I. Dance Faculty Professional Work, 1985-Present
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My memory is not completely clear since it has been 40
years since I came back to Bennington College in 1983 to teach.
This was ten years after I graduated, went to Alaska, built my
own house, raised our own food, had my own Dance Studio,
and became a College Dance faculty at Williams College and
Castleton Ste. College, now Castleton University. Having quit a
dance career, I came back to choreography and improvisation
with the piece, “Bird Descending” and a series of Site Dances in
archaeological spaces, natural landscapes, farms, churches and
Museums.
My former teacher, Judith Dunn had gotten ill, and my memory is that we met again at a Vermont Dance Festival at the Flynn Theater in Burlington, Vermont and then soon after, I was asked to return to the Bennington Dance Division, (as it was called then) to teach Dance Improvisation, two afternoons a week. During this time, Martha Wittman, Jack Moore and Barbara Roan were thinking about starting a Masters in Fine Arts in Dance graduate program and asked if I wanted to be the first student. I wasn’t really looking for the degree, but given that I was there teaching, it seemed like a good idea. I remember working with Ron Dabney, and the students: Andrew Grossman, Melissa Rosenberg, Andrea Kane and Julia McCamy in a wild composition that I choreographed in the midst of a break-up with my husband, called, “Infernity” with music by Sherman Foote and designed by Tony Carruthers. It was a really interesting and dark piece.
The year I got the M.F. A. there was a Dance position open and Viola Farber was hired, my former teacher who I loved when I was an undergraduate student at Bennington. At the last minute, she decided to take the position at Sarah Lawrence College and the Dance Faculty at Bennington decided to hire me and Terry Creach to fill that position, each of us got a half- time. This began a wild time with the Dance Faculty that was me, Martha Wittman, Barbara Roan, Raymond Dooley, Joseph Wittman, Tom Farrell, Terry Creach and later, Peggy Florin. Raymond was particularly experimental. He was a very inventive lighting designer, and there were late nights in Martha Hill Dance Theater. For a short time, Mickey McLaughlin and David Dorfman were on the Dance Faculty. My office was in the little greenhouse on the side of Martha Hill. I remember another interesting dance piece I made during this time for seven men students, and to get them to rehearsal each week on a Sunday, I had to let them drink beer. That would never happen now. During this time, we had many talented and innovative guest artists. Dana Retiz came and made a piece for herself, Steve Paxton, Laurie Booth and Polly Motley. Lisa Nelson visited several times, and then a long list of distinguished artists came after me to get their MFA degrees; Sandra Burton, Peggy Florin, Don Borsch, Dana Reitz, Sara Rudner, Cathy Weis, Lionel Popkin, Keith Thompson, Joe Poulson, Souleymane Badolo, Gwen Welliver, Paul Matteson and Mina Nishimura. There are too many talented students that I taught over these years to remember all of them. Many of them have distinguished careers of their own now. I will forget many, but here are some: Hope Clark, Jon Kinzel, DD Dorvillier, Chivas Sandage, Dina Emerson, Maiya Greaves, Hillary Ince, Lynn Ellen Klarich, Jordan Thomas, Agnes Benoit Rivera Sun, Katie Martin, Nicole Daunic, Jake Meginsky, Ben Hall, Cori Olinghouse (who created Disaster Dances with me), Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Maureen Ellenhorn, Carson Efird, Zornitsa Stoyonova, Finn Murphy, Marie Lynn Haas, Emily Climer, Lydia Chrisman, Niko Tsocanos, Emma Villavecchia , Kenneth Olguin, Kaiya Lovestrand, and more recently, Val Sanchez, Ulyana Shkel and Imara Glymph.
After the Symposium at Bennington College, during the period when I was the Dean of Faculty and after, I remained on the Dance Faculty. This was the era when Dana Reitz, Terry, myself, Peggy Florin and Solo were the Dance Faculty with many guests. When I became the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action, Elena Demyanenko joined the Dance Faculty, along with Levi Gonzales and Mina Nishimura and Kota Yamazaki. I continued to teach the Advanced Improvisation Ensemble for Dancers and Musicians. I see that class as a through line from 1983 to the present. Judith Dunn and Bill Dixon came to Bennington College teaching this class. When I returned after Judy got ill, Bill Dixon and I taught the class, and then I taught it with Milford Graves. I then went on to collaborate with Allen Shawn and Nick Brooke in Music and Dance Composition classes, and then taught the Advanced Improvisation Ensemble with Bruce Williamson and in the present with Michael Wimberly.
During this period, I explored a deep improvisation practice with all of these students, particularly with Katie Martin, Jake Meginsky, Marie Lynn Haas, and Emily Climer that resulted in the Emergent Improvisation practice. This resulted in a chapbook, a website, several essays, and a film with Elliot Caplan. There was also a separate, ongoing collaborative practice with Penny Campbell that then resulted in the Work for the Performance of Improvisation for ten summers, as well as numerous performances as “The Giants of Sciants” with Peter Schmitz and Terry Creach in collaboration with musicians, Arthur Brooks and Michael Chorney, and Visual Artist, Sue Rees. We also worked with Penny and Peter’s students: Pam Vail, Katherine Ferrier, Lisa Gonzales and Jennifer Kayle (the Architects). Also, during this period, I choreographed many pieces, mostly with students but also with professional dancers outside of Bennington. One noteworthy piece was In(Visible) Fields in collaboration with photographer, Jonathan Kline, and lighting designer, Michael Giannitti with a group of professional dancers. When I came to Bennington College as an undergraduate student, I never thought I would return. Most of my high school friends from Philadelphia always said to me that I would never stay in any one place for very long, and then it turned out that I returned to the College I attended as an undergraduate to teach for my teacher, got a graduate degree, stayed on the Dance Faculty for 40 years where I also became the Dean of Faculty, received the Barbara and Lewis Jones Chair for Social Activism and then the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action.
