Spring M.F.A. Dance Thesis Concert · LIVESTREAM
Spring M.F.A. Dance Thesis Concert • LIVESTREAM
Friday, March 11, 2022 . 7:30PM
Principal People:
Rebecca Hill, choreographer
Tristan Koepke, choreographer
Special Announcement:
Please note: The livestream for this event will be available to view only during the performance. The video will not be available to view afterwards.
Event Attributes
Presented By
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Venue:
Seating:
Lost Patterns by Rebecca Hill
Driven by curiosity, ongoingness and experimentation, Hill devises a sonic landscape that breaks the boundaries between music and dance. Bodies become instruments and intricate choreographies yield sound in a piece that highlights the value of community. Six percussive dancers and two musicians investigate the translation process prevalent in Appalachian old-time music to unearth experimentation tethered to tradition.
Finally, Fairies! by Tristan Koepke
Finally, Fairies! is a choreography: an unruly maze of embodied archaeologies, hauntologies and compositions that draw inspiration from Vaporwave and the writings of Jacques Derrida and Mark Fisher. Six performers explore aesthetic gesture and capitalist realism through encounters with specters and revenants. This devised work, decidedly unsettled, presents a landscape of precarious connections and unstable meanings that fade as quickly as they appear.
This event is part of Arts for All, a campuswide initiative which leverages the combined power of the arts, technology and social justice to address the grand challenges of our time.
PROGRAM MENU: PROGRAM • CHOREOGRAPHERS' NOTE • ABOUT THE ARTISTS
PROGRAM
2021-2022 SCHOOL OF THEATRE, DANCE, AND PERFORMANCE STUDIES SEASON
Spring M.F.A. Dance Thesis Concert
SCHOOL OF THEATRE, DANCE, AND PERFORMANCE STUDIES
LOST PATTERNS
Choreographer: Rebecca Hill, in collaboration with dancers
Scenic Designer: Andrés Poch
Lighting Designer: Heather Reynolds
Costume Designer: Becca Janney
Sound Designer: Kira Peck
Projection Designer: Andrés Poch
Stage Manager: Matthew Haggerty
Performers: Daniel Coolik (musician), Ashton Frech, Rebecca Hill, Roxy King, Gerson Lanza, Paetyn Lewis, Tiffany Ospino, Erik Spangler (musician)
Music Credits:
Most tunes are reimaginings of traditional Appalachian old-time music, except for the jazz standard “Willow Weep for Me” and original compositions of “Dirge for the Holler,” composed by Erik Spangler and “Step-a-tune Soundweb,” composed by Becky Hill and Erik Spangler. Music in order of the show: “Boll Weevil,” “Falls of Richmond,” “Elk River Blues,” “Willow Weep for Me,” “Greek Melody,” “Dirge for the Holler” and “Step-a-tune Soundweb.” Interview excerpts are from friends and mentors within the old-time music and dance community. In order of appearance: Thomas Maupin, Lou Maiuri, Ben Nelson and Anna Harrod.
FINALLY, FAIRIES!
Choreographer: Tristan Koepke
Scenic Designer: Andrés Poch
Lighting Designer: Heather Reynolds
Costume Designers: Channing Tucker
Sound Designer: Emily Pan
Projection Designer: Deja Collins
Stage Manager: Eileen Cover
Performers: Emilia Bruno, Hana Huie, Tristan Koepke, Christina Robson, Rebecca Steinberg, Carlo Antonio Villanueva, Caroline Rocher Barnes (film only)
Composer: Skyler Nowinski
Voice Coach: Jen Ring
MARCH 11-13, 2022
DANCE THEATRE
This performance will last approximately 90 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
VIDEO OR AUDIO RECORDING OF THIS PRODUCTION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
CHOREOGRAPHERS' NOTE
Choreographer’s Note for LOST PATTERNS
Lost Patterns is a percussive dance work that explores translation to reimagine tradition. In collaboration with dancers and musicians, we devise a sonic landscape that investigates the translation process within Appalachian old-time music to find avenues for experimentation tethered to tradition. Several crooked Appalachian tunes are translated onto the body through melodic replication, improvisation and digital abstraction, composing a world of sound that invites the audience to listen to the body speak. Lost Patterns celebrates percussive dance's ability to be both visual and sonic and believes in the power of collaboration and community to ignite possibility. Lost Patterns primarily uses footwork from both tap and flatfooting, acknowledging the legacy of those dance forms and honoring the tradition bearers who paved the way.
