EDUCATION

Six Week School June 11 - July 26

Curiosity, passion, and an eagerness to learn were all present as dancers from around the globe immersed themselves in the 2009 ADF Six Week School. The diverse student body included participants from 38 states and 27 countries, ranging from Argentina to Zimbabwe. Under the direction of ADF Dean Donna Faye Burchfield, the intensive program offered over 40 classes a day for students ages 16 and older. Within the Six Week School, the WFSS curriculum – presented on Wednesdays, Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays – offered additional ways for students to expand and deepen their interests. Students auditioned for ADF’s Past/Forward series, and accepted students had to opportunity to perform in Laura Dean’s Infinity reconstructed by Rodger Belman, Rosie Herrera’s reconstruction of her own work Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret, or Faye Driscoll’s ADF-commissioned world premiere, There is so much mad in me. Students were also able to audition for site specific pieces.

Classes included modern and ballet technique, composition, improvisation, repertory/archive projects, contemporary African, digital media, yoga, Pilates, voice and gesture, music, performance opportunities, informal open showings, and dance seminars. Company auditions were held by Shen Wei Dance Arts and Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet.

Four Week School June 28 – July 25

The Four Week School for Young Dancers, directed by Jeffery Bullock and designed for students ages 12–16, offered core classes in modern and ballet technique, African dance styles, composition/improvisation, and repertory. Additional weekly classes with notable faculty exposed students to different dance styles such as hip-hop and Pilates. The program focused on strengthening dance technique and fostering individual creativity.

2009 Summer Faculty
Ruth Andrien Rodger Belman Dominic “Shodekeh” Bouma David Brick Jeffery Bullock Tymberly Canale Tessa Chandler Shani Collins Elizabeth Corbett Douglas Corbin Jefferson Dalby Brenda Daniels Ruth Day Mark Dendy	David Dorfman Faye Driscoll Vladimir Espinosa Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell Natalie Gilbert Miguel Gutierrez Mark Haim Erika Hand John Hanks Francesca Harper James Healey Ellen Hemphill Rosie Herrera Sarah Honer Gerri Houlihan	Ishmael Houston-Jones Ashley James HeJin Jang LaShawn Jones Yang Keun Kim Rafael Lopez-Barrantes Paul Matteson Jennifer McGinn Yvonne Meier Amanda Miller Christine Nowicki Jennifer Nugent Ursula Payne Jimena Paz Jillian Peña	Lila Pierce Pamela Pietro Sherone Price Sara Procopio Claudia Howard Queen Atiba Rorie Khalid Saleem Makeda Thomas Michael Wall Ken Ray Wilemon Abigail Yager Ming-Lung Yang Jesse Zaritt

Scholarship Auditions

In 2009, over 290 students participated in 15 national scholarship auditions at locations across the country. Students applied for tuition scholarships. Awards were based on creative potential, technical ability, and financial need. Full and partial scholarships were awarded to promising students thanks to major support from the SHS Foundation, Wendy Scripps, Jay and Toshiko Tompkins, Fox Family Foundation, Curt C. Myers, Sebastian Scripps, and numerous others.

January Intensive December 29, 2008 – January 8, 2009

New and returning students followed the ADF to its winter home for the 14th annual January Intensive. The eleven-day program drew students to New York, where they were immersed in the city’s vibrant dance scene, learning directly from the artists who create it. In addition to technique, composition, improvisation, bodywork, and repertory classes, students attended performances by the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Parsons Dance, as well as Martha Clarke’s Garden of Earthly Delights.

January Intensive Faculty
Rodger Belman Michelle Boule Donna Faye Burchfield Shani Collins	Miguel Gutierrez Mark Haim Gerri Houlihan Ishmael Houston-Jones	John Jasperse Jennifer Nugent Pam Pietro Sara Procopio	Lisa Race Colleen Thomas Jesse Zaritt

Internships

The ADF offered more than 30 internships in various areas of arts administration and production during the 2009 season. The internship program is designed to enhance participants' understanding of arts administration and non-profit organizations. ADF interns also benefit from the Festival's position as a creative laboratory and a magnet for national and international exchange. In addition, ADF interns had the opportunity to take dance classes, attend performances, and participate in weekly seminars on relevant issues in the arts. The 2009 seminar speakers included: Margaret DeMott, Durham Arts Council; Choreographer Mark Dendy; Emil Kang, Director of Carolina Performing Arts; Denise Dickens, Town of Cary Public Arts Coordinator; William Lynch, Brooklyn Academy of Music; Arthur Waber, Artsource Management, LLC; and Karen Wells, Executive Director of Arts North Carolina.

Hollins University/American Dance Festival Programs

MFA Faculty & Distinguished Guests TJ Anderson Glenna Batson Douglas Becker Jen Boyle Jeffery Bullock Donna Faye Burchfield Thomas DeFrantz David Dorfman Irene Dowd HeJin Jang Mark Haim Ishmael Houston-Jones Pauline Kaldas Ralph Lemon Jung Eun Kim Celeste Miller Pamela Pietro Lisa Race Charles L. Reinhart Diane Shooman

The only one of its kind, the HU/ADF MFA program provides students with a wide range of creative experiences including stimulating seminars and lectures by renowned artists/scholars and professional networking, among many other exciting opportunities. The 2009 Season marked the program’s fifth year under the direction of Donna Faye Burchfield, Dean of the ADF and Professor of Dance at Hollins University. The degree program offers a flexible, yet rigorous, course of study using the resources of both institutions and offers two different tracks.

The Year Residency Track is for highly motivated students with a strong interest in expanding their knowledge and experience, especially in their creative work, in an uninterrupted way. The Low Residency Track is designed for mid-career artists, teachers and dance professionals. The integral learning that happens as a result of combining the traditional liberal arts setting at Hollins with the international professional world of the ADF opens up new possibilities for how dance research can happen and how important connections can be made between and within the art form.The 2009 summer session featured multiple performances by MFA participants, including a program over the festival’s closing weekend.

The simultaneous worlds of reading, researching, viewing, dancing, and discussing explode during the MFA program's summer sessions at the ADF.

Donna Faye Burchfield, ADF Dean

Again in 2009, HU and the ADF paired once again to introduce the BA/BFA combined degree program in dance, which is the first of its kind in the country. Building on the existing partnership between the two institutions, this is a unique opportunity for qualified students who are equally passionate about dance and their academic studies.

As students complete their undergraduate degrees and prepare for a professional career in dance or graduate study, the Post-Baccalaureate Certificate offers a year of time, support, and networking. The program is ideal for students who want to immerse themselves in a focused work environment that has a direct professional relationship to choreography, performance, and new directions in the field of dance.

photos by Sara D. Davis