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DANCE MATTERS: Social Bodies
April 26 - 28, 2013
2013 OhioDance Festival and Conference
Co-sponsored by OhioDance and BalletMet Columbus
322 Mt. Vernon Avenue, Columbus, OH 43215
Dance is a social art, whether it is through interaction between dancers or interpretation of social matter. Dance Matters: Social Bodies will look at work, which transcends social issues and brings them to the public arena. This year OhioDance partnered with Amethyst, Inc., a Columbus, Ohio residence facility for women in recovery. OhioDance board members worked with the women and their children, culminating in a performance during the showcase. A portion of ticket sales were donated to Amethyst. Saturday’s keynote speaker is Pat Graney. Ms. Graney has a Seattle based dance company and has done arts-based educational programming for female ex-offenders and their families. There was an interactive panel discussion during Saturday’s luncheon. Panelists included: Pat Graney, Jefferson James, the creator of a program called Inside/Outside which extends the arts to residents at Cincinnati’s River City Correctional Center, a diversionary program for adults with substance abuse issues who would otherwise be sent to Ohio penitentiaries. John Giffin and Suzan Bradford Kounta will discuss the work with the Amethyst project. Bill Wade will discuss his work as an artist in residence for the Cleveland School of the Arts where he founded the nationally-recognized and awarded after school program the YARD – Youth At Risk Dancing. Ann Cooper Albright will moderate this interactive discussion.
On Sunday the speaker was from the dance faculty at Case Western Reserve University, to discuss the Dancer Wellness Project, created by Gary Galbraith. This is a web based project he created that fosters wellness for dancers and educational and research oriented projects among a consortium of affiliates that includes professional companies and universities around the world; included on Sunday is a professional audition and Dance Wellness day, with session presenters from the OSU Sports Medicine program for performing arts.
On Friday, April 26, 2012 students from Ohio Public Schools participated in a Young Artists’ concert. The concert is free and open to the public. Students performing are from BalletMet, Thiossane Institute, Arts and College Preparatory Academy, Indianola Informal Alternative School, DKDC2, and Fort Hayes High School.
On Saturday, April 27, 2012 a “Moving Works” Showcase and award ceremony took place. The Showcase featured professional companies and choreographers; Inlet Dance Theatre, Mara Andriacco, Holly Handman-Lopez, Megan Lee Nicklos, Robin Prichard and Kora Radella. Pre-professional companies performing are Akron School for the Arts, Beck Center for the Arts, and Northern Cincinnati Youth Ballet. There will be a special presentation of the Amethyst Project, featuring women and children of Amethyst, Columbus, choreographed by Suzan Bradford-Kounta and John Giffin. OhioDance awarded a monetary scholarship for an outstanding dance student. Other awards were presented to Bill Wade, for outstanding contributions to the advancement of the dance art form and Marlene Robbins, for outstanding contributions to the advancement of dance education.