Acknowledgements for LOST PATTERNS
I want to thank my cast and design team: Roxy King, Gerson Lanza, Ashton Frech, Paetyn Lewis, Tiffany Ospino, Daniel Coolik, Erik Spangler, Andrés Poch, Becca Janey, Heather Reynolds and Kira Peck for showing up as their vibrant selves and contributing who they are into this project. You trusted my creative process, even when I brought a banjo into the space, and you leaned into the journey of making this show. I especially want to thank Roxy King and Gerson Lanza for their feedback, camaraderie and footwork and Erik Spangler for the gentle nudge towards experimentation. To my supportive committee members Sara Pearson, Sam Crawford, Alvin Mayes and Patrik Widrig, as well as my M.F.A. cohort, Kate Spanos and Maggie Laszewski—thank you all for encouraging me to boldly embrace this vision. To my mentors and friends within the old-time music community; thank you for being my people and the inspiration for this show. Lastly to my parents and close friends, thanks for letting me process my graduate school experience with all of you. I appreciate you all so much!
--REBECCA HILL, choreographer
Choreographer’s Note for FINALLY, FAIRIES!
“Each time it is the event itself, a first time is a last time. Altogether other. Staging for the end of history. Let us call it a Hauntology.”
--Jacques Derrida
Finally, Fairies! is a choreography: an unruly maze of embodied archaeologies, hauntologies and compositions. The raw material for the work was almost entirely sampled from a filmed improvisation, Solo 2009, which I created over a dozen years ago. A revenant, Solo 2009 exposed moods, affects and memories that drifted through the air while the cast and I explored aesthetic gestures of Vaporwave and semiotic ambivalence.
Each performance of Finally, Fairies! invites new moments of compositional alignment and misalignment, suggesting embodied memory as hazy and inconclusive. Said another way, this work presents a decidedly unsettled hypnogogic landscape of movement, connections, poetic sensibilities and unstable meanings that fade as quickly as they appear.
I am especially grateful to my cast of performers, design team, composer, teachers and mentors, all of whom met me so generously in the creation of this work. Additionally, I thank every person with whom I’ve shared artistic process: this work made me ever more aware that your creative impulses live on in my compositions.
--TRISTAN KOEPKE, choreographer
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Emilia Bruno (performer, Finally, Fairies!) is an Italian-American queer mover from Lake Zurich, IL. She received her B.F.A. in dance and B.S. in kinesiology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in 2018. Emilia has appreciated the poetic direction that Tristan has brought to this process and feels excited to live inside and perform this work.
Deja Collins (projection designer, Finally, Fairies!) was raised in Baltimore, MD, and is currently an M.F.A. candidate in projection and media design at the University of Maryland, College Park. She specializes in multimedia art, with a keen interest in film, graphic design, screen printing and 3D modeling. Recent work includes: The World is On Fire, but Here is A Dance (projection designer) and Charles Francis Chan Jr.’s Exotic Oriental Murder Mystery (editor).
Daniel Coolik (performer/musician, Lost Patterns) A consummate musician’s musician, Daniel Coolik, originally from Atlanta, GA, swept into the Lafayette, LA scene in 2009 and quickly added his name to many respectable rosters, loaning his talents to such groups as Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole, Les Malfecteurs and The Red Stick Ramblers, and helped found and receive a GRAMMY nomination for his band The Revelers. Currently, aside from The Revelers, Daniel plays electric guitar and electric mandolin and leads the band, Boma Bango, which explores the hypnotic, reverb drenched, tremolo-ed electric guitar heavy music from the 1960s that came out of the Congo.
