriott Center for Dance Costume Shop:

Christopher Larson (Costume Shop Supervisor and Resident Designer)

Madeleine Mann (Costume Shop Technician, Draper)

Clover Kelly (Costume Shop Technician, First Hand)

Makayla Cussen (Costume Technician, Stitcher)

Katie Winslow, Sofia Marie Lusitana,

Brianne Corbridge, Janet Ramirez (Work-study Students)

Backdrop: Courtesy of Utah Opera

Dancers

Mazurka

Addison Goan and Wyatt Johnson with Anouk Haffner, Anna Grace Cox, Alexa Rassbach, Layla Neslanovic, Mckenna Steneman, Tess Albert-Stauning, Madeline Franz, Reagan Manwaring, Hannah Kojouri,

MacKenna Bonner, Emily Pope, Paige Smith, Regan

Wilkens, Maggie Maierle, Willow Owens, Daria Millikin

Wheat Pas de Deux

Kirsten Rye and Wyatt Johnson

Understudies: Brianne Corbridge

Friends

Brianne Corbridge (4/19) / Chloe Hebdon (4/20), Brooke Baldwin (4/19) / Sammie Stinson (4/20), Mei Iguchi, Annika Hayes, Jasmine Parente, Eva Thompson, Katherine Yezer, Aurora Chernis

Wedding Pas de Deux

Sierra Willis and Tolly Stewart

Understudies: Jasmine Parente and Devin Hammond

Finale

Full Cast

Passengers

Choreographed by Viola Farber, Passengers was created through collaboration between Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) and the former Department of Modern Dance at the University of Utah in 1970. The piece was set on twelve RDT dancers as well as a larger group of twenty-three University of Utah dance students in April 1970 at Kingsbury Hall, under the title of “Intransit.” Since its creation, RDT has continued to perform the work and has utilized Ms. Farber’s choreographic concept in countless classes and workshops. In 2000, Passengers was re-staged by Linda C. Smith, RDT’s Artistic Director, for nineteen University of Utah dance students.

Passengers shows dancers dancing. Ms. Farber created a compositional structure that allows for chance relationships and spontaneous manipulation of the thematic material. Movement sections using individual steps, duets and group work are the basis for a score which may be “rewritten” for every performance. There are rules for how the dancers may vary the basic movement phrases. The length and order of the sections is variable and many creative choices are offered to the performers. The responsibility for creating a compelling performance relies on the inventive choices made by the performers. The work is performed in silence. The sound of the dancers movement, their talking, and counting is all part of the sound score.

This Passengers performance is presented with permission of Jeff Slaton, Executor of the Viola Farber Estate.

Choreography: Viola Farber (1970)

Re-Staging: Linda C. Smith

Rehearsal Director: Roxanne Gray

Lighting Design: Emily Bertelli

Stage Manager: Rebecca Johnson

Audio Visual Specialist & Editor for Introductory Film: Benjamin Sandberg

Costume Design: Clover Kelly

Realized by the Marriott Center for Dance Costume Shop:

Christopher Larson (Costume Shop Supervisor and Resident Designer)

Madeleine Mann (Costume Shop Technician, Draper)

Clover Kelly (Costume Shop Technician, First Hand)

Makayla Cussen (Costume Technician, Stitcher)

Katie Winslow, Sofia Marie Lusitana,

Brianne Corbridge, Janet Ramirez (Work-Study Students)

Dancers

Miriam Au, Tally Ballas, Emilie Bishop, Kiley Culkin, Lauren Ellsworth, Devin Etcitty, Sophie Greenwood, Hannah Hudson, Kayla Madsen, Emma Mangers, Marlee O’Toole, Zhenya Ragulin, Jensen Rasmussen, Fernanda Rodriguez, Natalie Russell, Ella Shippen, Esther Simmons, Lydia Smith, Annalise Wood

The Parable (premiere)

Thank you to Melonie Murray whose invitation sparked the creation of this new work; to Pamela Geber Handman for your tireless efforts supporting its development from casting to performance; to Constance Anderson for your daily presence as a committed, attentive, and encouraging rehearsal director – your unwavering support has been instrumental; to all of the performers for your creativity, commitment to the process, and positive energy; and finally, to the School of Dance design team and staff for all of your additional support. Each of you has played an indispensable role in bringing this vision to life, and I am deeply grateful for the collaboration, passion, and warmth you’ve all brought to this project. – Daniel Charon

“Purpose

Unifies us: It focuses our dreams, Guides our plans, Strengthens our efforts.

