18th ANNUAL CHOREOGRAPHERS SHOWCASE

old swan

Choreographed and Performed by Megan Mazarick

Music by Shit Robot

Costumes by Megan Mazarick

This work has been supported by Georgian Court University and a work in progress version shown at American College Dance Festival Faculty Showcase 2022. This solo will be incorporated into an evening length piece as part of Cannonball Festival 2022 September 1st, 2nd, and 3rd in Philadelphia.

Circular

Choreographed by Roxann Morgan Rowley

Performed by Sara Goldman & Roxann Morgan Rowley

Music composition by Jonsi & Alex; "Stokkseyri"

Fools+Kings (premiere)

Choreographed by Alyah Baker in collaboration with Lee Edwards and Kahlila Brown

Performed by Lee Edwards, Kahlila Brown, Alyah Baker

Music Compositions by Eden Ahbez, Billy Strayhorn, text by Brandon Wint

Music performed by Nat King Cole and Orchestra, CeeLo Green

Costumes by Alyah Baker

Fools + Kings takes inspiration from the life and legacy of composer Billy Strayhorn and explores themes of connection and heartbreak through the lens of Black Queer aesthetics and embodiment.

10 minute intermission

Trope in a Box

Choreographed and Performed by Luisa Innisfree Martinez

Music by The Angels; "My Boyfriend's Back" and Patsy Cline "She's Got You"

Penumbra (Excerpt)

Choreographed by Ankita Sharma

Performed by Darryl Filmore and Ankita Sharma

Music by Max Sarkowsky including "Dream Brother (Nag Champa Mix)" by Jeff Buckley

Costumes by Darryl Filmore

Penumbra asks – what does it feel like to say the dark things that remain inside out loud? How do we move through these shadows in our lives and relationships? In this excerpt, two halves explore the anatomy of their relationship after reliving shared trauma.

Stripped (premiere)

Choreographed by Starrene Foster

Performed by Anna Branch, Fran Beaumont, Ana Pavón

Original Music Score by Daniel Deckelman

Costumes Designed and Constructed by Starrene Foster

BIOGRAPHIES IN PROGRAM ORDER

MEGAN MAZARICK is a choreographer, performer, and teacher based in Philadelphia. Her work has been presented internationally (Singapore, Bulgaria, Egypt, Poland, Australia, Hungary, and Mexico) and throughout the USA (Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Minneapolis, New York City, New Jersey, North Carolina, West Virginia, etc.). She has received an Independence Fellowship, an Ellen Forman Award, LiveArts LAB Fellowship, Susan Hess residency, and a Graduate Assistant Scholarship from Temple University. Her choreography has been supported by Philadelphia Dance Projects, an Independence Grant, Georgian Court University, the US Embassy in Singapore, the US Embassy in Bulgaria, and the US Embassy in Egypt. Her dances often center around improvisation and text as she frequently uses the voice in collage with movement. She curated a dance community class program for nEW Festival (a Philadelphia-based dance festival) for 4 years and was co-director of the festival from 2010-2012. In 2015 she co-produced By Chance Festival at Rawabet Theater in Cairo, Egypt. As a performer she has worked with David Gordon, Susan Rethorst, Keith Thompson, Marianela Boan, Merian Soto, Anonymous Bodies, Black Box Dance Theater, and members of Lower Left. Megan has taught technique, improvisation, and composition classes at studios, festivals, and universities around the globe. She is an Assistant Professor at Georgian Court University. www.meganmazarick.com

