Sarasota Contemporary Dance Classes Invite You to Explore ‘Dreamfall’
Sarasota Contemporary Dance invites the community to explore the worlds of “Dreamfall” and a new world premiere work, both collaborations with the NOW Ensemble, in two classes where the audience can participate or just observe the creation of dance and music.
The free classes, on Friday, August 31, and Saturday, September 15, are sponsored by a grant to New College of Florida from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. They will be held in the Music Room of College Hall, the historic Charles Ringling Mansion, on the bayfront of New College of Florida.
SCD’s “Dreamfall,” which premiered in 2013, highlights SCD’s star dancer Xiao-Xuan Yang Dancigers, who is its co-choreographer with company founder and artistic director Leymis Bolaños Willmott. SCD is restaging “Dreamfall” and with Mark Dancigers, creative director of NOW Ensemble, is creating another work inspired by Joan of Arc, which will premier in October. The master classes will allow participants to experience the works in their creative state.
Sarasota Contemporary Dance and NOW Ensemble
Friday, August 31, 6:00 PM-7:30 PM
Meet and dance with the co-choreographer of “Dreamfall,” a collaboration between Sarasota Contemporary Dance and the NOW Ensemble. This class welcomes observers as well as movers to join in and experience the beauty and strength of SCD’s star dancer Xiao-Xuan Yang Dancigers. Come dance with SCD in the former home of circus magnate Charles Ringling – no prior dance experience necessary! Sponsored by a grant to New College of Florida from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Saturday September 15, 1:00 PM-2:30 PM
Join NOW Ensemble’s artistic director, composer, and electric guitarist Mark Dancigers and members of the Sarasota Contemporary Dance company on an exploration of ideas about music and dance. Dancigers will use concepts and techniques from his collaboration with Sarasota Contemporary Dance, “Dreamfall,” and a new world premiere work, to create a participatory and informative audience experience. No music or dance expertise is required to attend. Bring your curiosity about creating music for dance and your open ears! Sponsored by a grant to New College of Florida from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
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Photo Cutline: Sarasota Contemporary Dance’s Xiao-Xuan Yang Dancigers, above, with former SCD dancer Wendy Rucci, in a production of “Dreamfall.” Credit: Daniel Perales.
About Sarasota Contemporary Dance:
Sarasota Contemporary Dance (SCD), Sarasota’s first professional contemporary dance company, is recognized for its extraordinary level of high-energy, contemporary dance and collaborative performances with artists of various genres.
Leymis Bolaños Wilmott and Rachael Inman founded the predecessor of SCD, Fuzión Dance, in 2002. Under the continued artistic direction of Bolaños Wilmott, Fuzión Dance Artists became Sarasota Contemporary Dance in 2015. In addition to a variety of community collaborations and performances at local venues, SCD has also been presented at the Alabama Ballet Center for Dance, John F. Kennedy Center, Merce Cunningham Studio Theatre, and the Ailey Citygroup Theatre. Recent collaborations include “SCD+Piazzolla” w/ renowned harpist Ann Pilot, and “Carmina Burana” with the Choral Artists of Sarasota. 2017-2018 marks the company’s 12th season. Additionally, the company offers a variety of physically integrated dance and movement modalities to people in different stages of their lives and abilities, including an established ongoing weekly Dance for Parkinson’s class at the Parkinson Place. Most recently the company celebrated a milestone with the grand opening of its brand new, state of the art, dance studio – located in the Rosemary District of Downtown Sarasota.
Bolaños Wilmott is dance instructor and artist in residence at New College of Florida.
About NOW Ensemble:
NOW Ensemble is a dynamic group of performers and composers dedicated to making new chamber music for the 21st century. With a unique instrumentation of flute, clarinet, electric guitar, double bass, and piano, the ensemble brings a fresh sound and a new perspective to the classical tradition, infused with the musical influences that reflect the diverse backgrounds of its members. In 10 years as an ensemble, they have brought some of the most exciting composers of their generation to national and international recognition. In recent seasons, NOW has performed at the Apples and Olives Festival in Zurich, Switzerland, Town Hall Seattle, Da Camera Houston, Lincoln Center, and the Carnegie Hall Neighborhood Concert series. Collaborations and partnerships have included residencies at the University of Texas, Austin, the Toledo Museum of Art, Yale, Princeton, University of Virginia, and New College of Florida. NOW Ensemble’s performances have been featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered” and live on WNYC, and its sophomore album “Awake” charted at #1 in Amazon’s Classical Chamber Music Charts.
Guitarist and Artistic Director Mark Dancigers is assistant professor of digital media and music at New College of Florida.
About Xiao-Xuan Yang Dancigers:
Xiao-Xuan Yang Dancigers, nominated for Best Female Dancer in Australia in 2009, has performed throughout Asia, Europe, Australia and the United States with Australian Dance Theater and Cloudgate 2. Previously assistant professor at the Taipei National University of Arts, she has danced with and choreographed for Sarasota Contemporary Dance since 2012. After a year in California, Dancigers is excited to return to Sarasota to continue her work with Sarasota Contemporary Dance and become the lead teacher for Parkinson Place.
About New College of Florida:
Located in Sarasota, New College of Florida has educated intellectually curious students for lives of great achievement since its founding in 1960. As the State of Florida’s designated honors college, New College provides an exceptional undergraduate education that transforms students’ intellectual curiosity into personal accomplishment. The 110-acre bayfront campus is home to more than 800 students and 80 full-time faculty engaged in interdisciplinary research and collaborative learning. New College offers nearly 40 areas of concentration for undergraduates and a master’s degree program in Data Science.
