Greece and Italy
The Dionyssiou Amphitheater
Photo by Susana B. Williams
Choreographers Wess Staats and Michelle Nance enjoying the stores at Plaka
The old medieval gallery in Bari, Italy
An Invitation from the Director
Dear Choreographers,
On July 1, 2008 a group of distinguished choreographers will arrive in Athens, Greece to be featured in "The International Choreographers' Showcase," a presentation of Dance-Forms Productions for the 22nd World Dance Conference to be held at Plaka, the picturesque old town of Athens and at the open air Dora Stratou Theater from July 2 through July 6, 2008. The Dora Stratou Theater has a large stage and seating capacity for 900 people. Recognized as one of Athens most beautiful theaters, located on the Philopappou Hill next to the Acropolis.
On July 6 the group of choreographers and dancers travel to Bari, Italy to perform at the outdoor theater located on the marina of Bari (exactly in the main plaza of Giovinazzo), facing the beautiful shores of the Adriatic sea in the Puglia Region (County) of Italy. The audience sits 300 people. This performance is one of the special features to be presented at Bary's University of Dance & Theater Annual Festival.
This exciting trip will offer choreographers an excellent opportunity to perform their work, make contact with the press, numerous dance directors, producers, presenters, other artists, (hopefully to negotiate new engagements!).
A dynamic platform for the promotion and presentation of contemporary dance, "The International Choreographers' Showcase" is a mini market where many presenters get together to select dance works for their programs. Dance-Forms Productions initiated "The International Choreographers' Showcase" in 1994, premiering at Festival Off d'Avignon in Avignon, France. Since then "The International Choreographers' Showcase has delighted international festivals with presentations of outstanding contemporary dance.
I invite choreographers who are willing to invest in themselves and who are interested in expanding their knowledge of other cultures, as well as promoting their work abroad. I invite choreographers who see this thrilling event as an opportunity to benefit their professional development. You receive a complete production package, which includes: the theaters, lighting, sound, technical assistance, publicity, pre-show rehearsal arrangements, printed materials, printed programs, and hotel accommodation based on two persons sharing twin bedded rooms with private bath/shower.
To find out how to qualify, and the investment required, call my office at (502) 222-2273. Remember, the space is limited, so please call right away. You may call from Monday through Saturday, between the hours of 9 A.M. and 9 P.M. Eastern Time. After we have spoken be prepared to submit your professional resume, 4 full body pictures for publicity, program notes , and a VHS video with samples of the work you will present. Remember, the space is limited, so pick up the phone and contact us now! You may e-mail us at any time. Our e-mail is: danceformspro@aol.com
Dance the World with Dance-Forms Productions! Let's do it now!
Don't wait, if you have further questions, you can check our FAQ page, e-mail us by clicking on danceformspro@aol.com or speak personally with me by calling (502) 222-2273. I look forward to your participation, and to greeting you in Athens.
Susana B. Williams
Director
DANCE-FORMS PRODUCTIONS
The 22nd World Congress on Dance Research
Athens, Greece, July 2 through July 6, 2008
This is the largest gathering of dance specialists world-wide, the best opportunity to showcase one's work to a wide audience of practitioners, dance teachers, choreographers, researchers, critics and organizers.
Average attendance is 400 specialists from 40 countries every year. This year we expect 1000 conferees for a grand celebration of the 21st anniversary, making it by far the largest dance congress ever. Performances will take place at the Dora Stratou Theater next to the Acropolis.
All forms of dance are represented.
Under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and the Municipalities of Athens.
Susana B. Williams and Mr. Alkis Raftis, President International Dance Council and Chairman of the Congress
The Congress is organized by IOFA Greece and the Dora Stratou Dance Theater, in collaboration with the International Dance Council CID, UNESCO. Its theme is in accordance with the "Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions" adopted on 20 October 2005 by the UNESCO General Conference.
Alun Jones, independent choreographer and former artistic director of the Louisville Ballet greeting friends at the Dora Stratou Building.
The program includes:
While intended primarily for professionals, it is at the same time a participatory event, facilitating contacts with colleagues, informal discussions and individual initiative.
Festival Estivo dell' Università di Danza & Teatro
A Giovinazzo di Bari, Italy
"The 41st International Choreographers' Showcase"
July 8, 2008
Choreographers and dancers travel to Bari, Italy to perform at the outdoor theater located on the marina of Bari (exactly in the main plaza of Giovinazzo), facing the beautiful shores of the Adriatic sea in the Puglia Region (County) of Italy.
