April 20, Valencia, CA—The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts and the Evelyn Sharp Foundation have commissioned three nationally recognized artists and companies to participate in the second annual Evelyn Sharp/CalArts Summer Choreographic Residency. Beginning on May 18, New York-based Pam Tanowitz Dance and CalArts faculty members Julie Bour and Colin Connor will convene, at the Institute’s Valencia campus for the two-week residency dedicated to creating new work.
“This residency is an extension of the high volume of creative work that happens within The Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance throughout the academic year,” said CalArts Dance Dean Stephan Koplowitz. “The Evelyn Sharp Foundation has provided us with the opportunity to recognize exceptional choreographers from across the country and bring them to CalArts so that they can work here alongside our remarkable faculty artists.”
Offering rehearsal time, the opportunity for creative research, and access to theater facilities and support staff, the residency will conclude on Friday, May 29, 2015, with an invitation-only showing of the new works in The Sharon Disney Lund Dance Theater on campus.
Each artist or company will have the opportunity to hire a current School of Dance student to participate as an understudy and artistic intern, as well as the option to hire additional School of Dance students and alumni as needed. In addition, Pam Tanowitz will return to CalArts during the 2015-16 academic years for a series of master classes with the School of Dance students.
“The timing of the residency is such that students will have the opportunity to engage with these artists separate from the obligations of the academic year,” noted Dean Koplowitz. “The residency is designed to benefit CalArts students, as well as the selected choreographers.”
About the 2015 Recipients
Pam Tanowitz Dance was founded in 2000. Praised as “a clear sighted post-modernist” by The New Yorker, Tanowitz has received commissions and residencies at celebrated New York venues including Dance Theater Workshop, Danspace Project , Joyce SoHo, The Guggenheim Museum’s Works & Process program, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center. In 2001, Pam Tanowitz Dance was one of only three companies in the United States invited to perform at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina, as part of the Emerging Generations concert. The company has performed on the Inside/Out Festival at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival in 2002, 2005 and 2009.
Julie Bour is on the faculty of the Sharon Disney Lund School of Dance at CalArts where she teaches contemporary technique. She creates works for her own project-based company as well as for renowned repertory companies such as Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, 10 Hairy Legs and the Joffrey Concert group. A graduate of the Conservatoire National of Paris, she was also the recipient of the 1997 Bessie Award. Her career as a dancer brought her to work with Ballet Preljocaj, Inbal Pinto Dance Company, Julie Taymor and a variety of International choreographers and directors. Bour’s pedagogic work since 2005 includes teaching at the Juilliard School, the Alvin Ailey School and the Mason Gross School of the Arts.
Colin Connor has had more than 50 choreographic commissions spanning the worlds of contemporary, ballet and flamenco. His works have been presented at numerous venues across the Americas and Europe. As an educator, Connor has taught at The Juilliard School, New York University and the City College of New York. A full-time faculty member at California Institute of the Arts since 2004, Connor has guest taught at many of the finest training centers in the world including the London School of Contemporary Dance, the Rotterdamse Dansacademie, Jacob’s Pillow, Dresden’s Palucca Schule, the Joffrey Summer Workshop, The Dance Studio in Novosibirsk, Russia, and the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem.
The Evelyn Sharp/CalArts Summer Choreographic Residency is graciously supported by a grant from the Evelyn Sharp Foundation.
The Evelyn Sharp Foundation seeks to support and encourage the best in the arts, science and education. Founded in 1952 by New York and California-based businesswoman and philanthropist Evelyn Sharp, the Foundation currently supports music, dance, the fine and performing arts, museums, art and music education, hospitals and research centers. With every grant, the Foundation looks for individuals and institutions who contribute to and enrich their communities.
Ranked as America’s top college for students in the arts by Newsweek/The Daily Beast, California Institute of the Arts has set the pace for educating professional artists since 1970. Offering rigorous undergraduate and graduate degree programs through six schools—Art, Critical Studies, Dance, Film/Video, Music, and Theater—CalArts has championed creative excellence, critical reflection, and the development of new forms and expressions. As successive generations of faculty and alumni have helped shape the landscape of contemporary arts, the Institute first envisioned by Walt Disney encompasses a vibrant, eclectic community with global reach, inviting experimentation, independent inquiry, and active collaboration and exchange among artists, artistic disciplines and cultural traditions.