POSTCARDS: Gloria McLean, President of the American Dance Guild, on the Theme of "Returning, Renewing and Rejoicing" at This Year's Festival

POSTCARDS: Gloria McLean, President of the American Dance Guild, on the Theme of "Returning, Renewing and Rejoicing" at This Year's Festival

By Gloria Mclean

Published on November 21, 2022
Heather Pannikkar; photo by Robin Michals

Enjoy the Festivities, Presentations, and Performances at Ailey Citigroup Theater this December 1 - 4, 2022

Presenting a Unique Blend of Historic and New Dance Work that Happens Only Through the American Dance Guild, Now in its 66th Year of Continuous Service to the Field.

When: December 1 - 4, 2022

Times: Thursday, December 1 - 7:30 PM, followed by Gala Reception
             Friday, December 2 and Saturday, December 3 - 8 PM
             Sunday, December 4 - 7 PM

Where: Ailey Citigroup Theater

 Tickets: Go online https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/5578198

                    Or call 1-800-838-3006 ext.#1.

 Prices:  Tickets cost $30 / $25 / $20 while a Festival Pass costs $75

                 Discounts are available for students, seniors, ADG members, and groups.

                 Tickets will also be available at the box office one hour prior to curtain.

Proof of vaccination and masks are required for entry.


head shot of president of ADG Gloria McLean
Gloria Mclean; photo by Klaus Lucka

Finally, after three years of going virtual, The American Dance Guild is returning to the Alvin Ailey Theater for our four-day performance festival. Our mission remains: to celebrate our history and let young dancers know about it! And, to continue to provide a venue for choreographers young and old to show work together. We want to let dancers dance!

a group of four women dancers in tight pants and sleevless tops dance in front of a huge projection of a blown up dandelion
Late Echo Dandelion by Catherine Gallant; photo by Alex Gemma

 You hear it a lot these days: Covid has changed everything. Yes, that’s for sure. The shutdown experience altered the way many dancers worked. We went virtual over the last couple of years to keep our bodies safe: online performances, online classes, online meetings, virtual festivals. We used our exclusive, historic archives to show often-unseen modern dance works via film, screen, video, and Zoom.

a very dynamically caught photo of a Spanish dancer from the back; she wears an orange fringed dress that swings in motion, and she is beautifully set against an orange background
Sandra Rivera; photo by Tom Caravaglia

It was wonderful that we were able to pivot to virtual quickly: however, there is no substitute for live, kinesthetic connection – that direct communication between dancer and audience in performance. So, this year, even with the pandemic still going on (thankfully in a less virulent way because of vaccines) we are thrilled to get back on the boards!

a Black man shirtless in loose light blue pants has his back to us as he bends towards his female partner, an Asian woman in a greenish wrinkled short tunic, she lunges toward him arms out to him, but looks at the floor
Choreography  by Mitzi Adams; photo by Carolyn Lynne

Did I mention that COVID changed a lot of things, not the least of which is the cost of virtually everything. Someone else can analyze the reasons for that, but costs are indeed up. Still, our ADG team has decided to keep our ticket prices at pre-Covid level. We are committed to fill the house with dance enthusiasts, and we will do this safely. (FYI, Ailey requires proof of vaccination and masks from the audience, as well as from the staff and participants.)

two women in midriff tops and beige briefs dance in a room against a white back drop... one is caught in mid-air her red curls flying above her, the other is in a handstand with her legs bent, you can feel their energy

5/2 Dance Company; photo by Paul DuBois

We want the people to come out and help us in honor some fabulous artists. The ADG Lifetime Achievement Awards this year will go to Phyllis Lamhut and the late H.T. Chen. Phyllis, still vital at 80 (!), is known to hundreds of dancers as a beloved teacher at the Tisch School at NYU. Her career began young, with the Alwin Nikolais Dance Company, the Murray Louis Company, and then her own, Phyllis Lamhut Dance Company. She's always been driven by clear aesthetic principles that have been a life spring of creativity and pedagogy.