Program
"Queen Moo"
World Premiere
Choreography: Susana B. Williams/ Music: Andreas Volenweider
Performance: Susana B. Williams
Sponsored by Friends of Dance-Forms Productions
Susana B. Williams
Photo by Larry S. Williams
Susana B. Williams is co-founder, current director of DANCE-FORMS PRODUCTIONS and the creator of "THE INTERNATIONAL AMERICAN CHOREOGRAPHERS' SHOWCASE" a branch of Dance-Forms Productions presenting the collaborative work of distinguished choreographers at prestigious international events. On May 5, 2003 Williams received the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels the highest honor awarded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky for her work as ambassador of good will and fellowship around the world, as well as for her contributions to Kentucky and her special achievements in the art of dance and choreography. Williams is one of a selected group chosen from the United States to serve on the Nijinsky Awards 2002 Experts Commitee. The Nijinsky Awards Gala, officiated by her Royal Highness Caroline Princess of Hanover was held at Salle des Princes, Grimaldi Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco on December 14, 2002. Most recently, she served as adjudicator for the Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship for Dance Performance.
A contributing writer for Revista Danza: www.danzarevista.com, Williams received degrees in Arts and Education from the English American School of Guatemala, the University of Paris in France, and Farber und Form Experimental School in Zurich, Switzerland. Williams graduated with honors from the National School of Dance of Guatemala and received scholarships with the School of Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, the National Ballet of Mexico, and Nina Vyroubova Dance Institute in Paris, France. As a choreographer, she is interested in expressing myth through dance. Her dances communicate the spaces and rhythms, shapes and forms found within the archetypal world of myth. Her work is a Jungian process of self-discovery, revealing the unconscious mind through the body. Her focus is creating a movement-vocabulary capable of expressing themes, which have not yet been uttered in the language of contemporary dance.
Williams is one of the finalist choreographers awarded at the 1993, 7th Saitama International Choreography Competition in Japan.
She is a recipient of the 1988-89 Kentucky's Al Smith Fellowship for Choreography and the first choreographer receiving the Individual Artist Professional Development Award from the same organization. Williams' choreography has been produced by national dance companies in Central America, arts festivals in the United States, México, France, Japan, Lithuania.
With 'Dance-Forms' she presented her work in more than 1000 professional presentations including performances at The Kentucky Center in Louisville, Kentucky, Theatre de la Danse Golovine in Avignon, France, Centre de Danse du Marais and Le Regard du Cygne in Paris, France, Centro Cultural "Miguel Angel Asturias" in Guatemala City, Teatro de la Danza of the Fine Arts Institute in México City, the Vienna Weeks Festival in Vienna, Austria, the Youth Theater in Vilnius, and the Drama Theater in Kaunas, Lithuania, Proyecto Cultural El Sitio in Antigua, Guatemala, Teatro del Estado in Xalapa, Veracruz, México, Schouwburg Amstelveen in Amstelveen, Holland, The International Dance Fair NRW 2000 in Essen, Germany, the Monaco Danses Dances Forum in Monte Carlo, Monaco, Teatro Pedro Díaz in Córdoba and Teatro Netzahualcoyotl in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, México, the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, The Youth Theater in Novi Sad, the Belgrade Drama Theater in Serbia, La Marató de l'Espectacle in Barcelona, Spain, La Maratón de la Danza in Madrid, Spain, Sala Cuarta Pared in Madrid, Spain, the Montenegrin National Theater in Podgorica, Montenegro "The 20th, 21st, 22nd World Dance Conference" in Athens, Greece and a tour of nine major cities throughout Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri.
"Tickled"
World Premiere
Choreography: Leeanne Rinelli/ Music: Koop, Mocean Worker / Costumes: Designed by Leanne Rinelli
Performance: Leanne Rinelli
Sponsored by friends of Leanne Rinelli
Leanne Rinelli
Photo by Carlos A. Arriola
Leanne Rinelli is a ballet and modern dance instructor at Buffalo State College in Buffalo, New York. She is also a certified Pilates practitioner. Rinelli began dancing at a very young age with her mother. She went on to train with various local teachers and at prestigious intensives, including a program in Riga, Latvia as part of a ballet exchange. After university graduation, Rinelli danced with Dayton Contemporary Dance Company II in Dayton, Ohio. In addition to teaching and choreographing, Rinelli has worked as a teaching artist for the Arts in Education Institute of Western New York. She currently dances with Janet Reed and Dancers. The company performs throughout New York State and northern Pennsylvania and has been seen at the World Jazz Dance Congress and the first International Dance Festival in New York City Rinelli is currently pursuing her masters of fine arts degree. Her work was seen last year in Guatemala City as part of Danceforms' "The 35th International Choreographers’ Showcase."
