FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: January 9, 2015—Detroit, MI—Artspectrum is pleased to announce that its resident dance company, A Company of Dancers (ACOD), is scheduled to participate in dance Immersion's Queens' Calling Choreographers' Showcase, February 6-8. 2015 in Toronto Canada. Paulette Brockington, ACOD Artistic Director, received the invitation in June 2014. dance Immersion is a not-for-profit organization that produces, promotes and supports dancers and dances of the African diaspora. The organization was founded in 1994 by Vivine Scarlett and was established to address the need for additional presentation, skill development, and networking opportunities for dance artists of African descent. Ms. Brockington is the lone American invited. "I have selected Paulette Brockington for her artistry in swing dance. Her positive influences shared within the community is a testimony to her training, dedication and professionalism which has kept this dance form alive. She continues to expand our knowledge and engage in a multitude of activities that result in expanding dance around the world. Paulette will share the stage with seven other female choreographers who offer a view of dance styles representative of the diverse voices of our Queens Calling," said curator/founder Vivine Scarlett. Paulette Brockington, an accomplished dancer/choreographer and actor/director, received the 2012 Michigan Heritage Award in Performing Arts. Since that time she has been a Master Teacher at Michigan State University's Michigan Museum which followed Assistant Professorships on the university level, A versatile artist, she has worked with dance companies, theatre companies and opera companies. In 2008 she was an ArtServe Michigan Arts Educator of the Year. A Company of Dancers Will perform the world premiere of "The Third Side." This new dance work has the abduction of Nigerian girls as its theme as will the work of all the invited choreographers. Ms. Brockington has created a trio, titled from lines written by Stirling Silliphant, exploring social dance for the stage as elements integral to the development of her contemporary ballet. It is filled with emotive call-and-response voicings that look at the sensibilities of the personalities within it. It is an abstract melange which uses vernacular dances of the 29th century, ballet and contemporary/modern dance to look at three sides of a coin - the voices of mother, daughter and abductor. Artspectrum/A Company of Dancers launched an Indiegogo campaign to give backers the chance to invest in this new work to a blues score. The campaign is live until February 20 at http://igg.me/p/the-third-side-on-the-road/x/905528. Backers receive gifts/rewards for participating in the campaign. Two of the dancers joining Ms. Brockington on the trip include: Jessica Thomas is a native of Detroit, MI. She is a professional performer, choreographer and educator. She is the founder of JTDance. She has a Master of Fine Arts from New York University (Tisch School of the Arts) and a Bachelor of Arts from Wright State University. She is currently an instructor of classical ballet, pointe, modern, partnering, jazz and contemporary dance throughout metro Detroit. Tristan Andews os a native Detroiter who studied at The Detroit School of Arts. He went on to dance for the Detroit Pistons, the WNBA Detroit Shock and tour/dance with artists such as Charlie Wilson, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey. He formed a dance crew, "ASIID," that competed on Season 2 of MTV's America's Best Dance Crew and went on to be a coach on MTV's "MADE." Artspectrum plans to provide an online showing of the completed piece to backers sometime in March. The showing is currently slated for its new Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/acompanyofdancers. Artspectrum is a 501(c)(3) organization based i Detroit. Read more about us at http://artspectrum.org/about_us.htm. |
American Lindy Hop Championships
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Pictured left - Jessica Thomas Pictured right - Tristan Andrews |
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dance Immersion's Queen's Calling poster |
