Five College Dance Department : Alumni

Alumni

Dear Alums,
The Five-College Dance Department would love to hear from you and keep you posted about our events and opportunities. Please help us stay in touch by sending updated information regarding your address, email and phone number to fcdd@hampshire.edu.

NEWS 2006-2007

Nicole Bindler (HC ‘95) directs a 20 member improvisational company, Amnesiac Music and Dance, in Philadelphia. AMD was featured in the September Issue of Philadelphia Magazine. They toured the East coast and performed in the nEW Festival and Philly Fringe. As a soloist, Bindler toured Argentina in 2005. She also performed at the Performance Mix Festival at the Joyce SoHo in March 2006. Bindler teaches Contact Improvisation at the Susan Hess Studio, has a private Therapeutic Bodywork practice, teaches Swedish Massage at the Massage Arts Center in Philadelphia.

Tovah Bodner (UM ‘02) is the Dance Teacher for the first public arts high school in Rhode Island – the Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Pawtucket. She teaches ballet, modern, jazz, world dance, and anatomy/injury prevention and dance criticism. She also is the Artistic Director of a modern dance company, The Robin's Egg, which performed in the Theatre Expansion's 3rd Annual Dancestravaganza in Providence, RI.

Nicholas Brentley (AC ‘06), with the assistance of Smith Dance MFA Grad Tara Madsen '06, joined the Tania Isaac Dance Company in mid-June. Based in Philadelphia, the company performs the Afro-Caribbean/modern repertory works of St. Lucian native Tania Isaac. A brief tour in July ‘06 took the company to perform at Jacob's Pillow as well as the Bates Dance Festival.

Tara Madsen (Smith MFA 06') will be starting her second professional season with the Tania Isaac Dance Company In Philadelphia. She will be teaching part time at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA through 2007-2008 academic year. In October, she will be presenting a new solo work at the Philly Dance Fest. Tara is also a Certified GYROTONIC® instructor at The Balance Point in Philadelphia.

Taela Brooks (AC ‘06) was an intern at Broadway Dance Center in NYC last summer where she took ballet, hip-hop, tap, and jazz technique classes. She is currently dancing with Naganuma Dance, which performed in the Cunningham Studio and DUMBO Dance Festival. She is also dancing with Chezzam Entertainment Group.

Cheryl Brous (HC) is living in Portland, and going to graduate school for education. She is also dancing and teaching with a local tribal belly dance troupe

Karen E. (Scanlon) Brown (UM ‘81) taught a master class as part of the UMass Amherst Dance Department's Alumni Fridays series in October. Her daughter Megan is a current student in the Dance Program.

Willie C. Brown, Jr. (UM '02) danced with the Brazz Dance Theater in a Performance at the WhiteWave Theater in Brooklyn, NY.

Julia Brownell (AC ‘04) has been admitted to the NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Dramatic Writing Program.

The results that Ana Caban (UM '92) has achieved since opening Progressive Body Works Of Miami in 1998, and media coverage of her work in local and national outlets, have launched Ana's career as a spokesperson for Pilates. Ana choreographed and starred in four Pilates programs for GAIAM, Inc. in 2000. The company has since created a line of Ana Caban Pilates Fitness-related products, DVD's and videos that are in stores and outlets across America.

To raise money for social justice organizations across the country Katharine (Kat) Callard (HC) rode her bike last summer, with eight others, from San Francisco to Washington DC. The riders were lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, straight, and allied cyclists, riding to raise awareness about forms of oppression in queer communities, while meeting with other marginalized communities, such as Native American reservations, small farmers, homestead ranchers, mining towns, and low-income neighborhoods. Read about it in the trip’s blog: http://www.parkschool.org/blogs/callard.

Mora Cantlin (MHC '04) has accepted an administrative position at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Western Massachusetts.

Yanira Castro (AC ‘93) and Company has recently been awarded a residency through the Williamsburg Art neXus, Inc. (aka "WAX"), in partnership with the Dance Department of Barnard College, as part of their Sugar Salon program. This summer, as part of the residency, the performers, designers and Castro will be rehearsing their newest project, tentatively titled Center of Sleep, at Barnard's three studios.