A long history.
My former teacher, Judith Dunn had gotten ill, and my memory is that we met again at a Vermont Dance Festival at the Flynn Theater in Burlington, Vermont and then soon after, I was asked to return to the Bennington Dance Division, (as it was called then) to teach Dance Improvisation, two afternoons a week. During this time, Martha Wittman, Jack Moore and Barbara Roan were thinking about starting a Masters in Fine Arts in Dance graduate program and asked if I wanted to be the first student. I wasn’t really looking for the degree, but given that I was there teaching, it seemed like a good idea. I remember working with Ron Dabney, and the students: Andrew Grossman, Melissa Rosenberg, Andrea Kane and Julia McCamy in a wild composition that I choreographed in the midst of a break-up with my husband, called, “Infernity” with music by Sherman Foote and designed by Tony Carruthers. It was a really interesting and dark piece.
The year I got the M.F. A. there was a Dance position open and Viola Farber was hired, my former teacher who I loved when I was an undergraduate student at Bennington. At the last minute, she decided to take the position at Sarah Lawrence College and the Dance Faculty at Bennington decided to hire me and Terry Creach to fill that position, each of us got a half- time. This began a wild time with the Dance Faculty that was me, Martha Wittman, Barbara Roan, Raymond Dooley, Joseph Wittman, Tom Farrell, Terry Creach and later, Peggy Florin. Raymond was particularly experimental. He was a very inventive lighting designer, and there were late nights in Martha Hill Dance Theater. For a short time, Mickey McLaughlin and David Dorfman were on the Dance Faculty. My office was in the little greenhouse on the side of Martha Hill. I remember another interesting dance piece I made during this time for seven men students, and to get them to rehearsal each week on a Sunday, I had to let them drink beer. That would never happen now. During this time, we had many talented and innovative guest artists. Dana Retiz came and made a piece for herself, Steve Paxton, Laurie Booth and Polly Motley. Lisa Nelson visited several times, and then a long list of distinguished artists came after me to get their MFA degrees; Sandra Burton, Peggy Florin, Don Borsch, Dana Reitz, Sara Rudner, Cathy Weis, Lionel Popkin, Keith Thompson, Joe Poulson, Souleymane Badolo, Gwen Welliver, Paul Matteson and Mina Nishimura. There are too many talented students that I taught over these years to remember all of them. Many of them have distinguished careers of their own now. I will forget many, but here are some: Hope Clark, Jon Kinzel, DD Dorvillier, Chivas Sandage, Dina Emerson, Maiya Greaves, Hillary Ince, Lynn Ellen Klarich, Jordan Thomas, Agnes Benoit Rivera Sun, Katie Martin, Nicole Daunic, Jake Meginsky, Ben Hall, Cori Olinghouse (who created Disaster Dances with me), Jaamil Olawale Kosoko, Maureen Ellenhorn, Carson Efird, Zornitsa Stoyonova, Finn Murphy, Marie Lynn Haas, Emily Climer, Lydia Chrisman, Niko Tsocanos, Emma Villavecchia , Kenneth Olguin, Kaiya Lovestrand, and more recently, Val Sanchez, Ulyana Shkel and Imara Glymph.
After the Symposium at Bennington College, during the period when I was the Dean of Faculty and after, I remained on the Dance Faculty. This was the era when Dana Reitz, Terry, myself, Peggy Florin and Solo were the Dance Faculty with many guests. When I became the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action, Elena Demyanenko joined the Dance Faculty, along with Levi Gonzales and Mina Nishimura and Kota Yamazaki. I continued to teach the Advanced Improvisation Ensemble for Dancers and Musicians. I see that class as a through line from 1983 to the present. Judith Dunn and Bill Dixon came to Bennington College teaching this class. When I returned after Judy got ill, Bill Dixon and I taught the class, and then I taught it with Milford Graves. I then went on to collaborate with Allen Shawn and Nick Brooke in Music and Dance Composition classes, and then taught the Advanced Improvisation Ensemble with Bruce Williamson and in the present with Michael Wimberly.
During this period, I explored a deep improvisation practice with all of these students, particularly with Katie Martin, Jake Meginsky, Marie Lynn Haas, and Emily Climer that resulted in the Emergent Improvisation practice. This resulted in a chapbook, a website, several essays, and a film with Elliot Caplan. There was also a separate, ongoing collaborative practice with Penny Campbell that then resulted in the Work for the Performance of Improvisation for ten summers, as well as numerous performances as “The Giants of Sciants” with Peter Schmitz and Terry Creach in collaboration with musicians, Arthur Brooks and Michael Chorney, and Visual Artist, Sue Rees. We also worked with Penny and Peter’s students: Pam Vail, Katherine Ferrier, Lisa Gonzales and Jennifer Kayle (the Architects). Also, during this period, I choreographed many pieces, mostly with students but also with professional dancers outside of Bennington. One noteworthy piece was In(Visible) Fields in collaboration with photographer, Jonathan Kline, and lighting designer, Michael Giannitti with a group of professional dancers. When I came to Bennington College as an undergraduate student, I never thought I would return. Most of my high school friends from Philadelphia always said to me that I would never stay in any one place for very long, and then it turned out that I returned to the College I attended as an undergraduate to teach for my teacher, got a graduate degree, stayed on the Dance Faculty for 40 years where I also became the Dean of Faculty, received the Barbara and Lewis Jones Chair for Social Activism and then the Director of the Center for the Advancement of Public Action.
A long history.