Dances at MuCCC New Dances

Saturday June 11 at 8:00 PM

purchase tickets at https://www.muccc.org/events/dances-at-muccc

Saturday June 11 at 8:00 PM

New Dances

DAYSTAR/ROSALIE JONES (Pembina Chippewa-Cree) presents “An Indigenous Trilogy,” three stories of creation told in the form of ‘storydance.’ These include “The Woman Who fell from the Sky” as told by the Haudenosaunee; “Spirit of the Wood” which accounts for the creation of the seasons; and “Becoming Myself” on the symbology of achieving womanhood. Daystar/Rosalie Jones specializes in “native modern dance” as seen through the perspective of ancestry, cultural values and a lifetime of experience in North American Indigenous dance and music. She is recognized as a “pioneer” in the field, being mentored by Mexican American choreographer Jose Limon. 

In 1980, Rosalie Jones founded Daystar: Contemporary Dance Drama of Indian America, now considered to be the first native (Indigenous) modern dance company in the USA. Thirty choreographic works include “Wolf: A Transformation” (Anishinaabe) and the scripted dance-dramas “Legacy of the Dream” and “No Home But The Heart.” Recent published writing includes “Dancing the Four Directions: The Spirit of Intuition” (Intellect Journals, 2017) which she wrote in collaboration with Elder Edna Manitowabi. In April, 2016, Jones received the First Annual Lifetime Achievement Award in Performing Arts from the Institute of American Indian Arts, “in honor of her lifetime of creativity, inspiring others and service to the field.”

NANAKO HORIKAWA MANDRINO and NATALIA LISINA present their new duet, “Taking Me BACHward and Forward in Time,” set to J.S. Bach’s Prelude and Fugue from Cello Suite No.5 in C-Minor. Natalia Lisina was born in Kazan, Russia. She received her bachelor’s degree in dance at Kazan State University of Culture and the Arts. Lisina continued her dance education at North Karelia College (Finland) and at The School of Toronto Dance Theatre (Canada). In addition to the American Dance Festival, Lisina has participated in training workshops and festivals internationally (Paris, Moscow, Vilnius). She danced as a member of the chamber ballet Panther, in Kazan, Russia. 

Currently she is a member of BIODANCE company in Rochester, choreographing and dancing professionally with different artists. She is an MFA student at SUNY Brockport and a teaching assistant. Nanako Horikawa Mandrino is a Rochester-based performer, choreographer and collaborator, originally from Sapporo, Japan. She has been performing as a soloist and an ensemble member for local dance companies for 10 years. As an independent dance artist, Nanako had been involved in theater, opera, film productions, and co-produced shows presenting locally and internationally. She is also a certified Projective Kineticist (CPK) in Projective Kinetics Analysis and Training (PKAT) and a Pilates Instructor at Evolution Pilates.

NANCY HUGHES is an educator, performer, choreographer, and event organizer. Her work has been performed across the United States and in France. Most recently Nancy has performed in work by JoAnna Mendl-Shaw, Paul Matteson, and Daystar Dance while choreographing for musicals including The Full Monty. She has received grants from NYS DanceForce, Northampton Arts Council, and Arts Services Initiative (ASI). 

Throughout the year Nancy produces events like Mission Improvable: Contact Improvisation (CI) Intensive and the Elmwood Avenue Festival of the Arts (EVFA) Youth Performance Workshop. She has taught CI as an adjunct professor in SUNY Brockport‘s department of dance and teaches at Taylor’s Academy of Ballet. Residing in Buffalo, NY she performs in museums, homes, and silos.

ANGELA LOPEZ is a multidisciplinary performer from Buffalo, NY. Go Bills. She performs “blueteeths::crossfeets,” celebrating the absolute present.

RUBEN T. ORNELAS performs a new solo, “Preludes,” set to Eight Preludes for Piano by early 20th century Guatemalan composer Ricardo Castillo. The Preludes will be performed live by pianist Yoshiko Arahata. Ornelas has had the privilege of presenting his work at venues in Canada, USA, Mexico, Guatemala, and Uganda. He has been a Fulbright Specialist to Mexico and Guatemala and an Artist in Residence at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in New Mexico. He coordinates the annual Dances at MuCCC Festival with partner Laurie MacFarlane.

ROY WOOD will present a new dance, created with a group of performers who have been working together improvisationally since mid-2021. While at Ohio University, Roy Wood took a dance class to experiment with something totally new to him, but it quickly developed into a passion.  

He’s danced with several companies, but largely has worked collectively with dancers and non-dancers, exploring personal, social, and political issues through improvisation, often turning these explorations into performance works of movement, sound and text.  Roy had been enjoying contact improvisation and teaching at UR until Covid interfered, but is grateful to be improvising again with this wonderful group of dancers.  Roy works both in dance and as an environmental engineer.

Tickets $12 in advance, $15 at the door, $12 students and seniors

For further information:

https://www.facebook.com/dancesatmuccc

or contact dancesatmuccc@gmail.com

All programs subject to change.

This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrant, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the office of the governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by the Genesee Valley Council on the Arts.

Photo courtesy of Daystar/Rosalie Jones, “Spirit of the Wood”