Eva Dean (HC) toured her critically acclaimed BOUNCE production with her company, Eva Dean Dance. They performed at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York in November 2006. Union StreetDance, in Brooklyn, New York is the home of Eva Dean Dance. In September, Union StreetDance launched a new Repertoire Workshop Series featuring the choreography of Eva Dean and Susan Marshall.

BoSoma, or Boston Somatic Dance Company, has as its Artistic Directors Irada Djelassi (UM '00) and Katherine Hooper (UM '01) as well as dancers Meghan Hood (UM '01), Erika Johnson (UM '04) and Audrey Lavallée (UM '04). BoSoma performed in September at Boston University, at the Schubert Theater as part of Dance Across the City in January, and at The Dance Complex in Cambridge in March.

Jennifer Rockwell Edwards (UM) was offered a contract to dance with the Metropolitan Ballet of the twin cities for the 2006-2007 season. It is a newer company, hoping to focus on the classics as well as well known newer works. This year they performed a new version of Dracula, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Agnes DeMille's Rodeo.

Sarah Eley (HC) has been working with Krisen Day in the local dance groups Hawley Martin Dance Company, and Blaze Dance Group since graduating from Hampshire. With Blaze, she performed with the LiveArts Festival in the Philadelphia Fringe Fest, at First Night, Northampton and at Thornes, APE. Sarah has also been collaborating with local artists, including drummer Katie Koti, to create a collaborative percussive dance performed at the PaperMill Studio in Holyoke, MA. She begins graduate work in the Smith College School for Social Work this year.

Adrienne Celeste Fadjo (UM '01) taught a master class on the UMass Amherst Dance Department's Alumni Fridays series. She is Artistic Director, dancer and choreographer for the New York City-based modern dance company, AdrienneCelesteFadjoDANCE. The company taught and performed at Skidmore College in February and received a grant from the Puffin Foundation towards the creation of HOME, its first evening-length piece. Performances were held at WAXworks, Joyce SoHo, 14th Street Y Theater and White Wave Dance in NYC, and The Dance Complex in Cambridge, MA.

Becca Gardener (HC) is in Denver, dancing with Ballet Ariel again this year. They performed at the opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art, followed by The Nutcracker and the Spring Show. She has also been dancing with, and teaching master classes for, the Denver Independent Choreographer's Project regularly.

Cass Ghiorse (HC ‘03) joined Dance Alloy Theater, Pittsburgh's premier modern repertory company, in the fall of 200. While with DAT she worked with Pilobolus, Kevin Wynn, Stephen Keoster, David Shimotakahara, Mark Taylor, and Beth Corning, among others. She can currently be seen in Nike.com's new ad campaign "I feel Pretty." She lives in New York City where she works as a dancer, actress and yoga instructor.

Serena Hadsell (UM) has danced with Sonia Plumb, Christine Cali, Billbob Brown's Chaos Theory and fellow UM alum Audra Carabetta as well as Linden Tree Dance Company. Since graduating she has studied with Robert Moses, Augusta Moore, Academy of Ballet SF and Jody Weber. She earned a MA in dance/movement therapy from Antioch New England Graduate School and is currently working as a therapist/teacher at the Community Therapeutic Day School in Lexington, MA.

Melissa Ham-Ellis (UM ‘02) danced in Romeo and Juliet, directed by Gadi Roll and choreographed by Doug Elkins, at the American Repertory Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge. She is co-founder, with Arlene Steiner (UM'02), of the Boston-based Tandem Dance Company. Melissa and Arlene joined with choreographer Macushla Hill for a performance at CasaNia in Cambridge. Christine Santos (UM '01) is also a member of Tandem Dance.

Jeff Janisheski (AC) is being mentored by Classic Stage Company's (New York, NY) artistic director Brian Kulick in artistic directing. Mr. Janisheski will collaborate on the First Look Festival, the On the Verge program and the Monday Night Open Rehearsal series. He will serve as an ambassador for Classic Stage Company's new education initiative, assist visiting directors and direct his own readings and a workshop.

Erika Johnson (UM '04) is studying for her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at UMass-Lowell. She performs with BoSoma Dance Company and was an apprentice and company member with Bennett Dance Company, Cambridge, MA.

Anne Kenney (AC ‘95) was the costume designer for The End of Cinematics, by Mikel Rouse, at The Brooklyn Academy of Music this past October. For more information go to www.bam.org.

