One quintessential element of ADF are hand-painted and brightly colored school buses. With the exception of an occasional break-down, these buses, affectionately named “Tank” and “Gentle Beauty”, take students to and from classes and dance performances. CyberDance rode the bus to learn about scholarship students’ favorite aspects of the festival. Since ADF would not thrive without the generous donations of patrons and businesses, the students say a huge “thanks.”

The Four Week School immerses students in an intergenerational and international community of dance, providing a fun yet intensive program of study designed to meet the needs of mature students ages 12 to 16. Students take three classes a day, four days a week, and participate in special workshops and classes offered by guest artists on Wednesdays and weekends.

In 1997, Ghanian choreographer and dancer Oh! Nii Sowah participated in the ADF’s International Choreographers Residency. Since then he has helped numerous students from Ghana attend the Festival. As chair of the Dept of Dance at the University of Ghana in Accra, he shared with CyberDance both his stories and wisdom.

Just over 30 years ago the American Dance Festival came to Durham, North Carolina. Not long behind came faculty members Natalie Gilbert, John Hanks, Gerri Houlihan, and Khalid Saleem. Summer after summer these faculty members have come to the ADF to partake in a cultural exchange that goes beyond the mere sharing of ideas. Teachers become mentors, and students expand their horizons. For their dedication to their art form and teaching for over 25 years, the ADF would like to thank and honor these four faculty members.

ADF dancers take the stage again for the fourth year as the Past/Forward program celebrates new and classic works. With works by Jerome Robbins, Merce Cunningham, and Tatiana Baganova, it is a show not to be missed! The Past/Forward performances will be at the Reynolds Industries Theater at 8pm, July 19-21. CyberDance spoke with a dancer from each of the pieces.

Every year, hundreds of students attend scholarship auditions for the ADF School at locations across the country. Awards are based on creative potential, technical ability, and financial need. These scholarships are possible thanks to the generous support of donors to the ADF. CyberDance spent some time with two ADF scholarship students.

An excerpt from Tatiana Baganova’s Post Engagement. Baganova’s work, along with works by Jerome Robbins and Merce Cunningham, will be performed at the Reynolds Industries Theater this week. For more information on this ADF performance, please visit the ADF website.

The ADF reconstructions of Jerome Robbins’ West Side Story Suite and Merce Cunningham’s Inlets 2 are supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. New work by Tatiana Baganova is commissioned by the ADF with support from the SHS Foundation. Additional support for Ms. Baganova’s residency provided by the Trust for Mutual Understanding.