Annual membership offers dancers the opportunity to perform and/or choreograph in the annual January concert: dance Motif. A full year membership entitles dancers to signup for selected dance works offered by the faculty and student choreographers. (See link below for choreographic guidelines). A choreographic presentation is usually held on the 3rd Thursday in September. Potential dancers must be in attendance to be considered for casting in the 10 -12 dances offered for the annual concert. Dancers must be registered and paid in full for a one year membership to participate. Part time or one term membership does not entitle dancers to performance opportunities. Dancers must be prepared to dedicate at least 2 hours per week for every dance in which they are involved through January. Motif week (7 days near the end of January) requires daily evening technical rehearsals in the theatre through the run of the concert. After Motif, there are often numerous opportunities to restage some of these dances in other community dance productions.

Dance Motif 2010 in the Meyer Horowitz Theatre: Friday, January 22 and Saturday, January 23, 2010

Motif 2010 Guest Choreographer: Josh Beamish, contemporary jazz choreographer from MOVE: the Company in Vancouver, BC. - (AFA)
JOSH BEAMISH began dancing at the age of 3 in Edmonton, Alberta but he received his formal training in Kelowna, BC. Upon moving to Vancouver, Josh continued his training at Pacific DanceArts, while also dancing for the Source Dance Company. Josh has worked as an assistant choreographer, dance captain or dancer on various feature films and television shows and has previously danced for Vancouver-based choreographers Simone Orlando and Amber Funk Barton. Josh recently choreographed a new work for Ballet Kelowna and is the 2009 recipient of one of four City of Vancouver Artist Studio Awards. In 2005, at the young age of 17, Josh Beamish founded MOVE: the company and remains Artistic director of the successful registered charitable organization. http://www.movethecompany.com/

Orchesis wants to highlight the creative talent of this Edmonton-born choreographer as well as capitalize on the opportunity to bring a new style of movement from Josh Beamish. The Orchesis dancers will actively participate in developing and building on the guest choreography. This project will encourage dancers to expand their dance style through to a finished concert performance. Three weekends throughout fall of 2009 are allotted wherein dancers and choreographer work intensively for the initial choreographic project (see dates below). As the production date of January 2010 draws closer, the choreographer will return for 2-3 days to finish with choreographic changes, cleaning and final stage spacing, blocking and technical light levels. A rehearsal director will be appointed to maintain the work when Josh is not present in Edmonton.

Rehearsal dates currently set for guest choreographer, Josh Beamish: (subject to change)

Weekend 1: October 23, 24, & 25

Weekend 2: October 30, 31 & Nov. 1

Weekend 3: November 13, 14, & 15

Weekend 4: January 8 & 9

Other Motif 2010 choreographers are:

Kelsie Acton (member)

Kathy Metzger-Corriveau (Academic and Orchesis faculty)

Aletheia Mendes (Academic faculty)

Jodie Vandekerkhove (Academic and Orchesis faculty)

Laura Krewski (Orchesis faculty)

Stephanie Lilley (Orchesis faculty)

Gisele Boisvert (member)

Lindsay Eales (iDance)

Ainsley Hillyard & Nicole Kelley (Co-choreographers from Good Women Dance Collective-Edmonton)

Amanda Karpyshin (member)

Maura Sutherland (member)

PLAN FOR MOTIF 2011

You must be able to commit to the Works In Progress Showing (WIPS) onThursday December 2 or Friday December 3, 2010 from 5:00 – 7:30 PM plus all technical rehearsals in January for one full week prior to the performances. (Starting January 16, 2011 with Motif performance scheduled on January, Friday 21 & Saturday 22, 2011 (subject to Theatre confirmation)).

So you think you want to choreograph?

Orchesis welcomes creative dance development! To be considered as a choreographer in the Dance Motif Concert, you must have held full time membership in the previous year for at least one year and have danced in Dance Motif. Potential choreographers are required to have taken some advanced training in one or more of the suggested courses: "making dances", dance composition within the U of A course offerings such as dance 340 or dance 446, Creative Process in Orchesis Summer Dance Intensive, or have taken other choreographic workshops or studied choreography and improvisation at another institution. All student choreographers will be assigned a faculty mentor who will assist them with compositional staging as needed.

For more information contact Tamara:

Tamara Bliss, Director
E-mail: Tamara.Bliss@ualberta.ca
Phone: (780) 492-0770
FAX: (780) 492-2364
E-409 Van Vliet Centre
University of Alberta
Edmonton, AB T6G 2H9

Choreographic Ideas Presentation: Presentations of choreographic ideas to the dancing membership are tentatively scheduled for Thursday, September 23, 2010 at 8:15 pm.

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