UW Dance Spring 2023 Newsletter

Dear Friends,

Thank you for continuing to be a part of UW Dance! As we reflect on the 2022-23 school year, what is evident among our community of movers, scholars, artists, educators, and learners is constant innovation, open-mindedness, and curiosity. 

We kicked off our vibrant concert season last October with provoking performances by the Chamber Dance Company, which is reimagining its repertoire and transitioning its leadership from the company founder and 30-year artistic director Hannah C. Wiley to the artistic direction of Rachael Lincoln. One change is that programming now includes new works by our second-year MFA candidates performed by graduate students as well as guest artists. 

In January, the UW Dance Presents concert gave our undergraduate students the opportunity to work with faculty such as Artist in Residence Alana Isiguen and guest artists from the community such as Nia-Amina Minor, both of whom created new works grounded in deep investigations of the history and spirit of jazz music.  Also showcased was an excerpt of Ronald K. Brown’s 2009 choreography “Dancing Spirit,” the culmination of a Kawasaki Guest Artist Program residency featuring Ronald K. Brown and Arcell Cabuag, who staged the excerpt on undergraduate students in October. 

Spotlighting student work, in March we featured premieres of work by our dance majors, and the MFA Dance Concert in May will be our first-ever concert in the round at Meany Studio Theatre. 

Presenting concerts is, however, only part of what we have been doing this year.  We continue to stay focused on improving our curricula, pivoting toward more diversity and inviting unconventional and imaginative ways of learning, such as Club Classrooms in MFA candidate Abdiel’s Hustle course, and young guests in Mestre Silvinho’s Capoeira course. Our faculty continue their research as well, such as Associate Professor Jennifer Salk and her innovative project anfractuous and Associate Professor Rachael Lincoln and her ongoing work with BANDALOOP. We look forward to reconnecting with former students during our Alumni Celebration Week in April, a week during which alumni are invited to take classes alongside current students.

We remain grateful to you for your ongoing support, interest, and engagement, and wish you a wonderful spring.

Sincerely,

Christina Sunardi

Chair, UW Department of Dance