Eileen Cover (stage manager, Finally, Fairies!) super senior dance and accounting double major. She is excited for her second and final time as a stage manager at UMD before she starts as a tax associate with KPMG next year.
Ashton Frech (performer, Lost Patterns) is currently studying for her M.S. in marketing analytics. She has performed in New York City under the direction of Sarah Petronio and competed with Phunktions Dance Company for several years. She choreographs and directs dance films for YouTube.
Matthew Haggerty (stage manager, Lost Patterns)
Jisu Han (assistant lighting designer)
Rebecca “Becky” Hill (choreographer and performer, Lost Patterns) Becky Hill grew up steeped in the folk music and dance scene in Michigan and spent a decade in West Virginia. She was a 2021 Strathmore Artist-in-Residence and a 2018 OneBeat Fellow with the U.S. State Department. Currently she is 2022 John C. Campbell Folk School Artist-in-Residence and performs regularly with the T-Mart Rounders String Band. Lost Patterns is dedicated to all the percussive dancers out there that are keeping their dance alive inside themselves and vibrant within their communities. A big thank you to everyone who has shared a tune, a dance or a home cooked meal with me. www.rebeccahill.org
Hana Huie (performer, Finally, Fairies!) B.A. dance and theatre ’20, B.S. computer science ’21. Multidisciplinary artist and software developer. Selected UMD credits: natürliches sparkle, natürlich; The World is on Fire, but Here is a Dance; Responsive Wild; Champagne Party for Time Travelers; In Orbit; Hell is a Bubble Tea Shop.
Becca Janney (costume designer, Lost Patterns) first year costume design M.F.A. candidate. UMD design credits: Fefu and Her Friends. Outside design credits include: Baylor Theatre (Dancing at Lughnasa, Peter and the Starcatcher, Rhinoceros, She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms), WaterTower Theatre (Everything is Wonderful, Godspell, Harvey) and Stage West Theatre (Ada and the Engine). beccajanney.com
Roxanne “Roxy” King (performer, Lost Patterns) is a senior theatre performance major and professional tap dancer. Some credits include 2017 Jacob’s Pillow Tap Program, director of DynaMYTE, Music From The Sole (company member), Dorrance Dance Blues Project (solo artist) and A Black Lady Sketch Show on HBO (flash mob dancer).
Tristan Koepke (choreographer and performer, Finally, Fairies!) is a dancer, educator, choreographer and Rolfer® based between St. Paul, MN and College Park, MD. He is currently the associate director of the Young Dancers Workshop at the Bates Dance Festival, where he has worked since 2010, and is pursuing an M.F.A. in dance at the University of Maryland, College Park. www.tristankoepke.com
Gerson Lanza (performer, Lost Patterns) first year M.F.A. dance candidate. Originally from La Ceiba, Honduras, Gerson first encountered the art form of tap dance after moving to New York City in 2001. Immediately after his first exposure to tap, he fell in love with the art form. In addition, he is an avid motorcyclist and adventurer.
Paetyn Lewis (performer, Lost Patterns) senior dance major originally from upstate New York. Member of Laura Edwards Dance Company and artistic director of Prima Dolls Dance Team. UMD credits: Tides (2019), I Am Womb (2020), Mural (2021), Crisscross (2021).
Tiffany Ospino (performer, Lost Patterns) junior dance and communication double major. UMD dance credits: I Am Womb, Ordinary Festivals, Dream.Catch.Release. Co-marketing executive for Phunktions Dance Company. Vice President of DCX.
