Flexibility a Plus in New Dance Center
Climate control…skylights…technical booth…green room! All of these and more fantastic new features are available to Harvard dancers at the recently opened Harvard Dance Center. This exciting new addition for the arts at Harvard is located at 66 Garden Street, opposite the Quadrangle and adjacent to the Quad Athletic Center (QRAC). The state-of-the-art center emerged through the hard work of students, staff, deans, and a planning committee led by Associate Dean Judith Kidd.
“The Harvard Dance Center is an outstanding addition to an already vibrant dance scene on campus,“ says Kidd. “The strong student support for the new performance and rehearsal spaces was a major factor in the FAS and College’s decision to commit to providing the new center.”
In the new Dance Center, a 4100-square-foot teaching studio converts easily to a 200-seat, fully-equipped performance space. The studio has flooring suitable not only for modern and ballet, but for tap and ballroom work as well. The Center also features a second, smaller teaching and rehearsal studio. Administrative spaces include staff offices and a conference room with the Program’s collection of dance videos, periodicals, and books. Production spaces include a green room, costume storage, and a box office.
“The dance community at Harvard consists of a richly talented and diverse group of student dancers and choreographers who make an enormous contribution to the cultural and artistic environment of the College,” says Jack Megan, Director of the Office for the Arts. “Many already bring national recognition to Harvard’s Dance Program. The creative potential nurtured in the new Dance Center will have a ripple effect throughout the University and beyond.”
Inaugural Events
Events to kick off the Harvard Dance Center will be held throughout the 05-06 academic year. Students, staff, and faculty are invited to explore the Dance Center at an Open House, Thursday, October 20. From 5 to 7 pm, observe rehearsals in the two studios, tour the entire facility, and enjoy refreshments; at 7 pm watch students rehearse José Limón’s “Suite from a Choreographic Offering”; and at 8 pm see a screening of the film “Limón: A Life Beyond Words.” On November 5, the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange will present a free performance, following a weeklong residency at Harvard as part of the Law School symposium “Pursuing Human Dignity: The Legacies of Nuremberg for International Law, Human Rights, and Education.” The Inaugural Concert, presented by the Dance Program on December 9 and 10, will feature the first Harvard performance of José Limón’s “Suite from A Choreographic Offering,” and will be performed by the Harvard Contemporary Dance Ensemble. In January, former Bob Fosse dance captain and current NY dance instructor Jeff Shade will return to the Dance Program to teach the January Intensive, a blitz that features warm-up classes, as well as auditions and rehearsals for a new work to be presented at April’s “Dancers’ Viewpointe VI” concert.
Classes
Heather Watts and Damian Woetzel have joined the Dance Program as co-instructors for the fall Advanced Ballet class. Woetzel is currently a principal dancer at the New York City Ballet and Watts is a former principal dancer for that company. Members of the Boston Ballet Company will continue as guest instructors for the second of the two weekly Advanced Ballet classes.
Jodi Leigh Allen has returned to the Dance Program to teach Modern Strengthening and all levels of Jazz. Allen, who is director of dance at the Pomfret School in Connecticut, performed last season with the Metropolitan Opera Dance Ensemble, and will continue in their upcoming production of Romeo and Juliet.
Ellen and Tony Guglietti shared their energetic artistry as visiting artists in the Dance Program’s fall ’04 concert, and have returned as co-instructors for the Advanced Modern class. Tony Guglietti, a member of Sean Curran’s dance company, and his wife are directors of their own company in Worcester.
Special Events
On September 20, former José Limón dancer and current Boston Conservatory faculty member Jennifer Scanlon visited the Dance Program. Scanlon auditioned and taught selected students the Limón work to be presented in December. Her residency gives students the opportunity to totally immerse themselves in Limón’s style.
Dance Program director Elizabeth Bergmann and associate professor of music Hans Tutschku will join forces again this year for improvisational workshops. Held on two Tuesdays, October 11 and November 15, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm, the workshops are open to all Harvard student dancers and musicians, regardless of experience. Bergmann and Tutschku will also guide students in their curricular courses for choreographers and composers on an
ongoing basis.
