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March 14, 2011
MMC Welcomes High School Students, Seniors to Experience the Work of Alwin Nikolais
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CONTACTS:
Jens Richard Giersdorf, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Dance, (212) 517-0615 / jgiersdorf@mmm.edu
Manny Romero, M.A., Director of Communications and Publications, (212) 517-0451 / mromero@mmm.edu
New York, N.Y. – With support from a National Endowment for the Arts American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius grant, Marymount Manhattan College is offering local high school students and seniors the opportunity to learn about American choreographer Alwin Nikolais, his work and his influence on the world of dance.
MMC’s dance department was awarded the grant in spring 2010. The $15,000 grant is the College’s first NEA award, which has enabled the dance department to pay homage to Nikolais with a series of performances, courses and public discussions. Associate Professor of Dance Jens Richard Giersdorf, Ph.D., executed the grant application.
The College’s dance department is opening technique classes to groups of high school students and seniors providing them the exclusive opportunity to engage in a college-level movement experience, focusing on the theories of space, time, shape and motion. The technique classes are part of the reconstruction of Nikolais’ Crucible, a 1985 piece featuring the use of inventive lighting, mirrors and abstract music that intensifies the dancers’ movements.
The groups visiting are from the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, the High School for Violin and Dance in the Bronx, Teachers Preparatory School of Brooklyn and the Carter Burden Center for Aging. Visitors will train for 40 minutes with the MMC students in Modern I dance class and then be offered a 40-minute seminar on Nikolais’ technique and body of work. Classes will be led by Peter Kyle.
“With this grant we are specifically interested in integrating the dance performances with a pedagogical mission,” Giersdorf said. “Both high school students and senior citizens will gain valuable exposure to the life and work of Alwin Nikolais. Even though the Nikolais technique is no longer widely taught, it is an influential part of the American dance canon. MMC is proud to contribute with the public outreach, in conjunction with a four part Dialogues in Dance lecture series and the performances of Crucible, to the international centennial celebration of Nikolais’ work.”
Eight performances of Nikolais’ Crucible are scheduled as part of the College’s 2011 Spring Repertoire. Performances are Thursday, April 28 through Saturday, April 30 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, April 30 at 2 p.m.; Thursday, May 5 at 8 p.m.; and Saturday, May 7 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m., in the College’s Theresa Lang Theatre. Visiting students and seniors will also have an opportunity to view rehearsals for the performances of Crucible.
Students from other dance concentrations will be involved in the school visits as lecture presenters, reinforcing the education mission of the College’s dance department. The visitations were organized with the assistance of MMC dance majors Amanda Dilodovico ’11 and Meghan Quinlan ’11. Both students said coordinating this project was a rewarding experience for them.
“I have benefited greatly from my involvement in the execution of this grant - not only did I gain experience in how to organize as well as execute a variety of events from panel discussions to these visits, but I also got to directly interact with many important people in the dance field that visited for the lectures,” Quinlan said. “It was an excellent opportunity to be involved in the execution of a federal grant while still an undergraduate student, especially since I will be pursuing dance studies at a graduate level next year and will likely be involved in more grants and similar activities post-graduation.”
“These visits will be extremely beneficial to the MMC students participating, as they provide several opportunities for hands-on experience to be gained and applied towards a potential teaching career,” said Dilodovico, a double major in dance and English. “Educating young students is certainly a rewarding challenge, and MMC students will benefit from this opportunity to utilize the verbal and corporeal communication skills gleaned in the classroom and studio.”
“Providing students with opportunities for engagement with dance beyond the classroom is one of the dance department’s primary goals,” said Katie Langan ’90, chair of the dance department. “As teachers, organizers, moderators, and lecturers, the NEA grant provided multiple platforms for the students to put to practice their education and enhance their experiences as citizens of the arts.”
Marymount Manhattan College is an urban, independent, liberal arts and sciences college. The mission of the College is to educate a socially and economically diverse student body by fostering intellectual achievement and personal growth and by providing opportunities for career development.
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