Emily Pan (sound designer, Finally, Fairies!) junior theatre major focusing on lighting and sound design. Recent work includes: Efflorescence, natürliches sparkle, natürlich, Strangers, and Triple Helix (sound designer). empanxin.com
Kira Peck (sound designer, Lost Patterns)
Andrés Poch (scenic designer, Lost Patterns and Finally, Fairies!; projection designer, Lost Patterns; he/him) is a Colombian live entertainment artist and designer. He is currently a third year M.F.A. design candidate and serves as senior designer for ViDCo and as art director and producer of The Juke Joint Live. Design credits include WORD.SOUND.POWER (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Fabulosity (UMD), Risk of Play (UMD), Overscore (UMD), The Flick (Crites Hall) and Winterfest (Adventure Theater).
Jen Ring (voice coach, Finally, Fairies!)
Heather Reynolds (lighting designer, Lost Patterns and Finally, Fairies!) second year M.F.A. candidate in lighting design. UMD: Hookman, Owen Wingrave (Maryland Opera Studio). Additional credits include Urinetown, Assassins and The Laramie Project for Southern Utah University, Hamlet (Utah Shakespeare Festival), The Buddy Holly Story (The Palace Theatre in the Dells) and A Christmas Story (Arizona Broadway Theatre). She has also worked with The Old Globe, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Maine State Music Theatre and Sundance Summer Theatre.
Christina Robson (performer, Finally, Fairies!) third year M.F.A. candidate in dance. Before entering graduate school, she freelanced for a decade in New York, most recently with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company. She has danced with Tristan Koepke since 2010.
Caroline Rocher Barnes (performer, Finally, Fairies!) second year M.F.A. graduate student at UMD, former dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem, Bavarian State Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet and Alonzo King Lines Ballet. Ballet teacher and Gyrotonic®/Gyrokinesis® instructor.
Erin Sanders (assistant stage manager)
Erik Spangler (performer/musician, Lost Patterns) is a composer and electronic musician living in Baltimore, MD. Committed to dissolving cultural boundaries and building community, he co-founded the Baltimore Boom Bap Society (BBBS) live improvised hip hop collective with Wendel Patrick in 2011. The activities of BBBS have extended from a monthly music series to workshops with students in city schools, to collaborations with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. He teaches sound art at Maryland Institute College of Art, with additional work as a musical accompanist for modern dance classes at the University of Maryland. Spangler received his Ph.D. in music composition from Harvard University in 2004.
Rebecca Steinberg (performer, Finally, Fairies!) is a dancer, choreographer, educator and researcher. Prior to beginning her graduate studies at UMD last fall, she was a freelance artist in New York, Nashville and Israel. Rebecca is honored to perform alongside this cast!
Channing Tucker (costume designer, Finally, Fairies!)
Carlo Antonio Villanueva (performer, Finally, Fairies!) is passing through; visit carloantoniovillanueva.com.
ASSISTANT DESIGNERS AND STAGE MANAGERS
Assistant lighting designer: Jisu Han
Assistant stage manager: Erin Sanders
PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT
Production manager: Jennifer Schwartz
Production coordinator: Bobby Hunter
PRODUCTION STAFF
COSTUMES
Costume shop manager: Jennifer Daszczyszak
Assistant costume shop manager & draper: Susan Chiang