Zoe Klein (HC) has been designing lights, dancing, and performing acrobatics in NYC for 5 years. She trained handstands and partner balancing acrobatics with LAVA, and was a co-founding member of a circus/theater company KIRKOS. Zoe is currently performing and teaching internationally with her partner Dave Paris as PARADIZO DANCE. In May 2006 they self produced their full evening show combining acrobatics and Salsa along with high level circus acrobatic dances. After a successful 2005 August tour in Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, & New Zealand, the duo trained in Australia while performing at the Hard Rock Cafe in Singapore, and in Malaysia and Korea. (www.paradizodance.com)

Tiffany Langlois (UM '04) has been living in Florida, going to school for esthiology (skin care), and working in a spa and for a plastic surgeon. She is keeping up with the dance world, has been to several auditions and is hoping to return to New York City soon.

Audrey Lavallee (UM '04) dances with the Boston-based BoSoma Dance Company. She also is an administrative assistant for Global Marketing at Idenix Pharmaceuticals.

Tara Madsen (SC MFA) has joined the Tania Isaac’s dance company in Philadelphia.

Michelle Marroquin (HC) teaches Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis movement techniques, at Movement Resource Studio in Northampton, and yoga courses at Hampshire College. She is dancing Odissi style classical Indian dance with Ranjanaa Devi and her company, Nataraj Dancers. She writes: “It's been an awesome creative outlet for me, since I have not been performing modern dance. It combines my love of dance with the devotional aspect of yoga (known as bhakti yoga). It's incredibly challenging and technically precise, but so beautiful!”

Martha Mason (MHC '87) took her company, SNAPPY DANCE, to Southern France last summer for performances celebrating their 10 anniversary.

Heather F. McLean (UM '89) has been Owner/Instructor of the Creative Edge Dance Studio in New Hampshire for fifteen years.

Linalynn Natter (UM '04) presented new choreography at a Full Circle Dance concert at the APE Theater, Thornes Market in Northampton. She characterized the choreography as “well balanced with silliness and seriousness.”

Natalie Neckyfarrow (SC) is excited to announce that her film, Farheight High: The Sci-Fi Movie Musical, now has an official web page and MySpace page. Check it out at www.farheight.com.

Kara O'Toole (MHC '87) has taken over the directorship of VELOCITY, one of Seattle's largest dance schools.

Fritha Pengelly (HC) received her M.F.A. in June 2006 from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. This fall she will be teaching and choreographing as a Visiting Lecturer at the UW, setting a Doug Elkins work on the Chamber Dance Company at the UW, and building her private Pilates practice in Seattle. In the winter and spring of 2007 she will be doing residencies in Wyoming and Nebraska.

Marta Renzi (HC) had a screening of her dance video Porch Stories at the Moving Images Festival in Williamstown, Mass in September. She writes in her winter 2006 Marta Renzi and Dancers, Inc. newsletter: “Making a dance video involves endless editing. Of course, making live dance does too. How many rehearsal hours have I spent with dancers re-structuring, trimming, juxtaposing one movement phrase (clip) against another (cross-fade), trying to make sense of meaningful fragments? And all those computerized options? Dancers have a built in capacity to modify speed 80%, not to mention duplicate or reverse.”

Loren Robertson (MHC Dec ’06) is a program intern at CounterPULSE, which provides support and resources for low-income and emerging artists, serving as an incubator space to create socially relevant, diverse, grassroots art and activism in San Francisco, CA, under the direction of Program Manager Marielle Amhrein (MHC ’03). In her last semester at MHC she presented her independent work at the senior symposium entitled Dance Kinesthetics and Cinematic Presence: An Exploration in Dance and Video Composition. Her dance-for-camera piece, elsewhere, was selected for the annual Five College Film Festival.

Rain Ross (MHC) is in the graduate program at the University of Iowa. She is also artistic director of Lehua Dance Theatre in Seattle.

Julia Skloot (HC) was until recently living in Seattle (3 years) where she danced for the Crispin Spaeth Dance Group, taught dance at the Creative Dance center, which she helped to start, and was a member of the Left Field Dance Collective, which produced and performed shows throughout Seattle in theaters, warehouses, and public spaces. She has recently moved to New York to pursue an MFA in choreography at Sarah Lawrence College and is happy to be hanging out on the east coast again for a while.

