HUNTERDance Theater
Whitney V. Hunter, Artistic Director/Founder
PREMIERE SEASON 2006
With Featured Guest Artists
Nya Bowman, Lauren Atkins DeVeaux, Jennifer Emerson and Luis Gabriel Zaragoza
Music by Pat Daugherty and Daniel Bernard Roumain
Performing At
TRIBECA PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
Borough of Manhattan Community College
199 Chambers Street
Saturday and Sunday, June 3rd and 4th, 2006 7:30 PM and 3:00 PM
New York, NY – HUNTERDance Theater, Whitney V. Hunter, Artistic Director, Choreographer and Performer, will present its Premiere Season: at Tribeca Performing Arts Center (BMCC), June 3rd and 4th 2006, Of Love, WAR & Devotion. Of Love, WAR & Devotion articulates the faithfulness that one must possess in their everyday lives through the affections of the heart, aggressions of war, and the dedication to his/her own spiritual self. This production features four works including two world premieres*, In the Crevice of My Desire, Enlisted, *Solo For A Woman and *bare, two original compositions by Pat Daugherty and Daniel Bernard Roumain , and four featured guest artists Nya Bowman, Lauren Atlkins DeVeaux, Jennifer Emerson and Luis Gabriel Zaragoza round out the cast in this very special evening of dance/theater.
Performances are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, June 3rd and 4th, 2006, at 7:30PM and 3PM at Tribeca Performing Arts Center (BMCC) located on the campus of Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street (between Greenwich and West St.). The box office is open from 12 – 6PM, Tues – Sat. Tickets may also be purchased by calling (212) 220-1460 or visiting www.tribecapac.org . Tickets are priced at $25, and $20 for students and elders.
HUNTERDance Theater , founded by Whitney V. Hunter , conveys life stories through the art of movement. His choreography exudes emotional electricity and is breathtakingly distinct. He moves with a straightforward maleness and with poignant desperation. On celebrating his premiere season, Of Love, WAR & Devotion, Hunter says, "This evening is dedicated to those dance pioneers that have paved the road of which I travel", namely, Pearl Primus, Katherine Dunham, Martha Graham , Alvin Ailey, Eleo Pomare, Donald McKayle and Geoffrey Holder, and others.
Whitney V. Hunter founded HunterDance Theater as a project-based company in 2000 to create and perform through the medium of dance/theater. Hunter defines his choreography as character-driven works that investigate the life experiences of people through movement. HDT aims to reach the public through outreach workshops in schools and studios nationally and internationally, pre and post-performance discussions on the works and through theatrical events. Since its inception, the company has been presented at the Judson Church Dance of African Descent Downtown Choreographer's Showcase (NY), The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance (NY), Peridance Choreographer's Showcase (NY), and the Elan Awards. HDT is also the resident modern dance company at The Nest (PA) where the company instructs in technique, composition, and repertory.
Nya Bowman (guest artist) from Lower East Side, NYC, studied dance at the Alvin Ailey School, Rutgers University where she received her BFA in Dance, and at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance where she received her Professional Training Certificate. She is a licensed NYC Tour Guide, and NYC High School Teacher, in addition to holding a faculty position at the Harlem School of the Arts and the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance – Teens @ Graham. Nya has worked with choreographers Elinor Coleman, Kwame Ross, Nathan Trice, Obediah Wright, in Gabri Christa's DanzAisa Dance Company, and as a member of the Martha Graham Dance Ensemble. She has also had the opportunity to perform in Steps in the Street with the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Lauren Atkins DeVeaux (guest artist) originally from Chattanooga, TN, her journey into the world of dance began at the Severance Studios at the age of 5. Her fervor for dance increased under the tutelage of Anna and Barry Van Cura at the Baker-Vanh Cura Ballet Centre where her knowledge base grew to include the styles and influences of artists such as Joel Hall, Birute Barodicaite, and Ron Cunningham. She is a graduate of the Alabama School of Fine Arts in Birmingham, AL where she studied under the directorship of Dame Sonia Arova and Thor Sutowski. After graduating from Howard University with a B.S. in Engineering, she joined Balafon West African Dance Ensemble under the leadership of Guinean Master Dancer Madame Kadiatou Conte. After moving to New York to further her career in dance, she has had the privilege to work with such choreographers and companies as George Faison, Kwame Ross, Abdeel R. Salaam, Nathan Trice, Obediah Wright, Creative Outlet, and Asase Yaa African American Dance Theater. She looks forward to continuing the legacy with HUNTERDance Theater.
Jennifer Emerson (guest artist) graduated from Barnard College in 1997 with a degree in Dance/Theater. Previous to joining HDT, she was a principal dancer fro Buglisi Foreman Dance Company, where she was instrumental in the creation of more than ten new works, acclaimed "a sensuous oracle" (Newsday) and "exceptional" (NY Post). In addition to being company rehearsal director, Ms. Emerson assisted in staging and coaching signature BFD repertoire on the New Jersey Ballet, Marymount Manhattan College, the Juilliard School, Barnard College, and Purchase College. She also toured the US with the Martha Graham Ensemble, receiving the Coca-Cola Award for Artistic Excellence, performed at City Center with the Graham Company, and developed and implemented an arts-in-education curriculum for the Empire State Partnership program in Port Washington, NY. She is currently on the artistic staff and Board of Directors for the Nest Summer Dance Festival in Buck's County, PA, and Associate Artist/Development Associate with pamar, Inc. In addition to being on faculty at Barnard, Ms. Emerson teaches dance composition for the Graham School's Young Artist's Program; has been guest faculty at SUNY Purchase, the Ailey School, and the Neighborhood Playhouse; and has developed and taught numerous outreach master classes and workshops focusing on utilizing dance as communication.
Luis Gabriel Zaragoza (guest artist) born in Mexico City, Mexico, received his BFA from the National School of Dance of Mexico (NSDM), where he graduated Cum Laude. Teachers include Anna Sokolow, Jeff Duncan, Tim Wengerd, Betty Jones and Jim May among others. Gabriel has danced with several companies in France and Mexico, and was also as a respected teacher of the NSDM for eight years. In New York, he has danced with Martha Graham Ensemble and is currently a member of Sokolow Theater Dance Ensemble.
Tickets for HUNTERDance Theater' s Premiere Season 2006, Of Love, WAR, and Devotion, Saturday, June 3rd and Sunday, June 4th at 7:30PM and 3PM, are available at the box office of Tribeca Performing Arts Center located on the campus of Borough of Manhattan Community College, 199 Chambers Street (between Greenwich and West St. ). The box office is open from 12 – 6PM, Tues – Sat. Tickets may also be purchased by calling (212) 220-1460 or visiting www.tribecapac.org . Tickets are priced at $25, and $20 for students and elders.
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