"Lifeline"
Premiered at the Little Theater of Long Island University, C.W. Post Campus, New York in April 2005
Choreography: Michelle Durante/ Music: Steve Nagle (live) / Costumes: Designed by Jenn Rice
Performance: Kati-Ann Ashworth, Jillian Denis, Michelle Durante, Michelle Gilligan, Carla Reitano
Sponsored by friends of Immersion Dance Company
Immersion Dance Company
Michelle Durante (Executive Director, Choreographer, Dancer-Immersion Dance Company) has her BFA in Dance Studies and a concentration in Arts Management from Long Island University, C.W. Post. While in their resident dance company (Post Concert Dance Company), she had the privilege of studying and performing a Suite from Psalm and A Choreographic Offering from the Limón Company. In 2005, Durante was a featured soloist at Joyce Soho in New York City (NYC) in a dance piece called Dark Nights choreographed by Kanji Segawa from Ailey II, Mark Morris Dance Group and Battleworks. Lifeline, choreographed in 2005 and part of Immersion’s repertory, was chosen to be performed at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland as part of Danceforms' The 33rd International Choreographers' Showcase in August 2006. She has been a choreographer for Immersion since 2004 and has been part of all the company’s endeavors that include performances, workshops and fundraisers. In addition, Durante has rehearsed and choreographed for a NYC dance project done by Kelley Donovan and Dancer’s and dances with Circle of Dance Repertory Company who performs throughout New York and traveled to Pesaro, Urbino and Fano in Italy in April 2006. She performs in Ancient Springs with Tina Croll + Dancers throughout venues in NYC. She is a teacher at The Dance Depot in Queens, New York and is the Operations Manager for Creative Alternatives of New York. Durante has been honored as a featured member of Cambridge’s Who’s Who for executive and professional women.
Steve Nagle (Vocalist/Guitar player-Immersion Dance Company) has been proud and humbled to be a part of Immersion Dance Company. Several years ago, he and Immersion Executive Director Michelle Durante conceived lifeline, a piece choreographed by Durante while they were both seniors at Long Island University. Excited by the result of that collaboration and thrilled in the performing of it, Nagle has been with the company ever since. He has gotten the great opportunity to travel with Immersion throughout the New York area, as well as the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland at the presentation of Dance-Forms' The 33rd International Choreographers' Showcase. Nagle has again collaborated with Durante on her newest creation, entitled Changeover and plans to travel once again with the company this summer to Italy and Greece. Nagle received his Bachelors of Fine Arts from Long Island University, C.W. Post and currently resides in Los Angeles.
From the Grandmother Project
Premiered at Dance Place, Washington, DC (2006)
Choreography: Vincent E. Thomas/ Music: Jimmy Scott / Costumes: Designed by Vincent E. Thomas
Performance: Vincent E. Thomas
Sponsored by Towson University College of Fince Arts & Communication, Friends of VTDance, Baltimore Office of Promotion & the Arts, Maryland State Arts Council
Vincent E. Thomas
Vincent E. Thomas, dancer, choreographer and teacher, received his MFA in Dance from Florida State University and a BME in Music from the University of South Carolina. Prior to pursuing his graduate degree at FSU, he taught music in Columbia, SC and danced with Dancework Jazz Company, serving as principal dancer and Associate Artistic Director. He was a scholarship student and staff assistant for the American Dance Festival (‘95-‘97), and returned to ADF (1999) to assist teaching Community Crossover. He has danced with Dance Repertory Theatre (FSU), Randy James Dance Works (NY/NJ), Liz Lerman Dance Exchange (MD), and presently a guest performer with EDGEWORKS Dance Theater (DC), and an adjunct artist with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange. His choreography has been presented at various national and international venues. He presented his solo “Prelude/Frustration in a Martini” at the Maryland Arts and Cultural Heritage Division 2003 Twentieth Annual Choreographers’ Showcase, a gala concert of dances selected for their choreographic excellence by a panel of nationally recognized adjudicators, at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center (MD). In June 2005, Thomas performed in the International Choreographers’ Showcase in Barcelona and Madrid, Spain. His company, VTDance, performed with the Ahn Trio at the 2005 Bands of America Summer Symposium. He was selected as one of eleven choreographers from around the world to convene for the 2005 Omi International Dance Collective. In August 2006, Thomas presented his award winning solo, “Prelude/Frustration in a Martini,” in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (Scotland). Thomas is a recipient of the 2006 Metro DC Dance Awards for Emerging Choreographer, and Outstanding New Work (for his evening length work the “Grandmother Project”), a 2007 & 2005 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Choreography, 2005 City Arts & Humanities Individual Artist Grant, 2004 Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Solo Dance Performance and the 2004 Henry C. Welcome Fellowship. In August, Thomas presented solo works in the 2007 Avignon Festival in France. He served as the guest mentor for the 2007 International Dance Omi residents. He is presently a faculty member for the Urban Bush Women Summer Institutes (NY), an Artist Scholar in Residence at Michigan State University (MI), and an Assistant Professor of Dance at Towson University (MD).