Purpose

Defines us, Shapes us, And offers us Greatness. ”

- Octavia E. Butler, Parable of the Talents

Choreography: Daniel Charon in collaboration with the Dancers

Rehearsal Director: Constance Anderson

Music: Michael Nyman, Where the Bee Dances, for soprano saxophone and orchestra – performed by Amy Dickson

Lighting, Projection, and Scenic Design: William Peterson

Scenic Construction: William Peterson and Liam Oaks

Stage Manager: Rebecca Johnson

Audio Visual Specialist & Editor for Introductory Film: Benjamin Sandberg

Costume Design: Christopher Larson

Constructed by the Marriott Center for Dance Costume Shop:

Christopher Larson (Costume Shop Supervisor and Resident Designer)

Madeleine Mann (Costume Shop Technician, Draper)

Clover Kelly (Costume Shop Technician, First Hand)

Makayla Cussen (Costume Technician, Stitcher)

Katie Winslow, Sofia Marie Lusitana,

Brianne Corbridge, Janet Ramirez (Work-Study Students)

Dancers

Katherine Boyce, Haley De Camara, Sicily Demmerly, Lucy Flaming, Ellie Germaine, Birdie Hadden, Lily Hammons, Kalli Jones, Hannah Kiers, Emily Marsh, Madeline Nelson, Ellie Russell, Allison Shafter, Marlee Stephens, Cooper Sullivan, Sean Sullivan, Max VanNocken-Witmer, Em Zinn

Thank you for joining us this evening.

Biographies

Constance Anderson concert assistant for Alchemy, rehearsal assistant for The Parable Constance Anderson is a Salt Lake City-based choreographer and artist. She founded her company, Sock Opera Dance, in 2019 to experiment with the ephemeral nature of dance

through the lens of space, asking, “What is the relationship between choreography and its venue?” Constance is currently working towards her thesis, combining choreography, architecture, and philosophy as an MFA candidate and Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Modern Dance MFA program at the University of Utah. Anderson formerly created work in the central Wisconsin community and formed an artist’s collective, vying for all typed artists to have space for their work. Anderson created a platform to publish and provide exposure in contextually relevant found spaces. She performed with the Li Chiao-Ping Dance Company, both nationally and internationally, for five years, leading her to the Madison area. The University of Wisconsin-Madison invited her to both perform and set Li Chiao-Ping Dance repertory as a former company member on current students and present Sock Opera Dance material. In addition, Anderson is interested in world building inside of her artistic practice, choreographing movement for theatre at various collegiate institutions in the United States and movement for the camera as a filmmaker. She will be receiving her Screendance Ceritificate at the University of Utah, and recently completed a certification in Theatrical Intimacy Staging.

Bruce Caldwell Rehearsal Director for Coppélia

Bruce Caldwell, a native of Salt Lake City, Utah, began his early ballet training in 1961 from Bene Arnold and later from Willam F. Christensen. He first appeared on stage in Salt Lake City in Kingsbury Hall with the University Theater Ballet as a child in The Nutcracker in 1962.

Joining Ballet West, then known as the Utah Civic Ballet, as an apprentice in 1968, he moved through the ranks becoming a principal dancer in 1973. Caldwell also trained under Bruce Marks, Toni Lander, Royes Fernandez, David Howard, Denise Schultze, Sondra Sugai and Petrus Bosman. During his tenure at Ballet West he has danced most major roles in their repertoire, including Albrecht in Giselle, Siegfried in Swan Lake, the title roles in Don Juan, and Don Quixote, Sugar Plum Cavalier in The Nutcracker, Prince Florimund in The Sleeping Beauty, Count Vronsky in Anna Karenina, Franz in Coppelia, Christ in Sanctus, Oberon in The Dream, Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet, as well as principal roles in Etudes, Symphony in C, and Carmina Burana.