ROXANN MORGAN ROWLEY is the Artistic Director for Next Reflex Dance Collective. Since 2006 she has been producing dance work in the DC Metro Region. Her work has been showcased in productions at Dance Place and Joy of Motion, Dancing Across the Virginias, the Charlotte Dance Festival, The Goose Route Dance Festival, White Wave CoolNYC Festival, The Velocity DC Dance Festival, John F. Kennedy Center, and the Harman Shakespeare Theater. She has choreographed for The American Century Theater. Her work has also been presented at James Madison University, George Mason University, and The University of Mary Washington. An artist and performer, she has had the opportunity to work artists and companies including MansurDance, Clancy Works, Steven Mazolla, Daniel Burkholder and the Playground, Dakshina Dance Company, Anomosmotion, Peter DiMuro, Jane Jerardi and Jane Franklin Dance Company and Human Landscape Dance with Malcolm Shute. Ms. Morgan Rowley holds an MFA from George Mason University and a BA from George Washington University studying under national and international faculty members. Outside of NRDC Ms. Morgan Rowley has taught for James Madison University , Northern Virginia Community College and Fairfax County Public Schools Institute for the Arts and Joy of Motion. Currently Ms. Morgan Rowley teaches for University of Mary Washington and George Mason University. http://www.nextreflex.org/

ALYAH BAKER (she/her) is a dance artist, educator, and scholar working at the intersection of art, social justice, and embodied activism. Her work is informed by her Black, queer identity and a desire to build equitable creative communities. She was named the '20-21 Kenan Institute of Ethics Graduate Arts Fellow in Social Choreography and Performance and holds an MFA in Dance ('21) and B.A. in Sociology ('03) from Duke University, where she is currently an adjunct professor. LEE EDWARDS (they/them) is an interdisciplinary movement artist and storyteller whose primary modes of making are dance and poetry. Originally from Mount Vernon, NY, they are a recent graduate of Duke University with an MFA in Dance ('22) and a certificate in African and African American Studies. Lee was named the 2021-22 Kenan Institute of Ethics Graduate Arts Fellow in Social Choreography and Performance. KAHLILA BROWN (she/her) is a dancer, choreographer, and educator based in Durham, NC. Taking cues from her community and surroundings, Kahlila uses improvisation and movement motifs to inform her dance practice. She is a graduate of the University of North Carolina - Greensboro and holds a BFA in Dance with a focus on K-12 education. https://vimeo.com/alyahbaker

Born to immigrant parents of Chile and Yugoslavia, LUISA INNISFREE MARTINEZ is originally from Manhattan, New York. After graduating with a B.F.A. in Dance and Choreography from Ohio University she moved back to NYC to pursue her performing career. She now resides in Richmond, VA where she continues to teach, perform and choreograph. Her choreography has a heavy focus on women’s characteristics and mannerisms; she uses comedy in dance to enlighten certain situations and behaviors. Props are also an integral component to Luisa’s work. While she is fascinated with how space can be manipulated by a dancer in vacant space she is even more intrigued by playing with a tangible object which disrupts that dancer's space. Her work can be seen at www.luisainnisfree.com.

ANKITA is a bold emerging artist interested in creating genre-resistant performance that holds meaning for diverse audiences. They invest in mining shades of darkness with visceral, immersive work so that audiences can reckon with the uncomfortable and leave reflecting in new ways. Their work has been characterized as feeling in conflict with the surrounding world, reflecting their lived experience as a queer brown artist. Physically, their movement practices are rooted in and draw on contemporary dance, dance theater, and forms from both the South Asian and African diaspora.Ankita holds a B.A. in Dance and Anthropology from Colorado College and is currently based in Brooklyn, NY. Their work has been shown in Colorado, California, and along the east coast. https://www.ankitacreates.space/