"Feet Don't Fail Me Now"
Premiered at Centro Cultural "Miguel Angel Asturias in Guatemala City on June 28, 2007
Choreography: Leeanne Rinelli/ Music: Telefon Tel Aviv/ Costumes: Designed by Janet Reed
Performance: Leanne Rinelli
Sponsored by friends of Leanne Rinelli
Leanne Rinelli
Photo by Carlos A. Arriola
"Changeover"
Premiered at the Jericho Public Library Theater in New York on December 2, 2007
Choreography: Michelle Durante/ Music: Pachelbel / Costumes: Designed by Michelle Durante and Carla Reitano
Performance: Kati-Ann Ashworth, Jillian Denis, Michelle Durante, Michelle Gilligan, Carla Reitano
Sponsored by friends of Immersion Dance Company
Immersion Dance Company
For further information, please call Dance-Forms Productions at (502) 222-2273 or by e-mail at danceformspro@aol.com
Welcome to Athens
The Cradle of European Civilization
Capital city of the Greeks and home to over 3,000,000 Athenians (almost a third of the total population of the country), Athens is the natural starting-point of any visit to Greece. Blessed with fine weather and an incomparable collection of historic and cultural monuments, and cursed by uncontrolled expansion and crazy traffic. What makes it so great? A little legend... Dominating the Athenian plain is a great 500 foot-high limestone plateau known as the Acropolis. The first Athenians settled here on its steep-sided slopes long ago in the mists of mythological time. They were led by a king named Cecrops, half man, half serpent, and spawned by the earth. Above all, the people worshipped two deities: Athena, goddess of wisdom and victory, and Poseidon, god of the sea. A bitter rivalry sprang up between them for the affection of the people, and they held a contest to see who was the greater. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident, and where he struck emerged a galloping horse and a gushing spring of clear water, a great boon to the inhabitants of the hot, dry, dusty plain. (The spring is still there; it's called the Klepsydra). Athena then struck the ground with her staff, and suddenly an olive tree began to grow. Look around you, wherever you are in Greece; sit down at a Greek restaurant. You cannot avoid olives in Greece. You know who the people chose. In honor of Athena they named their city Athens and built a magnificent temple to their new patroness in the center of the Acropolis. (To appease Poseidon, they built him a splendid temple too, on the southern tip of the Attic Peninsula, at Cape Sounion). Athens was born.
The earliest settlement, dating from before 3000 BC, was situated on the summit of the Acropolis, protected on all sides except the west by its steep slopes. Named for the city's patron goddess, Athena, the ancient city developed mainly to the north of this hill, around the Agora, or marketplace. Parallel walls, called the Long Walls, made a protected thoroughfare between the city and its port of Piraeus. The most glorious period in the city's history was the 5th century BC, when it was the cultural and artistic center of the classical world. Although overshadowed by the rise of Rome, it remained a city of social and intellectual importance during the Roman Empire. St. Paul visited Athens, and the Emperor Hadrian lavished money on its public buildings. Thereafter the city declined in importance. It was subject to attack by Slavs and was reduced to a petty provincial town in the Byzantine Empire. In 1204, Athens was occupied by the Crusaders and remained under Western rule until its capture by the Turks in 1456. Greece gained independence from the Turks in the war of 1821-32, and in 1833, Athens became the capital of Greece. In 1833, Athens was a small urban settlement of fewer than 4,000 people located north of the Acropolis in a district known today as the Plaka. Modern Athens developed to the north and east of the old city. The architect Eduard Schaubert laid out a network of wide, straight boulevards that converge at Syntagma (Constitution) Square and the Royal Palace, lying to the east of the early city.