Caldwell has the distinction of being the only dancer to have danced under the direction of all five of Ballet West’s Artistic Directors: Willam F. Christensen, Bruce Marks, John Hart, Jonas Kåge, and Adam Sklute. He has appeared as guest artist for many regional companies throughout the U. S. , as well as performing in international competitions in Moscow, Russia, and Osaka, Japan. Caldwell has been a guest artist, guest teacher, and choreographer with many companies in the United States and has traveled to La Paz, Bolivia to teach and choreograph, assisted by Partners in America and the United States Department of State. Caldwell is currently Ballet Master for Ballet West. In 1989 he received the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce Excellence in the Arts Award, and a year later, the Governor’s Award, presented by the Utah Arts Council.

Emma Capen

Staging and Rehearsal Director for Coppélia

Originally from Colorado Springs, Colorado, Emma studied Vaganova technique under German and Valentina Zamuel of the Maliy Theatre of Opera and Ballet and the Royal Ballet of London, as well as character dance from Marina Oreshkevich, formerly of the Moiseyev Dance

Company. Emma has partnered with Ivan Putrov, former principal dancer of the Royal Ballet, in leading roles for select performances such as Swan Lake, Paquita, and The Nutcracker.

Emma graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Oklahoma in 2021 with her B. A. in Spanish and a minor in Dance History, and she worked closely with the OU School of Dance. Emma is also bilingual in Spanish. During her time at OU, Emma performed as a dancer in Oklahoma Festival Ballet’s I Rise, choreographed by Amy Hall Garner, and Storge, choreographed by OU School of Dance Alumnus and current Dance Theater of Harlem dancer Micah Bullard. Emma had the opportunity to work as the Assistant to the Young Children’s Ballet Mistress for the University of Oklahoma’s production of Willam F. Christensen’s The Nutcracker. She premiered and performed in her first choreographic work, Chasing Joy.

Emma comes to the University of Utah from the Oklahoma City Ballet’s Yvonne Chouteau School where she was an instructor for ballet, pointe, variations, Progressing Ballet Technique®, and character dance while acting as the School Coordinator. She choreographed several original character dance ensembles, which were performed for large audiences. Emma was recognized at Youth America Grand Prix 2023 for the Outstanding Teacher Award as part of the Oklahoma City Ballet School’s Faculty. Since moving to Utah, she has also taught character classes for Ballet West Academy. Currently, Emma is a Ballet MFA Candidate and Graduate Teaching Assistant for the University of Utah’s School of Dance.

Daniel Charon Choreographer, The Parable

Artistic Director of RirieWoodbury Dance Company since 2013, Daniel Charon has been active as a choreographer, teacher, and performer for over twentyfive years. While based in New York City, Daniel maintained a project-based company and danced with

Doug Varone and Dancers and the Limón Dance Company. Additionally, he performed with Doug Elkins and Friends, the Metropolitan Opera, the Aquila Theater Company, and the Mary Anthony Dance Theater. He is a BFA graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and an MFA graduate of the California Institute of the Arts in Choreography and Integrated Media.

As Ririe-Woodbury’s Artistic Director, Daniel has created original works for the stage, gallery installations (Utah Museum of Contemporary Art), and had designed video for his and other choreographers’ works. Daniel is the recipient of City Weekly’s Best of Utah 2016 Award in Choreography for his Together Alone Trilogy. Independently in Salt Lake City, he has shown his work at Mudson and 12 Minutes Max and choreographed The Pearl Fishers and Aida at the Utah Opera. Daniel’s choreography has also been produced by the 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Festival, the Inside/Out Series at Jacob’s Pillow, and the Dance Complex.

A nationally known and respected educator, Charon regularly teaches master classes and workshops nationally and internationally and has taught at the Metropolitan Opera, the Bates Dance Festival, Salt Dance Fest, North Carolina School of the Arts Summer Comprehensive, Varone Summer Dance Workshops, and Limón Summer Workshops. He has been a guest artist at numerous universities and was an adjunct faculty member at Hunter College (NYC) and the California Institute of the Arts. Daniel has staged the works of José Limón, Jirí Kylián, and Doug Varone at schools and companies around the world.

