Hathaway Brown School is proud to host the 2016 Young Choreographers’ Brown Bag Workshop Series. The event series, presented by HB’s Department of Dance, is free and open to all high school and college-aged dance students. Students are invited to bring a lunch for a midday Q&A with each of the guest artists. Space is limited. To register, call Jenny Burnett, director of dance and performing arts department chair, at 216-932-4214 ext. 7117.
Schedule of events:
Kathy Diehl
Saturday, September 24, 2016: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Kathy Diehl began her professional dance career as a founding company member of Rochester City Ballet under the artistic direction of Timothy Draper. Diehl has danced with Bill Evans Dance Company, Present Tense Dance, Biodance, and Anne Burnidge and Dancers. Diehl has choreographed works for several universities including The College at Brockport, Webster University, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. She has presented her choreography at the American Dance Guild Festival, WAXworks, Rochester Contemporary Dance Collective, Fort Worth Contemporary Dance Festival, and The Brockport Alumni Showcase. Diehl holds a MFA in Performance and Choreography from The College at Brockport, and a MSW from Case Western Reserve University. She began her teaching career on faculty at Draper Center for Dance Education. She has been a full-time visiting professor at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Webster University and a lecturer at the College at Brockport, Nazareth College, and the University of Rochester. Recently, Diehl began an appointment as Assistant Professor of Dance in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Cleveland State University.
Anna Brown Massey
Sunday, October 9, 2016: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Massey is a graduate fellow at the Ohio State University where she is pursuing her MFA in dance with research in intermedia performance, community arts development, and pedagogical practice. She choreographed, performed, and taught in New York City for a decade, and has received grants from the Times Square Alliance, the Brooklyn Arts Council, the Work Office, NTHCCC, and the Ohio State University. Massey is co-director of both NACHMO and the Moves Project. Her projects are marked by collaborative practices and highlight themes of agency and authorship. Massey’s teaching emphasizes improvisational-compositional strategies and attention to musical detail–qualities revealed in her award-winning film and concert work. In addition to communicating in bare feet, Anna is a Cape Breton Step dancer and a Scottish Highland dancer.
Heather Acomb and Jenny Showalter
Saturday, December 3, 2016: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Heather Acomb is a dancer, choreographer, and educator. She earned her MFA in Choreography and Performance from the College at Brockport, then spent four years performing, touring, and teaching as part of the Bill Evans Dance Company as well as independently as a freelance artist across the U.S. Certified in the Evans Method of teaching Laban/Bartenieff-based modern dance, Heather also teaches her own somatic-based work at Wells College, where she is visiting Assistant Professor of Dance. Acomb has performed and had her work shown at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, American College Dance Festival, Core Project/Going Dutch, Midwest RAD Fest, and WAX Works, among others. She has performed the works of many dance artists including Bill Evans, Jose Limon, Doris Humphrey, Claire Porter, Bill T. Jones, Larry Keigwin, and Treeline Dance Works. She is a board certified holistic health practitioner and studies integrative and ayurvedic nutrition.
Jenny Showalter, co-artistic director of Treeline Dance Works, is a dancer and choreographer whose work has recently been presented in Sweden, France, New York, Michigan, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Ohio, Indiana, Texas, California, and Illinois. She continues to dance on a project basis with the Bill Evans Dance Company. Showalter has served as full time or part time faculty at Ball State University, St. John Fisher, The College at Brockport, Arizona State University, Grand Canyon University, Glendale Community College and Scottsdale Community College. She holds a MFA in dance choreography and performance and a BS in P.E. exercise science along with being a certified personal trainer, Pilates instructor, and registered somatic movement therapist.