Costume crafts & draper: Lisa Burgess
Costume tailor & draper: Tessa Lew
Costume draper: Katie Stomps
First Hand: Amy VanderStaay
Costume graduate assistants: Clare Lillig, Connor Locke
Costume technicians: Layali Aljirafi, Katy Cawley, Karenna Foley, Mel Mader, Nicole Panebianco, Amelia Yasuda
LIGHTING
Technology shop manager: Jeffery Reckeweg
Lighting coordinator: Carrie Barton
Lead electricians: Taryn Carone, Malory Hartman, Lauren Hawley, Christian Henrriquez, James Newman, Zachary Rupp, Cameron Smith, Christina Smith, Erin Taylor
Student electricians: Max Abramovitz, Gabrielle Cramer, Stephen Lyons, Mel Mader, Emily Pan, Dylan Speiser, Evan Thanicatt, Hanna Zakharenko
PROJECTIONS
Projections coordinator: Devin Kinch
Projections technicians: Sam Biuk, Deja Collins, Jerran Kowalski, Cassandra Saulski
AUDIO
Audio shop manager: James O’Connell
Audio technicians: Nick Cameron, Mike Houser, Neel Madan, Lindsay McElhinney
PROPERTIES
Props shop manager: Timothy Jones
Props graduate students: Abigail Bueti, Mark Williams
Prop shop artisan: Trey Wise
Prop shop student artisans: Marcus Campbell, Josie Danckaert, Troy Mohammad Gharibani, Adam Hawley, Roxy King
SCENIC
Technical director: Mark Rapach
Assistant technical director: Michael Driggers
Scenic artist: Ann Chismar
Scene shop coordinator: Reuven Goren
Lead carpenter: Earl Browne
Carpenters: Frank Bowles, Katy Cawley, Kailee Goldberg, Devin Kohn, Kelley Li, Carl Ostrenga
Student carpenters: Marcus Campbell, Elta Goldstein, Adam Hawley, Alana Isaac, Roxy King, Sabrina Lenett, Paetyn Lewis, Celia Richardson, Gabrielle Scott
SCENIC PAINTING
Scenic charge coordinator: Ann Chismar
Scenic charge artist: Andrea Ball
Scenic painters: Bobbie Carter Dewhurst, Grey Walters
Student scenic painters: Max Abramovitz, Sarah Bennett, Natalia Corvoisier, Brooke Melton, Nicole Panebianco
VENUE OPERATIONS
Technical coordinator: Sandy Everett
Stage crew leads: Steven Bronocco, Alexix Hayes, Cole Owens
Show Crew
Run crew: Michelle Johnson, Olivia Shamy
Light board operator: Gaya Schechter
Wardrobe supervisor: Wendy Walker
Dressers: Eleanor Baker, Shekinah Brown
Projections board operator: Logan Stevens
Audio engineer: Kira Peck
TDPS FACULTY & STAFF
Faculty
Jennifer Barclay
Amith Chandrashaker
Andrew Cissna
Daniel Conway
Crystal Davis
Adriane Fang
Leslie Felbain
Marielis Garcia
James Harding
Franklin J. Hildy
Helen Huang
Misha Kachman
Maura Keefe
Brian MacDevitt
Caitlin Marshall
Alvin Mayes
Jared Mezzocchi
Lisa Nathans
Sara Pearson
Kendra Portier
Scot Reeese
Van Tran Nguyen
Patrik Widrig
Staff
Crystal Gaston
Bobby Hunter
Isiah Johnson
Susan Miller
Renee Nyack
Jennifer Schwartz
Kathleen Spanos
TDPS GRADUATE STUDENTS
Ronya Lee Anderson
Lindsey Barr
Abigail Bueti
Deja Collins
J. Mitchell Cronin
Amber Daniels
Tara Demmy
Eran Eads
Jordan Ealey
Britney Falcon
Lauren Farnell
Mary Kate Ford
Luis Garcia
Cary Gillett
Matré Grant
Allison Hedges
Christian Henrriquez
Rebecca Hill
Kelley Holley
Rebecca Janey
Shartoya Jn.Baptiste
Casey Kaleba
Mina Kawahara
Devin Kinch
Tristan Koepke
Jarren Kowalski
Gerson Lanza Ruiz
Maggie Laszewski
Rashonda Lazar
Gianina K. Lockley
Ashlynne Ludwig
Q-mars Haeri
Alex Miller
John Monday
Gavin Mosier
Javier Padilla
Stephanie Parks
Eric Pitney
Andrés Poch
Kristopher Pourzal
Sean Preston
Heather Reynolds
Brandon Roaktheat
Christina Robson
Caroline Rocher Barnes
Victoria Scrimer
Zerihun Sira
Christina Smith
Rebecca Steinberg
Jared Strange
Melissa Sturges
Zavier Taylor
Taylor Verrett
Carlo Antonio Villanueva
Cody Von Ruden
Cyrah Ward
Mark Williams