Arlene Steiner (UM) is the four-year Artistic Director/ Choreographer of Tandem Dance, Inc. Most recently, Arlene's Pinch, performed by soloist Billbob Brown, premiered internationally in London. This year, Arlene was a guest artist of Concord Academy’s Summer Stages. She received an Emerging Artist Award from Green Street Studios and collaborated with Machushla Hill, Tanja London and Dana Hall School Dance Department. She is a certified personal trainer of the Boston Sports Clubs in Wellesley and Watertown, teaches Advanced Jazz, Modern/Repertory at Step by Step Dance Studios in Waltham and sets choreography on local community school drama and dance programs.

Sarah Szemreylo (UM '01) lives in Ellington, CT where she teaches ballet at the Dance Kraze Dance Studio. She also is a massage therapist, personal trainer and administrative assistant at the fitness center, Cardio Express.

Nicole Tesson (MHC) works for LEAP in San Francisco. Previously, she completed a year abroad studying and performing at the Laban Centre London, working with international artists in contemporary dance such as Gary Lambert and Melanie Clarke and dance education leader Valerie Preston-Dunlap. She aims to integrate standard classroom curriculum with dance learning for an individualized and complete learning experience. She is also a certified Pilates Trainer through Integrated Teacher Training in San Francisco.

New York City-based Layard Thompson (UM '00) organized a series of performances at Dance New Amsterdam's new theater showcasing Deborah Hay's choreography as adapted by Thompson and four other dancers. He has participated in Hay's Solo Performance Commissioning Project, learning The Ridge (2004) and Room (2005). He also performed in Taylor Mac's Red Tide Blooming, in Thompson's words, “a performance art musical humorously inspired by the ‘revitalization' of Coney Island, the Mermaid Parade, and the rise of materialistic American cultural homogeneity.”

Abigail Yager (MHC '92) completed her MFA through Hollins College/ADF and is currently an Assistant Professor of Dance at Ohio State University.

Yasuko Yokoshi (HC) was awarded a 2006 Bessie for her choreography of What We When We at Danspace Project. This is Yasuko’s second Bessie for choreography!