Willam F. Christensen

Choreographer, Coppélia

Willam Farr Christensen (August 27, 1902 – October 14, 2001) was an American ballet dancer, choreographer and founder of the San Francisco Ballet and Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. He is known for bringing the complete version of the Russian ballet The Nutcracker to the United States, as well as staging the first American performances of Swan Lake and Coppélia. Christensen’s Nutcracker was first staged in 1944 in San Francisco, where the ballet remains an annual tradition, though the production now staged there is not necessarily the Christensen version. Christensen is often credited with helping to rejuvenate American dance.

Christensen left the San Francisco Ballet in the care of his brother, Harold, to help choreograph a stage production at the University of Utah in the summer of 1948. While there, he was asked to stay on and help the University create a Department of Ballet. He agreed, and spent the remainder of his life working in Utah and the Intermountain West. The University of Utah was the first accredited University to have a ballet department in the U. S. While in Utah, Christensen also founded Ballet West. Author Debra H. Sowell wrote that Willam, Harold, and Lew Christensen are the closest thing the United States has to a European-style “ballet dynasty”. Christensen was raised in Brigham City, Utah and was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Viola Farber Choreographer, Passengers

Viola Farber studied music at the American University in Washington, D. C. and later attended Black Mountain College in North Carolina where John Cage and Merce Cunningham and Robert Rauschenberg created the first “happening. ” She joined the original Cunningham Company

in 1953, leaving after twelve years to develop her own company and create her own repertory. She established an international reputation as a choreographer and teacher in the Cunningham studio in New York City, The London School of Contemporary Dance, and The Centre National de Danse Contemporaine in Angers, France. In 1971 Viola and her husband, Jeff Slayton, were awarded the gold medal for expression and creativity at the ninth International Festival in Paris. Viola Farber spent the last 10 years of her life as the director of the dance program at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. She passed away in 1998. Christensen was raised in Brigham City, Utah and was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Roxanne Gray

Rehearsal Director for Passengers

Roxanne Gray is a Salt Lake City-based independent choreographer, teaching artist, filmmaker, and curator. She is a current Modern Dance MFA Candidate and Graduate Teaching Assistant at the University of Utah. Gray is the Founder, Director, and Curator of 801 Salon, a monthly multidisciplinary arts and performance series in Salt Lake City. She is also the Founder and Director of PlayGround Dance Project, a local choreography flash incubator.

Pamela Geber Handman

Concert Director for Alchemy

Pamela Geber Handman is a Full Professor in the School of Dance at the University of Utah, currently serving in her 24th year as a full time faculty member. She holds an MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle with an emphasis in dance science and education, a BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with an emphasis in performance and choreography, and a certification in Carl Orff’s teaching pedagogy for dance and music from Bloomingdale House of Music in New York City. She has performed professionally with Sara Rudner, Wendy Perron, David Gordon, Fred Darsow and in works by Stephen Koester, David Dorfman, Susan Marshall, Doug Varone, Mark Dendy, Zvi Gotheiner as well as reconstructions by Vaslav Nijinsky, Alwin Nikolais and Doris Humphrey. Pamela has also been a student of the Alexander Technique, Ideokinesis, Bartenieff Fundamentals and Feldenkrais Awareness Through Movement, continuing to integrate somatic principles and practices within her own teaching. More recently, Pamela completed her first 200-hour Yoga Teacher certification as well as a Yin Yoga certification.

Pamela has ongoing interest working with individuals who have special needs and mixed ability communities, Pamela organized and co-taught (alongside local writer, Melissa Bond), a workshop entitled “Jump Start”: a dance and story-sharing workshop for individuals with Down Syndrome and their families for which a documentary film was created, funded by both the Utah’s State Office of Education and the Council for Dee Fellows. Pamela received another Council for Dee Fellows grant in collaboration with Professor Angela Smith, Professor Kristen Paul, and Utah Presents, co-developing a week-long series of workshops and discussions about disability and the arts and centered on Axis Dance Company, a professional dance company including members who are physically disabled.

