Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Theatre Alumna Publishes Book

Dr. Rose Bank in the Theatre Division just let me know about a recently published book written by Alma Bennett, one of our theatre alums. The book is entitled American Women Theatre Critics: Biographies and Selected Writings of Twelve Reviewers, 1753-1919.

Dr. Bennett received her PhD from Kent State, and taught for quite some time at Alderson-Broaddus College in West Virginia. The book is published by McFarland and will be available in the spring/summer of 2010. The publisher's webpage for the book is here, and you can also pre-order it from Amazon.

Congratulations to Dr. Bennett!

-Bill Sallak (Asst. Prof./Dance Music Director/Moderator)

Monday, February 15, 2010

Music For Dancers: Body Percussion

This semester I'm teaching a Special Topics course on Music For Dancers. We recently concluded a composition project where four groups of students compose short works for body percussion. Each group brought their skill and creativity to bear on the problem, and created a piece that demonstrated a knowledge of rhythmic theory and a kinesthetic awareness of themselves and their ensemble partners. Here are videos of the final project performances:

Body Percussion 1 from Bill Sallak on Vimeo.


Body Percussion 2 from Bill Sallak on Vimeo.


Body Percussion 3 from Bill Sallak on Vimeo.


Body Percussion 4 from Bill Sallak on Vimeo.



--Bill Sallak (Asst. Prof./Dance Music Director/Moderator)

Thursday, February 11, 2010

More great news from T&D alumni!

(Moderator's Note: Mary Vaccani graduated from the School of Theatre and Dance with BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography in 2006.)

All,

Hello! I wanted to give everyone back in Kent an update. I was just hired at Lebo's Dancewear working in sales and marketing. It's a full time position with a lot of potential growth. I'm very excited about this position because aside from the desk job portion, it will allow me to travel to dance conventions (and possibly take classes and make connections), help during photo shoots with proper placement/technique of the models, and have a small say in costume designs. The best part is working in a field that is connected to dance.

I also have been dancing for Split Second Sound DJ Company. We do high end corporate events and weddings. We are gearing up for our "Sinatra" gig. We are doing 4 jazz dances for a several corporate events next weekend. Then in April we will be traveling to Richmond, Virginia to perform.

I'm still teaching here in Charlotte. I choreographed my dream dance. It's called "Poison Ivy." We had a costume designer come in and create the exact image I had in my head. The "dance dads" down here built a large cage-like pyramid for the dancers to crawl in, out, and around. The whole experience has been a lot of fun.

I hope everyone at KSU is doing well. I want to thank all the Theatre and Dance faculty at KSU. From "Intro to Dance" to the internship at Porthouse Theatre, and EVERYTHING in the middle, I've been given the tools to start a new and exciting career path on this journey of life. Thank you again!

Mary Vaccani


--Bill Sallak (Asst. Prof./Dance Music Director/Moderator)

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Exciting News from Alumna Kate Leishman

(Moderator's Note: This was sent to us from KSU alumna Kate Leishman. Kate graduated in 2005 with a degree in Dance Performance.)

I just wanted to share a piece of exciting news with all of you. I will officially be joining the faculty of Kalamazoo College this spring! I will be teaching a jazz dance class through the P.E. Department. We do not have a dance program here at the College, and the only dance classes currently offered (both through P.E.) are ballet and ballroom dance. So, I proposed a class and it has been accepted.

I was also asked to advise our dance student organization, Frelon, this year. Frelon offers dance "workshops" which are like master classes throughout the year and produces a large dance concert each spring. I am choreographing a piece for their show that is scheduled for April.

It is really exciting for me to continue to work in Student Affairs/Student Activities, but still have an impact on the students through dance. Thank you for all you instilled in me in my four years at Kent. I am excited to carry on that legacy.

Kate Elizabeth Leishman
Assistant Director of Student Activities
Kalamazoo College