Ting-Yu Chen and Ryan Kasprzak will perform as guest artists at the 7 p.m. programs on Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29, in the Cultural Center’s Norman L. Fagan West Virginia State Theater when the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History presents the 2006 West Virginia Dance Festival. This year marks the 25th year of the event.
Chen is the artistic director of Flying Lions Dance Company, and assistant professor of dance at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Va. where she teaches modern dance, composition, Chinese opera dance, modern dance pedagogy, and Dance and Technology Graduate Seminar. She is a grant recipient of the National Arts Council of Cultural and Educational Development in Taiwan, the Greater Columbus Arts Council in Ohio, and the Shenandoah Arts Council in Virginia.
Chen’s choreography has received high recognition by adjucations at the American College Dance Festival Gala Concerts, Jazz Dance World Congress’ choreography competition, and various choreographers’ showcases in Maryland, Washington, D.C., and Virginia. She has received choreography commissions and residencies from regional companies, university dance companies, and performing arts high schools in the U.S. and abroad.
Chen has presented, choreographed, and taught in Taiwan, China; Argentina; Spain; the Netherlands; Russia; New York City and across the United States. She serves on the national board of the American College Dance Festival Association. She received her master of fine arts degree from Ohio State University and her bachelor’s from SUNY Purchase.
Kasprzak is currently performing and creating new works for the New York-based company Parallel Exit: Physical Comedy Theater. The company’s latest piece, This Way That Way, recently enjoyed a critically acclaimed off-Broadway run and is slated to tour the U.S. in 2007.
Kasprzak has spent the last few years on the national and international tours of Fosse and has been honored to perform with such legendary entertainers as Ann Reinking, Ben Vereen, Gregory Hines, Fred Kelly, Peg Leg Bates, Jimmy Slyde, the Nicholas Brothers, and Diane “Lady Di” Walker.
Kasprzak studied at the British American Dramatic Academy in London and holds a bachelor’s degree in acting from Marymount Manhattan College. Kasprzak is also a member of the resident faculty at Ann Reinking’s Broadway Theatre Project.
The festival runs April 28-30. Two nights of performances, beginning on Friday, April 28, at 7 p.m., will showcase the talent of West Virginia dancers who come to perform and take classes from a nationally acclaimed festival faculty. The Friday night concert will feature performances by 14 West Virginia dance groups and Saturday night will showcase another 13 groups. In addition, the guest artists each will perform one piece both nights.
The evening performances are free and open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis; seating is limited. A schedule of both concerts is attached.
The West Virginia Dance Festival presents dance professionals leading workshops and classes, performance situations and a focus on dance as an art form. Thirty-one dance groups consisting of more than 375 dancers will participate in this year’s festival. Classes begin on Friday, April 28, and continue throughout the three-day festival.
For more information about the 2006 West Virginia Dance Festival or other programs of the Department of Arts, Culture and History, call (304) 558-0162.
The West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, an agency of the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, brings together the state’s past, present and future through programs and services in the areas of archives and history, the arts, historic preservation and museums. The Cultural Center is West Virginia’s official showcase for the arts. Visit the Division’s website at www.wvculture.org for more information about programs of the Division. The Department of Arts, Culture and History is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.
2006 West Virginia Dance Festival Performers
Friday, April 28, 2006 Performing Groups
(in order of appearance)
Capital High School, Charleston
A. Michelle Legg, director
Inwood Dance Company, Inwood
Denna Smith/Shan Dai, directors
Next Step Dance Ensemble, Lewisburg
Ginny Walls/Helen Haynes, directors
JADCO Contemporary Dance Company, Charleston
January Johnson Wolfe/Kristen Pennington, directors
feMo Dance Theatre, Buckhannon
Bess Park Reynolds, director
Schrader Youth Ballet, Parkersburg
Velma Schrader, director
WV Wesleyan College, Buckhannon
Bess Park Reynolds, director
Guest Artist
Ryan Kasprzak
Friends of Culture and History Scholarship Winner
Joanna Radow
Inwood Performing Arts, Inwood
Denna Smith, director
Concord Dance Ensemble, White Sulphur Springs
Sara Markum, director
Princeton Dance Studio, Princeton
Janis Gunnoe, director
Guest Artist
Ting-Yu Chen
West Virginia Dance Ensemble, Union
Julie Richards, director
Charleston Ballet and American Academy Ballet
Kim Pauley, director, Charleston
Mid Ohio Valley Ballet Company, Parkersburg
Suzy Gunter, director
Saturday, April 29, 2006 Performing Groups
(in order of appearance)
River City Youth Ballet Ensemble, Elkview
Michelle Raider, director
Trillium Performing Youth, Lewisburg
Beth White, director
Morgantown Dance Studio, Morgantown
Liz Finklea/Lauren Quattro, directors
Summersville Dance Theatre School, Summersville
Paige Haney, director
Oglebay Institute School of Dance, Wheeling
Cheryl Pompeo, director
Alchemy Dance Project, Morgantown
Angela Dennis, director
Beckley Dance Theatre School, Beckley
Jerry Rose, director
Guest Artist
Ryan Kasprzak
Momentum Center for the Arts, Clarksburg
Jamie Kinney, director
Huntington Dance Theatre, Huntington
Jamie Turner, director
Guest Artist
Ting-Yu Chen
Augusta Youth Ballet Company, Buckhannon
Nina M. Scattaregia, director
Trillium Performing Arts Collective, Lewisburg
Carli Mareneck, director
The Art Center School of Dance, Huntington
Ella Hay, director
Beckley Dance Theater, Beckley
Jerry Rose, director
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Ginny Painter
Director of Public Information
West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History
The Cultural Center
1900 Kanawha Boulevard, East
Charleston, WV 25305-0300
Phone (304) 558-0220
Fax (304) 558-2779
ginny.painter@wvculture.org