Tauna Hunter

Staging and Rehearsal Director for Coppélia

Tauna Hunter is Professor Emeritus and retired Chair of Dance at Mercyhurst University (1994-2019). She began her dance training with Willam F. Christensen and continued at the University of Utah where she earned BFA and MFA degrees in ballet performance and choreography. She performed as a principal dancer with Ballet West and Dallas Ballet and appeared as a guest artist with Ballet Concerto, Colorado Ballet, David Taylor Dance Theatre, Northern Ballet Theatre (England), The Pavlova Celebration International Tour and numerous regional companies throughout the United States. In 1985, she co-founded DANSOURCE, a national networking and information service that connected dancers and companies for over ten years. As its Managing Director, she was highlighted in “Megatrends 2000” and featured in “Success” Magazine as a trendsetter in the future of the arts. Ms. Hunter has appeared in all the major roles of the classical repertoire and has taught for companies, universities, and private schools throughout the United States and in England, Canada, and China. She has staged numerous full-length classical ballets and choreographed over twenty-five contemporary works. For 10 years she was a Guest Artist in Residence for the Interlochen Arts Academy summer dance program and in 2023 she taught workshops for Joffrey South, University of GA, Ballet Concerto, Margo Dean’s School of Dance, Erie Contemporary Ballet Theatre, Mercyhurst Summer Dance Experience and the Cleveland Ballet Conservatory. She has been honored with the Chautauqua Artist Teacher Award, Erie Arts and Culture Lifetime Achievement Award, the University of Utah Legacy Award and was highlighted in the July 2017 issue of Dance Teacher Magazine. She currently serves on the Advisory Boards of Ballet Concerto (TX) and Dance Now Miami! (FL). She has also served as Chair of the Erie Arts and Culture board, on the University of Utah Artistic Advisory Council, the National Association of Schools of Dance board and locally acted as artistic advisor to Lake Erie Ballet for eighteen years.

Linda Smith

Re-Stager, Passengers

A native of Utah, Linda began her career in dance at the age of four with Virginia Tanner’s Children’s Dance Theatre. In 1966 she become a founding member of Repertory Dance Theatre where she fulfilled her dream of becoming a performer, teacher, choreographer, writer, producer and eventually, in 1983, the Artistic Director for the company.

Her pursuits have led to the development of the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, to the establishment of the RDT Community School, to providing commissions for established and emerging choreographers, and to the creation of multi-disciplinary activities that focus on the dance history, the environment, social issues, multi-ethnic history, sustainability and community. Linda’s performing experience spans over 90 works. She has taught in over 1000 schools bringing the magic of dance to students and teachers with her unique demonstrations, lectures, classes and professional development workshops. She is most at home encouraging audiences of all ages to imagine, create and communicate with the language of movement.

Smith actuates RDT’s vision and aesthetic values to insure that artistic vibrancy drives RDT initiatives, educational programs, and performances. She cultivates dancers as artists, innovators, and company stewards to serve as role models when teaching youth of all ages/abilities in school/community settings. Linda is a graduate and an Adjunct Associate Professor of dance at the University of Utah and is a certified Movement Specialist in the Utah Artists-inEducation Program.

Maggie Wright Tesch

Staging and Rehearsal Director for Coppélia

Maggie Wright Tesch retired from her career with Ballet West spending 12 of her 18 years as a Principal Artist in May of 2006. She completed a BFA in Ballet from the University of Utah, her Polestar Pilates Certification and is certified in the Progressing Ballet Technique. In 2006, the School of Dance invited her to teach as an Adjunct Professor and received an appointment to full Professor/Lecturer in 2019. She has been awarded five grants and regularly serves on University, College and School of Dance committees and, in 2017, she was appointed Director of the University of Utah Ballet Summer Intensive that hosts up to 125 students every summer.

Maggie is an American Ballet Theater Certified Teacher who has completed the ABT’s Teacher’s Training Intensive in PrimaryLevel 7 and Partnering of the ABT National Training Curriculum. As a result, her university teaching and research have expanded to include theory courses in both undergraduate and graduate Pedagogy and Pointe Methodology. She teaches and coaches in internationally recognized schools worldwide, including the Ballet West Academy, University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Boston Ballet School, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater School, and most recently American Ballet Theatre’s JKO School.

