June 2, 2021 — Northern Kentucky University's School of the Arts is streaming Dance '21, a dance concert highlighting new works by guest artists, faculty, and students. Eleven dynamic dances will add up to an evening of concert pieces that highlight various genres of dance. The production will be available to watch for free at the Dance ’21 website. The production is directed by the artistic team of Teresa VanDenend Sorge, Dee Anne Bryll and Sylvia Chervus.
Jenny Fitzpatrick is the Founder and Artistic Director of Blackbird Dance Theatre in Lexington, Kentucky. She has also worked as a dance professional, taught at the Burbank School of Ballet and choreographed/directed for the National Enrichment Teacher’s Association. She is a performer, choreographer, director, writer, producer and costume designer.
Jay Goodlett majored in dance, drama, and musical theatre before training at the School of American Ballet for several years. By the age of 18, Mr. Goodlett joined the Cincinnati Ballet and rose quickly through the ranks to Senior Soloist by 2002. He has performed in numerous classical full-length ballets and Neo-classical works and also has worked with many ground-breaking contemporary choreographers, performing internationally. He now works at SCPA in Cincinnati, teaches various classes at Lachey Arts, and choreographs for multiple universities and institutions throughout the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Area.
Jessica Harris hails from Neptune, New Jersey, where she has trained in all styles of dance for over 20 years. Harris has performed on several television shows including ABC's hit show "The Apprentice", "Good Morning America", CBS Sports, and ESPN. She is currently a guest artist for the contemporary company Exhale Dance Tribe and can be found teaching a variety of dance classes at Planet Dance in Cincinnati.
A native of Cincinnati and and faculty member of African Dance Forms at NKU, Jeaunita Ìfẹ́wándé Château Weathersby Olówè is a professional dancer, choreographer, teaching artist and athlete for the past 30 years in African, Ballet, Jazz, Modern, Ballroom, Latin dances and Zumba®. She's performed, taught and toured throughout the US, Canada, Africa, Asia since 1994 and performed for the US/NATO military in Europe and Mediterranean. Jeaunita was one of the seven talented artists that traveled to perform in Europe during 2003-2005 for the United States and United Nations Armed Forces military families. She is a certified Zumba® fitness instructor and AFAA Group Fitness instructor.
Andrea Tutt, a graduate of one of Canada's leading Theatre Conservatories, has been performing professionally and teaching theatre and dance for over 15 years. She has taught acting, dance and movement studies in many established training facilities, including Ontario Ballet School in Toronto, Canada, Toi Whakaari – New Zealand's National Drama School, New Zealand School of Dance, University of Minnesota's BFA/Guthrie Theatre Acting program and most recently in the theatre/music theatre departments at NKU, Miami, Xavier and CCM at UC.
Teresa VanDenend Sorge is the developer and Founding Director of Koresh Kids Dance, which serves nearly 500 Philadelphia public school children each week. For nearly a decade she was a full-time lecturer at Muhlenberg College in the Department of Theatre and Dance and remains a part-time lecturer at Sydney Kimmel Medical School in Philadelphia. Teresa holds a BA in Dance Education and Dance Performance/Choreography from Hope College in Holland, Michigan and a Masters of Education in Dance degree from Temple University. She is also adjunct faculty at NKU teaching Modern Dance and Dance History.
Creating dance with COVID-19 restrictions required the team to think outside of the box and develop creative solutions for building dances. The entire process was in compliance with the Norse Nine Guidelines with safety at the forefront of the process.
To learn more about the School of the Arts on-demand performances, visit its website.
About NKU: Founded in 1968, NKU is an entrepreneurial state university of over 16,000 students served by more than 2,000 faculty and staff on a thriving suburban campus nestled between Highland Heights, Kentucky and bustling downtown Cincinnati. We are a regionally engaged university committed to empowering our students to have fulfilling careers and meaningful lives. While we are one of the fastest-growing universities in Kentucky, our professors still know our students' names. For more information, visit nku.edu.
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