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	Alumni Dear Alums, The Five-College Dance Department would love to hear from you and keep you posted about our events and opportunities. Please help us stay in touch by sending updated information regarding your address, email and phone number to fcdd@hampshire.edu. NEWS 2006-2007 Nicole Bindler (HC ‘95) directs a 20 member improvisational company, Amnesiac Music and Dance, in Philadelphia. AMD was featured in the September Issue of Philadelphia Magazine. They toured the East coast and performed in the nEW Festival and Philly Fringe. As a soloist, Bindler toured Argentina in 2005. She also performed at the Performance Mix Festival at the Joyce SoHo in March 2006. Bindler teaches Contact Improvisation at the Susan Hess Studio, has a private Therapeutic Bodywork practice, teaches Swedish Massage at the Massage Arts Center in Philadelphia. Tovah Bodner (UM ‘02) is the Dance Teacher for the first public arts high school in Rhode Island – the Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Pawtucket. She teaches ballet, modern, jazz, world dance, and anatomy/injury prevention and dance criticism. She also is the Artistic Director of a modern dance company, The Robin's Egg, which performed in the Theatre Expansion's 3rd Annual Dancestravaganza in Providence, RI. Nicholas Brentley (AC ‘06), with the assistance of Smith Dance MFA Grad Tara Madsen '06, joined the Tania Isaac Dance Company in mid-June. Based in Philadelphia, the company performs the Afro-Caribbean/modern repertory works of St. Lucian native Tania Isaac. A brief tour in July ‘06 took the company to perform at Jacob's Pillow as well as the Bates Dance Festival. Tara Madsen (Smith MFA 06') will be starting her second professional season with the Tania Isaac Dance Company In Philadelphia. She will be teaching part time at DeSales University in Center Valley, PA through 2007-2008 academic year. In October, she will be presenting a new solo work at the Philly Dance Fest. Tara is also a Certified GYROTONIC® instructor at The Balance Point in Philadelphia. Taela Brooks (AC ‘06) was an intern at Broadway Dance Center in NYC last summer where she took ballet, hip-hop, tap, and jazz technique classes. She is currently dancing with Naganuma Dance, which performed in the Cunningham Studio and DUMBO Dance Festival. She is also dancing with Chezzam Entertainment Group. Cheryl Brous (HC) is living in Portland, and going to graduate school for education. She is also dancing and teaching with a local tribal belly dance troupe Karen E. (Scanlon) Brown (UM ‘81) taught a master class as part of the UMass Amherst Dance Department's Alumni Fridays series in October. Her daughter Megan is a current student in the Dance Program. Willie C. Brown, Jr. (UM '02) danced with the Brazz Dance Theater in a Performance at the WhiteWave Theater in Brooklyn, NY. Julia Brownell (AC ‘04) has been admitted to the NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Dramatic Writing Program. The results that Ana Caban (UM '92) has achieved since opening Progressive Body Works Of Miami in 1998, and media coverage of her work in local and national outlets, have launched Ana's career as a spokesperson for Pilates. Ana choreographed and starred in four Pilates programs for GAIAM, Inc. in 2000. The company has since created a line of Ana Caban Pilates Fitness-related products, DVD's and videos that are in stores and outlets across America. To raise money for social justice organizations across the country Katharine (Kat) Callard (HC) rode her bike last summer, with eight others, from San Francisco to Washington DC. The riders were lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, straight, and allied cyclists, riding to raise awareness about forms of oppression in queer communities, while meeting with other marginalized communities, such as Native American reservations, small farmers, homestead ranchers, mining towns, and low-income neighborhoods. Read about it in the trip’s blog: http://www.parkschool.org/blogs/callard. Mora Cantlin (MHC '04) has accepted an administrative position at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival in Western Massachusetts. Yanira Castro (AC ‘93) and Company has recently been awarded a residency through the Williamsburg Art neXus, Inc. (aka "WAX"), in partnership with the Dance Department of Barnard College, as part of their Sugar Salon program. This summer, as part of the residency, the performers, designers and Castro will be rehearsing their newest project, tentatively titled Center of Sleep, at Barnard's three studios. Eva Dean (HC) toured her critically acclaimed BOUNCE production with her company, Eva Dean Dance. They performed at Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, New York in November 2006. Union StreetDance, in Brooklyn, New York is the home of Eva Dean Dance. In September, Union StreetDance launched a new Repertoire Workshop Series featuring the choreography of Eva Dean and Susan Marshall. BoSoma, or Boston Somatic Dance Company, has as its Artistic Directors Irada Djelassi (UM '00) and Katherine Hooper (UM '01) as well as dancers Meghan Hood (UM '01), Erika Johnson (UM '04) and Audrey Lavallée (UM '04). BoSoma performed in September at Boston University, at the Schubert Theater as part of Dance Across the City in January, and at The Dance Complex in Cambridge in March. Jennifer Rockwell Edwards (UM) was offered a