Demonstrating her commitment to providing opportunities for students from all communities, she helped facilitate the Ballet Program’s participation in the MLK Celebration on campus in 2021. She collaborated on a Teaching Grant with Utah Presents to host Memphis-based professional black company, Collage Dance Collective, in the spring 2023 that included 59 community dancers and 15 university artists who performed two student outreach performances and two evening performances with the company.

Production Team

Emily Bertelli Production Director

William Peterson Technical Director

Rebecca Johnson Stage Manager

Benjamin Sandberg Audio-Visual Specialist

Costume Shop

Christopher Larsen Costume Shop Supervisor & Resident Designer

Clover Kelly

Costume Shop Technician, first Hand

Makayla Cussen Costume Shop Technincian, Stitcher

Madeleine Mann Costume Shop Technician, Draper

THE PEOPLE OF THE SCHOOL OF DANCE

FACULTY

Christopher Alloways-Ramsey – Assistant Professor, Recruitment Director

Melissa Bobick – Assistant Professor

Douglas Corbin – Professor (Lecturer), Musical Director

Daniel Clifton – Associate Professor (Lecturer)

Joselli Deans – Associate Professor

Natalie Desch – Assistant Professor, Recruitment Director

Pamela Geber Handman – Professor

Eric Handman – Associate Professor, Director of Graduate Studies

Molly Heller – Assistant Professor

Satu Hummasti – Associate Professor

Jay Kim – Associate Professor, IBSI Director, Director of Undergraduate Studies

Kym McDaniel – Assistant Professor, Screendance Program Head

Christine McMillan – Associate Professor (Lecturer)

Melonie Murray – Professor, Director, School of Dance

Pablo Piantino – Assistant Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies

Sara Pickett – Associate Professor (Lecturer), Director of Undergraduate Studies

Ben Sandberg – Assistant Professor (Clinical), A/V Specialist

Mary Ann Walton Lee – Associate Professor (Lecturer), Artistic Director

Tanner Dance

Maggie Wright Tesch – Professor (Lecturer), UBSI Director

Luc Vanier – Professor

ADJUNCT FACULTY

Rebecca Aneloski – Adjunct Instructor

Rosie Banchero - Adjunct Assistant Professor

Lynne Larson - Adjunct Assistant Professor

Christine Moore – Adjunct Assistant Professor

Justine Sheedy-Kramer - Adjunct Associate Professor

Jasmine Stack - Adjunct Assistant Professor

FACULTY EMERITI

Bené Arnold – Distinguished Professor

Emerita, Distinguished Alumna

Ellen Bromberg – Distinguished Professor

Emerita

Jacqueline Clifford - Professor Emerita

Abby Fiat - Professor Emerita

Barbara Hamblin - Associate Professor

Emerita, Distinguished Alumna

Phyllis Haskell - Professor Emerita, Distinguished Alumna

Stephen Koester - Professor Emeritus

Sharee Lane - Associate Professor Emerita

Conrad Ludlow - Associate Professor

Emeritus

Loabelle Mangelson Clawson - Professor

Emerita

Shirley Ririe - Professor Emerita

Brent Schneider – Professor Emerita

Jon Scoville - Associate Professor Emeritus

Donna White - Professor Emerita

Joan Woodbury - Professor Emerita

MFA CANDIDATES

Constance Anderson – MFA Candidate

Emma Capen – MFA Candidate

Roxanne Gray – MFA Candidate

Rebekah Guerra – MFA Candidate

Carly Herrmann – MFA Candidate

Ruger Memmott – MFA Candidate

Alexia Poutrino Maikidou – MFA Candidate

ADMINISTRATION

Melonie Murray - Director

Will Maguire - Administrative Manager

Sheridan Hutchinson - Administrative Assistant

Merritt Mecham - Marketing & Design

Hope Ferguson – Office Assistant

COSTUME SHOP

Christopher Larson – Costume Shop

Supervisor & Resident Designer

Madeleine Mann – Draper

Clover Kelly – First Hand

Makayla Cussen – Head Stitcher

Sofia Marie Lusitana, Katie Winslow, Brianne Corbridge, Janet Ramirez – WorkStudy Students

