All events are open to the public.
artist talk i: brynne billingsley
Tuesday, June 11, 8 p.m., Babcock Auditorium, Dana Science Building
Artistic director of Brynne Billingsley & Artists, choreographing and performing artist Brynne Billingsley has created new dance work in diverse dance centers and art festivals in New York City and across the national performing arts scene. M.F.A. dance graduate student Billingsley will present her professional field portfolio in the form of an artist talk; sharing her extensive experiences in dance as she reflects upon her poignant journey as a performing and choreographing dance artist.
Artist talk II: Elizabeth Corbett O’Malley
Wednesday, June 12, 8 p.m., Babcock Auditorium, Dana Science Building
Celebrated ballet and performing artist, Elizabeth C. O’Malley has performed in world-renowned ballet companies. O’Malley danced leading roles with Ballett Frankfurt, Joffrey Ballet, and Milwaukee Ballet. She trained at the Joffrey School, School of American Ballet, and American Ballet Theater School. M.F.A. dance graduate student O’Malley will present her professional field portfolio in the form of an artist talk; sharing her extensive experiences in dance as she reflects upon her poignant journey as a performing and teaching dance artist.
M.F.A. Dance @ the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum
Puzzling Essence
Thesis Performance and Installation by M.F.A. Dance Graduate Student Eryn Schon-Brunner
Thursday, June 13, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 14 – June 23 – Installation
Tuesday through Sunday, 12 – 5 p.m.; Thursday, 12 – 8 p.m.
Eleanor D Wilson Museum
Puzzling Essence examines the nature of essence by juxtaposing portraits of a single subject in different media. Choreographer and M.F.A. dance graduate student Eryn Schon-Brunner engages with portrait artist Jeffrey Brunner, approaching the representation of essence with wide-eyed curiosity, using visual elements (portraits, signatures, video projections) and large toys (block puzzles, Jacob’s Ladder, and flip book portraits) in tandem with movement solos. Her work playfully deconstructs and reconstructs these representations as she inquires into the intrinsic make up of a person.
hollinsdance presents: Ann liv Young’s Mermaid Show
Friday, June 14; Saturday, June 15, 8:30 p.m., Hollins Theatre
Mermaid Show is an unconventional participatory performance that provokes audience reaction through theatre and movement. In Mermaid Show, a mermaid reclines on her back in a pool filled with water, while sailors spin narratives of refusal and perish, setting off an evening of radical new performance work. Mermaid Show includes popular songs that transform characters and fuels performance energy.
Performance artist and Hollins University alumna (class of 2003), Ann Liv Young emerged as one of the most provocative figures of the 2000s. She often uses fairytales to foreground interactions between audience and performer—producing highly publicized confrontations with everyone from Penny Arcade to Georgia Sagri. Her work evolves a complex mythology centered around provocative characters. After traveling extensively in Europe with her family of collaborators, Young arrives to Hollins M.F.A. dance program to perform her radical work Mermaid Show.
hollinsdance presents intends to showcase work of radical and marginalized artists, illuminating new dance and performance work shaping American dance histories and legacies. hollinsdance presents is curated by Hollins M.F.A. director, Jeffery N. Bullock.
Artist talk III: Zap McConnell
Tuesday, June 18, 2018, 8 p.m., Niederer Auditorium, Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center
Zap McConnell has been consistently contributing to her creative communities with her work for the last 28 years through her endeavors in dance, visual arts, movement, and film as a director, cocreator, and teacher. McConnell is a director/producer/performer of multimedia site specific performance experiences. McConnell will present her professional field portfolio in the form of an artist talk; sharing her extensive experiences in dance as she reflects upon her poignant journey as a performing and teaching dance artist.
Artist talk IV: Penelope Freeh
Wednesday, June 19, 8 p.m., Niederer Auditorium, Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center
Recognized and honored by national arts institution, Penelope Freeh has received numerous choreography/new work grants and fellowships. Freeh has created works for Minnesota Dance Theatre, James Sewell Ballet, Zenon Dance Company, and Link Vostok Dance Festival. In addition, Freeh’s extensive professional career includes engagements with Connecticut Ballet, Michael Mao Dance, TU Dance, Minnesota Opera, and James Sewell Ballet (additionally serving as an artistic associate). Freeh will present her professional field portfolio in the form of an artist talk; sharing her extensive experiences in dance as she reflects upon her poignant journey as a performing and teaching dance artist.
M.F.A. Dance Performance I
Friday, June 21, 8 p.m., Hollins Theatre
M.F.A. Dance Performance I features a collection of original work in performance and/or choreography by current M.F.A. dance candidates. As part of the thesis capstone research project, performance and dance work featured in this concert highlight a diverse approach to classical and contemporary dance practices, research, and making.
M.F.A. Dance @ the Eleanor D. Wilson Museum
In the Ether
Thesis Performance and Installation by M.F.A. Dance Graduate Student Erica Gionfriddo
Thursday, June 27, 7:30 p.m.; Friday, June 28 – July 7 – Installation
Tuesday through Sunday, 12 – 5 p.m.
Thursday, 12 – 8 p.m.
