A Message from the Kent Dance Ensemble

Every spring the Dance Division holds auditions for a new Kent Dance Ensemble. Majors or minors in the Dance Division have the opportunity to audition and become a part of this pre-professional dance company. As stated by the Artistic Director Kimberly Karpanty, "KDE produces dance concerts every year, performs at other universities and in neighboring communities, presents lecture/demonstrations at schools in northeastern Ohio, offers movement workshops for all ages and abilities and participates in regional and national dance festivals." This year the Ensemble has 13 incredible members. As Student Director of the Kent Dance Ensemble, I get the opportunity to work with guest choreographers but also to facilitate the success of my fellow Ensemble members.

We have many exciting events throughout the year. This year we have already provided a Lecture/Demonstration at Twinsburg High School. We will be traveling back to Twinsburg next week to teach a jazz and hip hop master class. If you are planning to attend the Roe Green Center Grand Opening you just might get a glimpse of the talented Kent Dance Ensemble. You have to look closely though because at first glance you might miss us :)

Keep checking back throughout the year for more Kent Dance Ensemble news. Below you will find a picture of us...sadly one of our dancers was not present in the picture. If you come to one of our events you can figure out which dancer is missing!!



See you soon!

-Katie Naso (Dance Major/KDE Student Director)

E-Inside Profile of Dr. Yuko Kurahashi

This week's issue of E-Inside has a fabulous article about Dr. Yuko Kurahashi and her enhancement of the Art of Theatre curriculum through a Transformative Learning Grant. It's a great read; congratulations to Yuko!

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

Student Perspectives: Emily Perrott

[Moderator's Note: Student Perspectives posts are meant to open a window onto student experience in the Kent State University School of Theatre and Dance. Thanks to Dance Division Director Andrea Shearer for encouraging students in her Intro to Dance class to use the blog as a forum for their experiences. And of course, thanks to Emily for writing.]

I've only been here a little over a month, but I'm already beginning to learn so much about myself as a dancer. One of the most amazing things I've witnessed thus far is the growth of my Modern I class on Fridays during Improvisation. At first, we each seemed a little bit unsure about putting themselves out there in front of the class. As the weeks went by, the class began to feel more comfortable, dancing from their heart in front of their peers. It's been a wonderful experience watching our class grow and find ways to use each other to create our own individual movement. This class was a great way to begin my journey at Kent State and help all of us to come out of our shells in this new and sometimes scary environment.

Upcoming Production: Cloud 9

Make sure you get your tickets for the upcoming performances of Cloud 9! The box office phone number is (330) 672-2497.

You can read Director Eric van Baars' thoughts on the production here.