Barnard's Mary Cochran to Direct Paul Taylor 2 Summer Intensive, July 5-29 and Launch New Dance Initiative with Dance Theatre Workshop This Fall
New York, NY - With her longstanding ties in the professional dance community in New York, Mary Cochran, chair of the Dance Department at Barnard College, and an acclaimed performer in her own right, is taking steps to bring talented dancers at Barnard to the wider professional dance scene through a unique collaboration with Dance Theatre Workshop, a major downtown venue. Cochran will launch in the fall a new program for Barnard students, which will culminate in student performances at the Dance Theatre Workshop's state-of-the-art facility in the heart of the downtown dance scene.
This summer, Cochran will also direct the new Paul Taylor 2 Summer Intensive to take place at LaGuardia High School, the location known for the dance movie and later TV series "Fame," which houses several dance studios and practice spaces, close to Lincoln Center. The program will accommodate approximately 100 students, who will be taught by 17 former Paul Taylor dancers. Two are Barnard dance professors Tessa Chandler and Rachel List. Cochran first created the program in 1998 and has now revived it after joining Barnard in the fall of 2004. Cochran will also teach classes during the workshop. Weekly public showings will be held to showcase the work of the participants.
"One of my goals as the dance chair is to partner with other cultural institutions in New York City," said Cochran. "Art organizations and academic dance departments tend to be isolated, but it does not have to be so -- most of the emerging dancers and choreographers come from the academic setting, and this project underscores that. With the dwindling support for the arts in general, it is so essential that we work together to support the arts at all levels."
In September, Cochran will initiate a unique partnership to enrich the dance program at Barnard with Dance Theatre Workshop. She has teamed up with Cathy Edwards, artistic director of the Workshop, to share resources, artistic talents and allow Barnard students to perform at this major downtown venue.
Three Dance Theatre Workshop choreographers - all active performers with small-to-medium-size dance companies - David Parker, Ori Flomain, and Donna Uchizono, who has just received the prestigious Alpert Award in the Arts, which provides a $50,000 fellowship to five artists in the United States who have shown exceptional commitment to their craft, will come to Barnard in the fall to create new works for students participating in the program. These new choreographies will be co-produced by Barnard and Dance Theatre Workshop and performed at the Theatre's state-of-the-art performance space downtown, November 17-19 during evening and matinee performances.
"Barnard students will have a chance to experience the heart of the downtown modern dance scene,' said Cochran. "They will perform works at this professional venue for downtown audiences, and hopefully bring some of the uptown audiences there and vice versa. This project will strengthen our rapport with the New York professional dance community." Contact: Petra Tuomi, 212-854-7907, ptuomi@barnard.edu
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