Eleanor D. Wilson Museum
In the Ether is a staged rehearsal of possible cyborg realities. Using the performance of identity as a lens to interrogate the ways emergent technologies decenter the body, this interactive exhibit offers participants the opportunity to question the distinction between their actual and virtual selves. Familiar technological devices and behaviors like smartphones, ear buds, selfies, and Facebook are “hacked,” or repurposed to serve not as prosthesis to, but in the pleasurable confusion of boundaries between reality and virtuality. Dance artist and M.F.A. dance student Erica Gionfriddo’s navigation of this cyber-playground is rooted in the hacking of her own identity via the relentless labor of confronting personal boundaries and finding the pleasure in the confusion of her internal borders.
Artist talk V: Jennifer Welch Cudnik
Tuesday, June 25, 8 p.m., Niederer Auditorium, Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center
Jennifer Welch Cudnik’s professional career is extensive. She has performed as a ballet artist with the Saint Louis Ballet, Pennsylvania Ballet, Stamford City Ballet, and State Ballet of Missouri. Cudnik has performed iconic repertory by prominent choreographers George Balanchine, Dennis Nahat, Gen Horiuchi, and many others. Cudnik will present her professional field portfolio in the form of an artist talk; sharing her extensive experiences in dance as she reflects upon her poignant journey as a performing and teaching dance artist.
Artist talk VI: Helen French
Wednesday, June 26, 8 p.m., Niederer Auditorium, Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center
Helen French received her professional dance training at the Juilliard School, receiving a B.F.A. in dance in 2001. She continued her performing career with Buglisi Dance Theatre (2001 – present) where she became a principal dancer and rehearsal director. Additional professional engagements include the following companies: Karen Reedy Dance, Nilas Martins Dance Company, Janie Brendel and Friends, Ballet Hispanico, and Nine Lives. French will present her professional field portfolio in the form of an artist talk; sharing her extensive experiences in dance as she reflects upon her poignant journey as a performing and teaching dance artist.
M.F.A. Dance Faculty/Staff Dance Concert
Friday, June 28, 8 p.m., Hollins Theatre
The faculty and staff dance concert features choreographic and performance work of faculty and staff engaged with the Hollins M.F.A. Dance 2018 summer gathering. Creative work is diverse, eclectic, and represents the amazing artistic talent of the Hollins summer gathering community.
M.F.A. Dance Performance II
Saturday, June 29, 8 p.m., Hollins Theatre
M.F.A. Dance Performance II features a collection of original work in performance and/or choreography by current M.F.A. dance candidates. As part of the thesis capstone research project, performance and dance work featured in this concert highlight a diverse approach to contemporary dance practices, research, and making.
Artist Talk VII: Kara Wilkes
Monday, July 1, 8 p.m., Niederer Auditorium, Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center
A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Kara Wilkes began her professional career performing classical and contemporary work for five seasons with Milwaukee Ballet Company. In 2006, she became a soloist for Victor Ullate Ballet in Madrid, Spain; Wilkes joined North Carolina Dance Theatre (now Charlotte Ballet) in 2007, where she danced leading roles for four seasons. She was named one of “25 to Watch” by Dance Magazine in 2009 and joined Alonzo King Lines Ballet in 2011. Wilkes will present her professional field portfolio in the form of an artist talk; sharing her extensive experiences in dance as she reflects upon her poignant journey as a performing and teaching dance artist.
Artist Talk VIII: ERica Gionfriddo
Tuesday, July 2, 8 p.m., Niederer Auditorium, Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center
Erica Gionfriddo received her B.F.A. in dance and performance from Shenandoah University in 2006. Gionfriddo has performed, taught, choreographed, and designed costumes all over the US.
Performances and/or collaborations include engaging with Moving People Dance, Robert Moses, Max Stone, luciana achugra, Anna Sololow, Gail Gilbert, Ekalos Reed, Bug Davidson, and Sam Watson. Gionfriddo will present her professional field portfolio in the form of an artist talk; sharing her extensive experiences in dance as she reflects upon her poignant journey as a performing and teaching dance artist.
Artist talk IX: Sean Nguyen-Hilton
Wednesay, July 3, 8 p.m., Niederer Auditorium, Richard Wetherill Visual Arts Center
Sean Nguyen-Hilton received his professional dance training at the Christine Clarkson School of Dance (England), and Center Stage School of Dance and Atlanta Ballet Center for Dance Education (Georgia). He continued his performing career with Armitage Gone! Dance, River North Dance Company, Civic Ballet of Chicago, Bay Area Houston Ballet Company, Northwest Florida Ballet, and many others. Nguyen-Hilton will present his professional field portfolio in the form of an artist talk; sharing his extensive experiences in dance as he reflects upon his poignant journey as a performing and teaching dance artist.
M.F.A. Dance Performance III
Friday, July 5, 8 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Hollins Theatre
M.F.A. Dance Performance III features a collection of original work in performance and/or choreography by current M.F.A. dance candidates. As part of the thesis capstone research project, performance and dance work featured in this concert highlight a diverse approach to contemporary dance practices, research, and making.
M.F.A. Dance Performance V / Mobile Tour
Saturday, July 6, 7 p.m., Various Sites – Hollins Campus
M.F.A. Dance Performance V features a collection of original work in performance and/or choreography by current M.F.A. dance candidates in site-specific locations on and around the Hollins campus. As part of the thesis capstone research project, performance and dance work featured in this concert highlight a diverse approach to contemporary dance practices, research, and making.