CRAVE

April 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd 2022 | TheatreLAB The Basement | 300 E. Broad Street RVA

The dance, and the art displayed in the lobby created by YOU, are based on the prompt: What if, in one moment, you had changed your mind during your journey. And if so, how would that change affect the final outcome? For the dance, the audience will witness one outcome, and then switch sides during intermission to experience the other.

Choreographed by Starrene Foster

Original Music Composition by Billy Curry

Lighting Design by Michael Jarett

North Stage Performers:

Fran Beaumont & Ana Pavón

South Stage Performers:

Anna Branch & Lydia Ross

There will be a 10 minute intermission. Please change seats to the other side.

~~Please join us in the lobby following the Saturday evening performance for a Q&A with the dancers and choreographer~~

Please visit our website for biographies of all participating artists and information about Starr Foster Dance upcoming performances and events.

Special Thanks to Douglas Hayes, the School of the Richmond Ballet, DeeJay Gray and all the staff at Conciliation Lab, Michael Jarett, Daniel Deckelman, Julinda Lewis, Grace Herndon, and to all of the individuals, publications, and organizations for their continued, generous support.

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.

ANNA BRANCH, originally from Richmond, Virginia, began her training at the West End Academy of Dance. She later continued her studies in the trainee program at the Richmond Ballet training under Malcolm Burn, Igor Antonov school director Judy Jacob and many others. In 2015, Anna graduated from Marymount Manhattan College in NYC with a Bachelors in Fine Arts Degree with a concentration in ballet. Anna has been teaching Ballet and Pre-Pointe at the Richmond Dance Center in Richmond, VA for three years under the director and owner Ms. Pam Turner. In 2020, she graduated from ECPI University with an Associate’s Degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant and is currently working with Apex Network Physical Therapy in Ladysmith, VA. Anna joined Starr Foster Dance in 2015.

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.

BILLY CURRY (Composer) Billy Curry/Legendary Ex-Co-Workers. From a neighborhood located somewhere between dreams and shadows, nightmare and insomnia, Curry has always been pursued by the song in his head. He has been playing and composing since his punk days with The Brooklyn Dead and Edge City, through club performances with 8-Ball and North Bound Red. A Brooklyn, NY native, Curry records and composes with Legendary Ex-Co-Workers at his barge studio, in the company of swans, herons, and the errant gray cat, Lily. http://legendary-ex-co-workers.com/

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.