The Parthenon is the most important and characteristic monument of the ancient Greek civilization and still remains its international symbol. It was dedicated to Athena Parthenos, the patron goddess of Athens. It was built between 447 and 438 B.C. and its sculptural decoration was completed in 432 B.C. The construction of the monument was initiated by Perikles, the supervisor of the whole work was Pheidias, the famous Athenian sculptor, while Iktinos and Kallikrates were the architects of the building. The temple is built in the Doric order and almost exclusively of Pentelic marble. It is peripteral, with eight columns on each of the narrow sides and seventeen columns on each of the long ones. The central part of the temple, called the cella, sheltered the famous chryselephantine cult statue of Athena, made by Pheidias. The sculptural decoration of the Parthenon is a unique combination of the Doric metopes and triglyphs on the entablature, and the Ionic frieze on the walls of the cella. The metopes depict the Gigantomachy on the east side, the Amazonomachy on the west, the Centauromachy on the south, and scenes from the Trojan War on the north. The relief frieze depicts the Procession of the Panathenaea, the most formal religious festival of ancient Athens. The scene runs along all the four sides of the building and includes the figures of gods, beasts and of some 360 humans. The two pediments of the temple are decorated with mythological scenes: the east, above the building's main entrance, shows the birth of Athena, and the west, the fight between Athena and Poseidon for the name of the city of Athens. The Parthenon retained its religious character in the following centuries and was converted into a Byzantine church, a Latin church and a Muslim mosque. The Turks used the Parthenon as a powder magazine when the Venetians, under Admiral Morosini, sieged the Acropolis in 1687. One of the Venetian bombs fell on the Parthenon and caused a tremendous explosion that destroyed a great part of the monument which had been preserved in a good condition until then. The disaster was completed in the beginning of the 19th century, when the British ambassador in Constantinople, Lord Elgin, took the greatest part of the sculptural decoration of the monument (frieze, metopes, pediments), transferred them to England and sold them to the British Museum, where they are still exhibited, being one of the most significant collections of the museum.
Welcome to Bari, Italy
Bary International Airport
Bari is the capital of the Apulia region of Italy. It's the mezzogiorno's (Italy's south) largest city after Naples, and a bustling commercial center and port. Bari is a large metropolitan area of 1,2 million inhabitants and a bustling port city, standing on the Adriatic coast, on the edge of the hollow of the same name. The city has conserved its ancient seafaring tradition over the centuries, becoming the trading centre in the southern Adriatic and Ionian areas, thanks partly to its busy port; this makes it an ideal bridge for traffic between Europe and the Middle East and favours the development of major economic events (Fiera del Levante, Expo-Levante, Expo-Mobili, etc.). Its urban structure is typical and divides the city into three distinct parts: the old, the new, the newest.
The former, circumscribed by the ancient walls, occupies a headland between the inlets of the old and the new ports; it has maintained the characteristic appearance of the ancient Mediaeval plan and contains the most important artistic sights of the city; this was the heart of pre-roman and Roman Bari. Once dark and unsafe at night, nowadays the old town is full of chic bars and resturants opened "from dusk till dawn". After the end of the war fierce building expansion took place in all directions following the population explosion which reached huge proportions between 1941 and 1971.
There a lot of places to see in Bari, especially in the ancient part of the city, called Bari Vecchia by locals. It's a beautiful mediaeval quarter in which there are a lot of important churches. The cathedral of Saint Nicolaus, for instance, has a gold ceiling and a crypt. There is a small town - 20 minutes outside of Bari named "adelfia - Montrone". The patron saint is San Trifone. November 9 is the start of a three day celebration. On November 9 in the early evening a giant beautiful balloon is release which signifies the start of the festival. On the 10th, the statue of San Trifone is brought out of the church and paraded around the town. Bands from all over Italy come and perform on the outdoor stage. Fireworks are displayed throughout the evening into the early morning. The different men's club compete on which club can have the biggest, loudest and spectacular display. Vendors surround the town with goods, food and gifts. Every year people travel from all over southern Italy to attend the popular celebration. The Saint of the city is Saint Nicolaus who is celebrated on December 6th . The city's main celebration, however, takes place in May 6-8th with historical reconstructions, popular music and fireworks. For this event many pilgrims come from all over the world. Nice towns to discover around Bari are Bitonto, Matera, Alberobello and Trani. There are many direct trains aday. Ticket to Matera or Alberobello is about 4 euros in one direction.
Sights not to be missed:
The ocean-front, the Aragonese castle, the Basilicas of San Nicola and San Sabino, the stores/shopping at Via Sparano and Via Argiro (you can find many name brands, the old-city and don't forget to take the time to take long strolls to appreciate the city.
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