Collage Phyllis Lamhut in a recent head shot, with a beautiful smile, behind her are two photos of her dancing when she was a young girl black and white pics,
Honoree Phyliss Lamhut

H. T. (Hsueh-Tung) Chen who passed away suddenly this year, has been a major figure in New York through his company, school & theater The Chen Dance Center in Manhattan’s Chinatown. For over 40 years, Chen broke barriers for the Asian-American dance community and built community for all, along with his life and work partner Dian Dong.  Now fully directed by Dian, (and despite a devastating fire in 2020) the company continues H.T.'s Asian-American fusion work through choreography and teaching, and continues to provide showcases for dancers in all forms. (*Donate to Chen Dance Center Fire Recovery: https://bit.ly/2I5kEio.)

The late HT Chen a head shot of him in glasses and in front of his Chen Dance Center step and repeat sign, the second a pic of him dancing in mid leap when he was young, the third a picture of him as and older man in performance looking intent and poised
Honoree H.T. Chen

We are also recognizing the work of Christine Jowers with an Award for Distinguished Achievement in Dance for her visionary creation of The Dance Enthusiast. This online venue hailed the work of every kind of dancer long before Facebook, Instagram and TikTok were the “social media” force they are now. As dance criticism received less and less space in many newspapers, Christine, the dance enthusiast, figured out new ways to fill the gap.

three photos of Christine Jowers in collage a head shot.. a shot of her dancing in a red off the shoulder dress, posing in a contemplative profile, the third picture is of her wearing cats eye glasses, long yellow earrings and a black jump suit with a mic in her hand, giving a talk
Honoree Christine Jowers

These three honorees will present gems from their life work. But it doesn’t stop there. We are proud to present three treasured, historic modern dances by the choreographers, Michio Ito, Haddassah, and Pauline Koner. Ito was modern before anyone else! His short, powerful, early work “Pizzicati” will be presented by Kaoru Ikeda with permission from the Ito Foundation. Mary Ford Sussman will dance “Shuvi Nafshi,” by the legendary New Dance Group artist Hadassah. The piece was set on her by our Guild life-member Steve Vendola. Dancefusion of Philadelphia will bring Koner’s dance “Concertino” to the Festival. These works give us the special chance to see history come alive again.

a black and white photograph of a woman in a dramatic lunging profile, her hair is in a tight bun, she wears a long black gown and a striped shawl hangs from her extended arm
Mary Ford Sussman in Hadassah's  Shuvi Nafshi ; photo by Tom Caravaglia

 And did I mention we are also presenting 29 choreographers from across the United States, who will represent just as many different approaches to dancing. Audiences will experience African American fusion, a gorgeous classical Indian solo by Damir Tasmagambetov, companies from D.C. and Philadelphia, Tina Croll’s personal blend of modern and Balkan folk dance, along with new works by Douglas Dunn, Larry Keigwin, Janis Brenner, and so much more.

a photo collage of seven different daners floating against a black back ground represented are theatrical dancing, modern dance from early times to present and classical indian dance
Several of the Many ADG Festival 2022 Participants: From L to R ( Top Row) 
1. Peggy Choy,Dancer, Lacouir Yancey; Photo:JP Yim  2. Becky Brown; Photo:  Merlin Hendy 3. Lori Belilove, Isadora Duncan Dance Foundation; Photo: Nick Tinsley
From Lto R ( Bottom Row) 4. Larry Keigwin; Photo: Whitney Browne 5. Ellen Robbins' Dancer, Felix Gaddie; Photo:Ellen Robbins 6. Damir Tasmagambetov; Photo:  Natalia Degiulio Photography 7. Dana Tai Soon Burgess Dance Company;Photo: Jeff Watts

As you can tell, I am pleased and excited to invite everyone back to the theater to celebrate live dance, dancers, and our American Dance Guild community. 

See you in December!

 

PERFORMERS AND AWARDEES  AT THE 2022 ADG FESTIVAL:

 

Larry Keigwin,Janis Brenner, Seyong Kim, Tina Croll, Christine Jowers, Phyllis Lamhut,HT Chen, Becky Brown

Gregg Hurley, Briele Melahn, Peggy Choy,Douglas Dunn, Dancefusion (Gwendolyn Bye), Connie Procopio

Mary Ford Sussman, Lori Belilove, 5/2 Dance Company, Damir Tasmagambetov, Mary Seidman,Kaoru Ikeda

Catherine Gallant, Christina Eltvedt, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater, Adriana Ogle + Toru Sakuragi,

Dana Tai Soon Burgess, Sandra Rivera, Nancy Zendora,Eloy Barragán,Mitzi Adams,Diane Sharp-Nachsin

Ellen Robbins, Stephen Hill


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