www.sarasotacontemporarydance.org
JULY IS JOYOUS FOR DANCE FANS AS SARASOTA CONTEMPORARY DANCE TAKES
THE STAGE AT NEW COLLEGE WITH A BUSY SUMMER PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Sarasota Contemporary Dance (SCD) may have ended its 11th season in May, but it’s not actually over until the dancers stop dancing. Fortunately, that won’t happen until the end of July, a month that will feature two evening length shows, two one-day “Behind the Curtain” matinee events, and a free matinee repertory showing.
Timeline
The first of the three-show series will be the debut of choreographer/SCD Artistic Director, Leymis Bolaños Wilmott’s completed work, “Timeline.” This riveting solo is based on the life of Stephanie Bastos, who performs the dance with the aid of a prosthetic leg.
When: Performances are July 20th & 21st at 7:00pm, and July 23rd at 2:00pm.
(The Saturday performance is not open to the public)
Where: New College of Florida Black Box Theatre
5850 General Dougher Place, Hamilton Center
Tickets: $25 (Students $15)
Tickets available at www.sarasotacontemporarydance.org
One-day events include:
Behind the Curtain with Millicent Johnnie (see bio, P.2)
When: Wednesday, July 26th, 11:30am-12:30pm
Where: New College of Florida College Hall
351 College Drive, Sarasota, FL
Admission: $10
Reserve a spot by emailing [email protected]
Behind the Curtain with Rosanna Tavarez (see bio, P.2)
When: Thursday, July 27th, 11:30am-12:30pm
Where: New College of Florida College Hall
351 College Drive, Sarasota, FL
Admission: $10
Reserve a spot by emailing [email protected]
SCD Dance Repertory Showing
When: Thursday, July 27th, 2:30pm-3:30pm
Where: New College of Florida College Hall
Free Admission
In the Round
“In the Round” is an intimate performance produced and presented by Sarasota Contemporary Dance company members joined by four selected choreographers from the summer dance intensive for an always-entertaining program by budding contemporary choreographers.
When: July 29th, 2:00pm and 7:00pm
Where: New College of Florida Black Box Theatre, Hamilton Center
5850 General Dougher Place
Tickets: $20 (Students $15)
Tickets available at www.sarasotacontemporarydance.org
JULY IS JOYOUS… (P.2)
BIOS:
MILLICENT JOHNNIE is a culture bearer, choreographer, scholar and world citizen. Her work has been presented on award-winning stages, including: The Public Theater in New York City, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the National Black Arts Festival, Bam Harvey Theater, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, Gammage Theatre, and internationally in South Africa, Brazil, and India. Ms. Johnnie has served as a choreographer for the New York City Opera, working with award-winning composers Bernice Johnson Reagon and Toshi Reagon. In addition, she has worked with the U.S. Cultural Ambassadors of Music- UNIVERSES, Grammy Award-winner Bill Summers, Los Hombres Calientes, and notable directors Peter Sellars, Rhodessa Jones, Robert Wilson, Chey Yew and Liesl Tommy, to name a few. Johnnie received commissions from a variety of companies, including: Cleo Parker- Robinson Dance, Hubbard Street II, Alternate ROOTS (Uprooted: The Katrina Project).
Johnnie has received numerous awards and nominations for her work including: Prague International Dance Festival Award (“Best Choreography”), First Place International Dance Title for Hip Hop Choreography (Wrath, Phlava Hip Hop and Jazz Dance Company). Times- Standrard Beti’s Choice Award (2010 -“Best Director” and “Best Musical”—“Rent” produced by Ferndale Rep), and Theatre Bay Area Award (2015 -“Best Choreographer”—“Party People” produced by Berkeley Rep). Her work has been funded nationally by: New England Foundation for the Arts; National Dance Project (NDP)—Bamboula (Cleo Parker Robinson Dance) 2014, Creative Capital Project Grant in the Performing Arts—Cry You One (Mondo Bizzaro) 2013, National Theater Project (NTP)—Cry You One (Mondo Bizzaro) 2012, NTP—The Burning (Progress Theater) 2012, NTP—Party People (UNIVERSES) 2011, Multi-Arts Production Fund ( MAPP)—Cry You One (Mondo Bizzaro) 2011.
A child of South Louisiana, and daughter of dance, she follows in the footsteps of her immediate ancestors as well as her dance heroines. The Louisiana native went on to earn both her BFA and MFA in dance from Florida State University.
ROSANNA TAVAREZ (Countertechnique®). has a diverse background as a performer/entertainer and has had the honor of working with Marina Ambramovic, Ryan Heffington (Sia), Travis Payne (Michael Jackson), Tony Michaels (Beyonce) and Rosanna Gamson/Worldwide. She also toured with N’SYNC and Jessica Simpson as one-fifth of the girl group Eden’s Crush and covered the Emmys, Grammys and Oscars in addition to hosting her own shows as a television personality for FOX, E!, TVGuide Network, and Telemundo/NBC.
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JULY IS JOYOUS… (P.3)
Rosanna was selected to attend the Countertechnique Teacher Training program in 2016, and is now one of six certified American Countertechnique Teachers and one of twenty-eight in the world. She is currently on faculty in the dance programs at Relativity School and CalState LA. Rosanna also creates her own dance-theatre work in Los Angeles under the moniker LA DANSA DANSA. Her works have been supported by ARC grant from the Center for Cultural Innovation, UCLA Hothouse Residency and Show Box LA. She received an MFA in Choreography from The Ohio State University and a BFA in Choreography from University of Michigan.
About Sarasota Contemporary Dance
Sarasota Contemporary Dance was formed in 2002 as Fuzión Dance Artists, Sarasota’s first contemporary dance company, by Co-Founders Leymis Bolaños Willmott and Rachael Inman. Now approaching its 12th season, the company was renamed in 2015, and continues to bring dance to the community through eclectic performances and educational programming, while collaborating with artists and community groups to enrich the human experience.