ACCOMPANISTS

Amy Bach – Accompanist

Vilena Barekyan – Accompanist

Mark Chaney – Accompanist

Wayne Coons – Accompanist

Jordan Fajardo-Bird – Accompanist

Max Hall – Accompanist

David Herrmann – Accompanist

Tristan Moore – Accompanist

Brian Pappal – Accompanist

Tatsiana Rasmussen – Accompanist

John Rukavina – Accompanist

Wachira Waigwa-Stone – Accompanist

Kimball Whitaker – Accompanist

PT/ATC

Christopher Michaels – Athletic Trainer

PRODUCTION

Production Director - Emily Bertelli

Technical Director - William Peterson

Production Stage Manager - Rebecca

Johnson

Video Director - Benjamin Sandberg

Videographers - Leo Lynn, Samuel Schild

Run Crew - Susan Burnap, Madeline

Franz, Haley Freeman, Leo Lynn, Derek

Morales, Liam Oaks, Abby Pace, Maxwell

VanNocken-Witmer

The School of Dance akcnowledges and thanks the following donors for their generous support during fiscal year July 1, 2022 - June 30, 2023

Contributors | $2,500+

Christie Walker

Brandon Walker

Gordon and Connie Hanks

Benefactors | $1,000$2,499

Andrew De Camara

Allison De Camara

Jean Sabatine

Anne Riffey

John Veranth, PhD and Martha Veranth

Abby and Jerome Fiat

Patrons | $500 - $999

Henning Haffner

Sophie Kane

Cafe Zupas

Lou Leberti

The Field Foundation

Sheila Ainlay and Michael Steiner

Sean Carter

Friends | $200 - $499

Brent Schneider and Kim Blackett

Rae Barnes

Arkansas Community Foundation

Melonie Murray, PhD and Steve

Murray

Edward Folts

The Benevity Community Impact Fund

Intel Corporation Corporate Office

Andrea Nelson

Eastern Arts Society

Michael and Carolyn Stransky

Karyn Strickler

Brenda Daniels

Melissa Panek

Dixie Moore

West Point Ballet Academy

Brendan M. Guiliano

Jennifer Guiliano

Andrew and Alice Sullivan

Jonathan Scoville and Tandy Beal

Fans | $100 - $199

CENGAGE Learning

Robyn Connors

Isabel Shimanski

Grant Smith, PhD

Marsha Knight and Leigh Selting

Kim Morris and Rheba Vetter, PhD

Panda Restaurant Group, Inc.

Eric and Pamela Handman

Chipotle Mexican Grill

Lisette Miles

A. Kent Greene, JD and Jan Greene

Judith and Bruce Frumker

Jean Christofferson

Paul Keir

Bob Knous

Marla Polk

Linda Jellison

Joe Rejsek

Dianne Shelden Howe Trust

Dennis and Margaret Tesch

Janet and Gregory Shaw

Wendy Thompson

Patricia Rubley and Raymond Rubley, Jr.

Maureen McGill

Dianne Howe, PhD

Thomas Welsh, PhD and Sue

Carpenter

Priscilla Campbell, CPA

Michele and Lawrence Holzman

SELECT PERFORMANCES WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED AT https://www. dance. utah. edu/ performances-events

We recognize that the arts are a vital part of our connection to one another, and we need connection now more than ever. So, we, in the School of Dance, have made the decision to provide free access to any patron who would like to be moved by our movement this year.

For those who would like to help us make our art available to more, or who would like to support the work of our talented faculty, staff and students, we welcome your financial contributions.

But for now and while we can, we’re letting the art be free.

This year marks the College of Fine Arts 75th anniversary, and as new faces join our community, we can’t help but think of all who came before, leaving their mark on the unique history of the College of Fine Arts. Each is a vital component of our expanding creative ecosystem. We are filled with gratitude for where we have been and anticipation for where we’re headed.

Your gift in honor of this monumental landmark — no matter the size — fuels dreams taking root in the College of Fine Arts. Thank you for investing in our future.

Tap here to make a gift now.

Come to Utah to experience the highest standard of Classical Ballet in a safe and inclusive atmosphere while supported by our renowned ballet masters and contemporary faculty, beautiful facilities, and the amazing Salt Lake City landscape.

June 17 - July 12, 2024