contract to dance with the Metropolitan Ballet of the twin cities for the 2006-2007 season. It is a newer company, hoping to focus on the classics as well as well known newer works. This year they performed a new version of Dracula, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream and Agnes DeMille's Rodeo. Sarah Eley (HC) has been working with Krisen Day in the local dance groups Hawley Martin Dance Company, and Blaze Dance Group since graduating from Hampshire. With Blaze, she performed with the LiveArts Festival in the Philadelphia Fringe Fest, at First Night, Northampton and at Thornes, APE. Sarah has also been collaborating with local artists, including drummer Katie Koti, to create a collaborative percussive dance performed at the PaperMill Studio in Holyoke, MA. She begins graduate work in the Smith College School for Social Work this year. Adrienne Celeste Fadjo (UM '01) taught a master class on the UMass Amherst Dance Department's Alumni Fridays series. She is Artistic Director, dancer and choreographer for the New York City-based modern dance company, AdrienneCelesteFadjoDANCE. The company taught and performed at Skidmore College in February and received a grant from the Puffin Foundation towards the creation of HOME, its first evening-length piece. Performances were held at WAXworks, Joyce SoHo, 14th Street Y Theater and White Wave Dance in NYC, and The Dance Complex in Cambridge, MA. Becca Gardener (HC) is in Denver, dancing with Ballet Ariel again this year. They performed at the opening of the Museum of Contemporary Art, followed by The Nutcracker and the Spring Show. She has also been dancing with, and teaching master classes for, the Denver Independent Choreographer's Project regularly. Cass Ghiorse (HC ‘03) joined Dance Alloy Theater, Pittsburgh's premier modern repertory company, in the fall of 200. While with DAT she worked with Pilobolus, Kevin Wynn, Stephen Keoster, David Shimotakahara, Mark Taylor, and Beth Corning, among others. She can currently be seen in Nike.com's new ad campaign "I feel Pretty." She lives in New York City where she works as a dancer, actress and yoga instructor. Serena Hadsell (UM) has danced with Sonia Plumb, Christine Cali, Billbob Brown's Chaos Theory and fellow UM alum Audra Carabetta as well as Linden Tree Dance Company. Since graduating she has studied with Robert Moses, Augusta Moore, Academy of Ballet SF and Jody Weber. She earned a MA in dance/movement therapy from Antioch New England Graduate School and is currently working as a therapist/teacher at the Community Therapeutic Day School in Lexington, MA. Melissa Ham-Ellis (UM ‘02) danced in Romeo and Juliet, directed by Gadi Roll and choreographed by Doug Elkins, at the American Repertory Theatre in Harvard Square, Cambridge. She is co-founder, with Arlene Steiner (UM'02), of the Boston-based Tandem Dance Company. Melissa and Arlene joined with choreographer Macushla Hill for a performance at CasaNia in Cambridge. Christine Santos (UM '01) is also a member of Tandem Dance. Jeff Janisheski (AC) is being mentored by Classic Stage Company's (New York, NY) artistic director Brian Kulick in artistic directing. Mr. Janisheski will collaborate on the First Look Festival, the On the Verge program and the Monday Night Open Rehearsal series. He will serve as an ambassador for Classic Stage Company's new education initiative, assist visiting directors and direct his own readings and a workshop. Erika Johnson (UM '04) is studying for her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at UMass-Lowell. She performs with BoSoma Dance Company and was an apprentice and company member with Bennett Dance Company, Cambridge, MA. Anne Kenney (AC ‘95) was the costume designer for The End of Cinematics, by Mikel Rouse, at The Brooklyn Academy of Music this past October. For more information go to www.bam.org. Zoe Klein (HC) has been designing lights, dancing, and performing acrobatics in NYC for 5 years. She trained handstands and partner balancing acrobatics with LAVA, and was a co-founding member of a circus/theater company KIRKOS. Zoe is currently performing and teaching internationally with her partner Dave Paris as PARADIZO DANCE. In May 2006 they self produced their full evening show combining acrobatics and Salsa along with high level circus acrobatic dances. After a successful 2005 August tour in Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, & New Zealand, the duo trained in Australia while performing at the Hard Rock Cafe in Singapore, and in Malaysia and Korea. (www.paradizodance.com) Tiffany Langlois (UM '04) has been living in Florida, going to school for esthiology (skin care), and working in a spa and for a plastic surgeon. She is keeping up with the dance world, has been to several auditions and is hoping to return to New York City soon. Audrey Lavallee (UM '04) dances with the Boston-based BoSoma Dance Company. She also is an administrative assistant for Global Marketing at Idenix Pharmaceuticals. . . . . . . Tara Madsen (SC MFA) has joined the Tania Isaac’s dance company in Philadelphia. Michelle Marroquin (HC) teaches Gyrotonic and Gyrokinesis movement techniques, at Movement Resource Studio in Northampton, and yoga courses at Hampshire College. She is dancing Odissi style classical Indian dance with Ranjanaa Devi and her company, Nataraj Dancers. She writes: “It's been an awesome creative outlet for me, since I have not been performing modern dance. It