THE APOLOGY and BRIDGE

April 7^th, 8^th and 9^th 2022 | TheatreLAB @ The Basement | 300 E. Broad Street RVA

The Apology (premiere)

Choreographed by Starrene Foster

Original Music Composition by Daniel Deckelman

Lighting Design by Michael Jarett

Performed by Fran Beaumont, Ana Pavón,

Keeley Hernández, Lydia Ross

10 MINUTE INTERMISSION

Bridge

Choreographed by Starrene Foster

Music by Camille Saint-Saëns; Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso

Lighting Design by Michael Jarett

Performed by Fran Beaumont, Ana Pavón,

Keeley Hernández, Lydia Ross

~~Please join us in the lobby following the Friday evening performance for a champagne toast with the dancers and choreographer~~

BIOGRAPHIES

STARR FOSTER DANCE, is committed to deepen the understanding of dance and the performing arts through artistic excellence, innovative performances, and community outreach. Dedicated to the enrichment of the cultural landscape, Starr Foster Dance is a critically acclaimed modern dance company known for creating emotionally resonant works that embrace the human spirit.. Artistic Director STARRENE FOSTER has received numerous awards for her teaching and choreography and feels strongly about creating work that embraces the human spirit. The SFD dancers have received much praise for their superb technique and the innate sense of connectedness while executing Foster’s unique movement vocabulary. Starrene has been recognized as Choreographer of the Year by RVA Dance Awards, Richmond’s Most Prestigious 25 Arts Innovators, and is the beneficiary of the VCU Star Alumni Award; where she spent 23 years teaching in the Department of Dance and Choreography. She has received the Theresa Pollak Award for Artistic Excellence, and has been featured on PBS's Virginia Currents. For the last 17 years, SFD has produced the highly acclaimed Mid-Atlantic Choreographers Showcase which provides other dance artists the opportunity to present work. She has received grants from the Virginia Council for the Arts for her teaching and community outreach, as well as many commissions to create new dance works for universities, professional dance companies, and independent artists. Starrene's choreography has been presented nationally which include: ShortNorthStage (OH), Stockton University (NJ), 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), University of Maryland, The Richmond Ballet (VA), Scranton Cultural Arts Center (PA), Baltimore Theatre Project (MD), The Lorton Workhouse (DC), International Festival of Music, Big River Dance Festival (WV) 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), Raul Parro (Mexico), among many others. Starrene is in her 17th year as faculty at the Richmond Ballet and also faculty at the University of Richmond and Richmond Academy of Ballet. But most importantly, Starrene is an advocate for enriching the world with more art and has dedicated her life to collaborating with all types of artists and mentoring young artists.

Born in Chestertown, Maryland, ANA PAVON began her training at the Dance Conservatory, Ballet Theatre of Dover in Delaware under the direction of Teresa Emmons. She had the privilege of participating in the ballet series at the Kennedy Center and acceptance to the acclaimed Gelsey Kirkland Academy and the Joffrey Ballet summer intensives. Miss Pavon has enjoyed a versatile wealth of training which includes master classes with Colby Damon , Sterling Bacca , Nichole Hammond, the Newsies cast, the Lion King cast, and the Cats cast on Broadway. She relocated to Richmond in 2018 where she was a trainee with the School of Richmond Ballet studying under Starrene Foster, Malcolm Burn, Jerri Kumery, Igor Antonov, Deanna Seay, Cecille Tuzii, and School Director Judy Jacob. Ana joined SFD in 2021.

FRAN BEAUMONT, originally from Richmond, Virginia began her training with the School of the Richmond Ballet. After graduating from Appomattox Regional Governor’s School, with a focus on dance, she continued her education in England at The Hammond School where she studied dance and choreography. In 2016, she graduated with a Level 6 Degree from Trinity College in Professional Dance and received her teaching certificate in Pilates. Fran has trained with Jasmine Grace, Starrene Foster, Jane Elliott, David Needham, Anthea Garratt, Alison Hughes, Tara Penick, Arnott Mader, Lee Johnston, Antonia Barron, and Christine Eccleston-Tuohy. She currently works as a stagehand with the Richmond Ballet and choreographs for Appomattox Governors School. Fran joined Starr Foster Dance in 2016.

Born and raised in Richmond, VA, LYDIA ROSS began her journey into dance through the Richmond Ballet's Minds in Motion program. After MIM, she continued her training with the School of Richmond Ballet for over a decade, moving her way through their prestigious Trainee Program. As a trainee, she completed her first two years in the VCU Department of Dance and Choreography Trainee/BFA program and received her BS degree in psychology. She has attended summer intensives at both Richmond Ballet and at American Ballet Theatre in Austin. Lydia joined Starr Foster Dance in 2021.

KEELEY HERNÁNDEZ began her dance journey in Pittsburgh starting with her mother’s ballet school, The Southwest Ballet. She later went on to dance at Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre before relocating to Carlisle, Pennsylvania to join the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. She spent four years training there under the teachings of Marcia Dale Weary, Simon Ball, Melinda Howe, and Darla Hoover. She danced in various ballets, including works such as: George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Serenade, Alan Hineline’s A Midsummer Nights Dream, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella’s Ball. After graduating from CPYB, she joined the Richmond Ballet as a trainee for two years. She studied under the teachings of Starrene Foster, Artistic Associate’s Jerri Kumery, Igor Antonov, Malcolm Burn, and Judy Jacob, as well as Deanna Seay, Jasmine Grace, and Cecille Tzuii. She joined SFD in 2022.

GOLDEN SEA (composer) 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.

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.