Artistic Director of Starr Foster Dance, STARRENE FOSTER, has been honored to be the recipient of Theresa Pollak Award for Artistic Excellence, Choreographer of the Year by RVA Dance Awards, Richmond’s Most Prestigious 25 Arts Innovators, and the VCU Star Alumni Award. Starrene's choreography has been presented nationally including ShortNorthStage (OH), The Philadelphia Fringe Festival (PA), The Jack Guidone Theatre (DC), SUNY Buffalo (NY), The New World School (FL), Old Dominion University (VA), Cornell University (NY), James Madison University (VA), Dance Charlotte (NC), The Goose Route Dance Festival (WV), the Demetrius Klein Dance Festival (FL), Scranton Cultural Arts Center (PA), Baltimore Theatre Project (MD), The Lorton Workhouse (DC), International Festival of Music, Big River Dance Festival (WV), Scranton Fringe Festival (PA), Stockton University (NJ), and the Festival of Choreography (NC). As a dancer, Starrene trained under many dance greats including Betty Jones, Jeff Slayton, Tatiana Akinfieva,and at the Neubert Ballet Institute. She has had the pleasure of performing works by Mark Taylor, Doug Varone, Sharon Kinney, Ronald K. Brown, Mark Dendy, Pewan Chow (Hong Kong), and Raul Parro (Mexico) In addition to her work with the Richmond Ballet, Starrene guest teaches throughout the country and is in her 23rd year as faculty at VCU Dance.

MICHAEL JARETT (Lighting Designer) is pleased to continue his collaboration with Starr Foster Dance. He recently became an Assistant Professor/Design Specialist for the University of Nevada Las Vegas Department of Dance where he supervises the Bachelor of Arts in Dance Production and Management degree program. He was the Lighting Designer/Dance Technical Director for the VCU Department of Dance and Choreography for nine years. Michael received his MFA in Theater Design from Brandeis University, his BA in Theater from the University of Richmond, and held the Gilbert Hemsley Internship at Lincoln Center. Michael has had the pleasure of designing for choreographers and companies including Amaranth Contemporary Dance, Kyle Abraham/Abraham.In.Motion, Agua Dulce Dance Theater, Camille A. Brown and Dancers, Dance Iquail!, FDance, Ground Zero Dance, Thang Dao Dance Company, We Are Artists, BodyTraffic, and the VON HOWARD PROJECT.

GOLDEN SEA (composer Starr Foster Dance / Stripped) is the brainchild of Dan-O Deckelman whose career spans four decades now. Golden Sea represents the heavily melodic side of his interests which can lean on power pop, new wave, brit pop, British Invasion, and early college indie via the 1980’/90’s. Though you can certainly hear traces of earlier work, Golden Sea represents a departure from the bands he’s been associated with such as Adam West, Mudd Helmut, Rocket 69, and The Service. Sharing the stage with many noted artists and bands has also left an impression: These have included: Rocket From The Crypt, The Ramones, DGeneration, The Figgs, Supersuckers, Leaving Trains, Demolition Doll Rods, Big Sandy, The Call, Phantom-Rocker-and Slick, The Fleshtones, Electric Frankenstein, and many more. Dan-O is an engineer and producer at Sound of Music Studios, and the Owner of Snake Oil Recording in Richmond, Va.

ABOUT THE SHOWCASE

The 18th Annual Mid-Atlantic Choreographers Showcase, featuring award winning and internationally recognized dance choreographers, is produced by Starr Foster Dance with the sole mission to expose the general pubic, as well as dance enthusiasts, to the performing arts. The choreographers are selected with the ultimate goal of providing three performances of eclectic and engaging dance works in one weekend and to support the flourishing dance scene in Richmond. For 18 years the Mid-Atlantic Choreographers Showcase has produced over 200 choreographers from 60 different cities and has continually been the only dance festival on the east coast that provides support for new works by professional dance companies. It is always incredibly inspiring, each and every year, to be able to present such a variety of gifted choreographers. This years Showcase we celebrate PRIDE by presenting works that embrace LGBTQIA+ themes and concepts regarding gender, sex, and sexuality. This year is unique because works will be presented “On a Square in the Round”, to intentionally create an intimate area, both for the performers and the audience. We hope that you enjoy the show and share the inspiration. ~From all of us at Starr Foster Dance

SPECIAL THANKS

Special Thanks to Douglas Hayes, the School of the Richmond Ballet, DeeJay Gray and all the staff at TheatreLAB, Michael Jarett, Daniel Deckelman, Julinda Lewis, Grace Herndon, Keeley Hernandez, David Timberline and Style Weekly, all the participating choreographers and performers, and to all of the individuals, publications, and organizations for their continued, generous support.