combines my love of dance with the devotional aspect of yoga (known as bhakti yoga). It's incredibly challenging and technically precise, but so beautiful!” Martha Mason (MHC '87) took her company, SNAPPY DANCE, to Southern France last summer for performances celebrating their 10 anniversary. Heather F. McLean (UM '89) has been Owner/Instructor of the Creative Edge Dance Studio in New Hampshire for fifteen years. Linalynn Natter (UM '04) presented new choreography at a Full Circle Dance concert at the APE Theater, Thornes Market in Northampton. She characterized the choreography as “well balanced with silliness and seriousness.” Natalie Neckyfarrow (SC) is excited to announce that her film, Farheight High: The Sci-Fi Movie Musical, now has an official web page and MySpace page. Check it out at www.farheight.com. Kara O'Toole (MHC '87) has taken over the directorship of VELOCITY, one of Seattle's largest dance schools. Fritha Pengelly (HC) received her M.F.A. in June 2006 from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington. This fall she will be teaching and choreographing as a Visiting Lecturer at the UW, setting a Doug Elkins work on the Chamber Dance Company at the UW, and building her private Pilates practice in Seattle. In the winter and spring of 2007 she will be doing residencies in Wyoming and Nebraska. Marta Renzi (HC) had a screening of her dance video Porch Stories at the Moving Images Festival in Williamstown, Mass in September. She writes in her winter 2006 Marta Renzi and Dancers, Inc. newsletter: “Making a dance video involves endless editing. Of course, making live dance does too. How many rehearsal hours have I spent with dancers re-structuring, trimming, juxtaposing one movement phrase (clip) against another (cross-fade), trying to make sense of meaningful fragments? And all those computerized options? Dancers have a built in capacity to modify speed 80%, not to mention duplicate or reverse.” Loren Robertson (MHC Dec ’06) is a program intern at CounterPULSE, which provides support and resources for low-income and emerging artists, serving as an incubator space to create socially relevant, diverse, grassroots art and activism in San Francisco, CA, under the direction of Program Manager Marielle Amhrein (MHC ’03). In her last semester at MHC she presented her independent work at the senior symposium entitled Dance Kinesthetics and Cinematic Presence: An Exploration in Dance and Video Composition. Her dance-for-camera piece, elsewhere, was selected for the annual Five College Film Festival. Rain Ross (MHC) is in the graduate program at the University of Iowa. She is also artistic director of Lehua Dance Theatre in Seattle. Julia Skloot (HC) was until recently living in Seattle (3 years) where she danced for the Crispin Spaeth Dance Group, taught dance at the Creative Dance center, which she helped to start, and was a member of the Left Field Dance Collective, which produced and performed shows throughout Seattle in theaters, warehouses, and public spaces. She has recently moved to New York to pursue an MFA in choreography at Sarah Lawrence College and is happy to be hanging out on the east coast again for a while. Arlene Steiner (UM) is the four-year Artistic Director/ Choreographer of Tandem Dance, Inc. Most recently, Arlene's Pinch, performed by soloist Billbob Brown, premiered internationally in London. This year, Arlene was a guest artist of Concord Academy’s Summer Stages. She received an Emerging Artist Award from Green Street Studios and collaborated with Machushla Hill, Tanja London and Dana Hall School Dance Department. She is a certified personal trainer of the Boston Sports Clubs in Wellesley and Watertown, teaches Advanced Jazz, Modern/Repertory at Step by Step Dance Studios in Waltham and sets choreography on local community school drama and dance programs. Sarah Szemreylo (UM '01) lives in Ellington, CT where she teaches ballet at the Dance Kraze Dance Studio. She also is a massage therapist, personal trainer and administrative assistant at the fitness center, Cardio Express. Nicole Tesson (MHC) works for LEAP in San Francisco. Previously, she completed a year abroad studying and performing at the Laban Centre London, working with international artists in contemporary dance such as Gary Lambert and Melanie Clarke and dance education leader Valerie Preston-Dunlap. She aims to integrate standard classroom curriculum with dance learning for an individualized and complete learning experience. She is also a certified Pilates Trainer through Integrated Teacher Training in San Francisco. New York City-based Layard Thompson (UM '00) organized a series of performances at Dance New Amsterdam's new theater showcasing Deborah Hay's choreography as adapted by Thompson and four other dancers. He has participated in Hay's Solo Performance Commissioning Project, learning The Ridge (2004) and Room (2005). He also performed in Taylor Mac's Red Tide Blooming, in Thompson's words, “a performance art musical humorously inspired by the ‘revitalization' of Coney Island, the Mermaid Parade, and the rise of materialistic American cultural homogeneity.” Abigail Yager (MHC '92) completed her MFA through Hollins College/ADF and is currently an Assistant Professor of Dance at Ohio State University. Yasuko Yokoshi (HC) was awarded a 2006 Bessie for her choreography of What We When We at Danspace Project. This is Yasuko’s second Bessie for choreography!