NATIONAL WATER DANCE, April 12th - 70 institutions, 30 states
Company:
NATIONAL WATER DANCE
Announcing
NATIONAL WATER DANCE
A simultaneous environmental performance across the U.S. to bring attention to the fragility of our waters
70 Institutions in 30 States Across the Country Will Participate
Dale Andree, Artistic Director Daniel Lewis, Producer
Saturday, April 12th at 4 PM EST
Students at universities, private dance schools, colleges, elementary schools, and dance companies, from the University of Alaska to Miami Dade College in Florida, from the Dance Engagements Company in California to Bates College in Maine, will unite on April 12th in a simultaneous, site-specific dance at a river, a bay, a lake, the ocean, or any water site near to them. This spectacular celebration of arts in action is designed to to initiate a national "water ethic" in the U.S. - one that can inform and inspire both participants and audience members to take responsibility for conserving and protecting the water that they use and enjoy.
National Water Dance began in 2011 as a local event, initiated by the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida to bring attention to the power and fragility of Florida's waterways. Under the guidance of artistic director Dale Andree and producer Daniel Lewis, National Water Dance, in less than three years, has grown to a national event involving over 70 institutions in 30 states around the country. Participants experience dance as a form of social activism, an opportunity to be part of a movement choir that creates social change through art.
What is a movement choir?
First conceived by Rudolf Laban, a movement choir is a community of people dancing together for a common purpose. Performances often take place outdoors, in celebration of the environment, and audience members are frequently invited to join the dance. The directors, based in Florida, will connect through the internet, sharing movement phrases and gestures. These movements will be the source from which a common dance phrase will be created, used by participants around the country in their choreographic process.
Director Dale Andree received her BFA from Boston Conservatory of Music and her Certification in Laban Movement Analysis from the Laban Institute in NYC. During her years in NYC Dale was most strongly influenced by Elaine Summers and May O'Donnell, assisting and dancing with the O'Donnell Company, and teaching at her school. She has maintained a long relationship with Elaine Summers, dancing in her improvisational structures and intermedia pieces and creating teaching methods for introducing film and dance to students. Other teaching credits include LaGuardia H.S. in NYC, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the School of the Paris Opera Ballet, the U of Miami, and the New World School of the Arts, among others. Recipient of many grants, Ms. Andree was a founding member of the Miami Dance Umbrella and her own company, the Mary Street Dance Theatre, which toured the U.S. and South America. She is passionate about site-specific work, making it a centerpiece of her composition classes and is creator and organizer of Florida Waterways Dance Project, which has grown from the local 2011 event to the nationwide 2014 National Water Dance.
Producer Daniel Lewis is president of Miami Dance Futures, formed in 1988 to develop dance in South Florida, and a consultant for the NY-based Limon Dance Foundation, having danced with the company from 1962 to 1974. Lewis created many roles in the Limon Dance Company and has staged Limon and Doris Humphrey works for the Royal Swedish Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, American Ballet Theatre, and others. After teaching for twenty years at the Juilliard School, Lewis moved to Miami and became founding Dean at Miami's New World School of the Arts in 1987, holding that position until his retirement in 2011. The native New Yorker, a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts and Juilliard, has been honored with numerous awards, including the National Society of Arts and Letters, The Florida Arts Recognition Award, the Nancy Smith Award, the National Dance Educators Award, and the Martha Hill Lifetime Achievement Award, to name a few.
For questions or information about participating in National Water Dance, please contact Dale Andree at dandree@nationalwaterdance.org
NATIONAL WATER DANCE, PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS AS OF JANUARY 2014
Alaska
University of Alaska
Arkansas
Henderson State College
Hendrix College
California
Loyola Marymount University
Dance Engagements
Crenshaw Yoga and Dance
Connecticut
Wesleyan University
Florida
NOVA Southeastern University
University of Florida
College of Central Florida
Northwest Florida State College
Florida Gulf Coast University
Midway Elementary School of the Arts
New World School of the Arts
Miami Dade College College Kendall Campus/Jubilation Dance Ensemble
Broward College
Palm Beach Atlantic University
Earth Ethics Institute at Miami Dade College
University of Tampa
Pensacola State College
South Miami Middle Community School
Karen Peterson and Dancers
Arthur and Polly Mays 6-12 Conservatory of the Arts
Florida Atlantic University
RR Moton Elementary
Florida State University
Georgia
University of Georgia
Indiana
Indiana University Bloomington
Iowa
Luther College
Louisiana
University of Louisiana at Monroe
Southeastern Louisiana University Dance Performance Project
Maine
Bates College
Maryland
Towson University
Massachusetts
The Yard
Mississippi
University of Mississippi
University of Southern Mississippi
Belhaven University
Missouri
Webster University
Nebraska
The Moving Company, University of Nebraska Omaha
University of Nebraska - Lincoln
New Jersey
Georgian Court University
New York
Briarcliff High School
University of Rochester
NDEO Brockport Student Chapter
Horace Mann School
North Carolina
Elon University
Bradley Middle School
Ohio
Kent State University
Oklahoma
University of Central Oklahoma
Oregon
Southern Oregon University
Pennsylvania
DeSales University
Temple University
Muhlenberg College
Slippery Rock University
Rhode Island
JMW High School for the Performing and Visual Arts
South Carolina
Lander University
Tennessee
Sewanee: The University of the South
Chattanooga Dance Projects
Chattanooga Ballet
Cleveland City Ballet
Virginia
The Governors School for the Arts
Washington
Cornish College of the Arts
Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Kennedy Elementary School
Dance Education Center Stevens Pt.
Wyoming
University of Wyoming
