Photo by:Ernesto Mancebo
ROSEMARIE ROBERTS
AFRO CUBAN
Tuesday, August 27 at 5:30pm
Thursday, August 29 at 5:30pm
Rosemarie A. Roberts is a dance studies scholar, dancer and educator. Her artistic and scholarly work blend history, dance and theater in order to conduct social psychological and anthropological investigations of Afro-diasporic dance as embodiments of difference, knowledge and resistive power. Professor Roberts is an interpreter of traditional and folkloric Cuban, Haitian, Puerto Rican and Brazilian dance forms. In the Katherine Dunham tradition, dance is a forum for investigating the historical, cultural and spiritual richness of these forms.
At Connecticut College, Professor Roberts teaches courses in Afro-Caribbean dance techniques and traditions, dance pedagogy and dance history. She also teaches a freshman seminar, "Embodied Resistance," which examines educational and pedagogical theories through movement workshops of Afro-diasporic dance, text and films.
Professor Roberts has taught workshops for people of all ages, directed programs and performed to diverse audiences at a variety of venues in the Caribbean and the United States including Yale University, Mount Holyoke College and Howard University. At the School at Jacob’s Pillow, Professor Roberts has taught Afro-Cuban dance. In 2006 she co-directed the Cultural Traditions Program and in 2009 was the Hip Hop Continuum Cultural Traditions Program research fellow. There she launched her most recent project, "Locating Action, Power, and Knowledge Through the Body in Hip Hop Dance." This qualitative research project examining knowledge production and performance as an embodied process was initially undertaken with Connecticut College students through the generous support of a CONNSharp grant.
Professor Roberts was awarded the 1997 Ethnic Dance Award for her commitment to teaching and performing African diasporic dance and its history. Other awards include a National Science Foundation Minority Graduate Fellowship, Leslie Glass Foundation Fellowship and an American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Dissertation Award.
Roberts earned her degrees from Hunter College, graduating Summa Cum Laude, City College and City University of New York where she earned a Ph.D. in Social Personality Psychology.
In addition to publishing in the areas of inter-group and intra-group relations, qualitative research methods, participatory action research, curriculum, gender, race, ethnic and cultural identities, Professor Roberts has also published in peer-reviewed journals, edited volumes and co-authored a book/DVD project on conceptions of social justice in education and dance, Katherine Dunham’s Research to Performance Methodology, the concert stage as a public site of scholarship and choreographic processes as pedagogies of embodiment and critical engagement. Professor Roberts is presently writing a book-length manuscript about the relationship among racialized bodies, knowledge and power discontents.
PAT HALL
AFRO HAITIAN
AFRO HAITIAN
Tuesday, August 20 at 7:00pm
Thursday, August 22 at 7:00pm
Pat Hall is an internationally acclaimed dancer/choreographer and teacher. She is a recipient of an Artists Fellowship in choreography from the New York Foundation for the Arts. Her style is most influenced by African, Caribbean, and contemporary American dance. Her interest in ceremonial and ritual practices of indigenous peoples most influences her choreographic work. Ms. Hall uses her knowledge of the traditional to create contemporary movements and rituals that celebrate life and create new traditions. She brings an unparalleled spirit and depth of understanding to her performances which has been enriched through extensive cultural research.
Ms. Hall has appeared at such places as the Joyce Theater, Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, Dance Theater Workshop, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and Jacob's Pillow, as well as numerous theaters around the world. Her reputation has won her invitiations to participate in many festivals including Spoleto, Next Wave Festival, Colorado Dance Festival, and the Willisau Jazz Festival in Switzerland. Ms. Hall was also an Artist-in-Residence at Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore and Visiting Artist at the University of Singapore. She also toured extensively as a guest artist with Urban Bush Women.
A choreographer of great power and creativity, Ms. Hall's credits include "Praise House" for the Spoleto Festival, "Warrior Ant" for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, "Suenos" for the NuArts Festival, "underCover Girls" and a solo work "Silent Echoes" for Dance Theater Workshop.
As a recipient of Dance Theater Workshop's National Performance Suitcase Fund Award, Ms. Hall enjoyed research expeditions to Haiti, Martinique, Jamaica, Nigeria and Benin. She has also performed in Peru, Hungary, Korea, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, England, and Senegal. She is a recipient of the ethnic dance Award from Dance Giant Steps, Inc., Attitude Magazine. Her work is noted in the books, Gestures of Genius by Rachel Vigier and The Healing Drum by Yaya Diallo and Mitchell Hall.
Sought after as a teacher and lecturer, Ms. Hall has been an Artist-in-Residence at Cornell University and currently is a teaching artist for Brooklyn Academy of Music in the Department of Education and Humanities. She is also a consultant on their DanceAfrica/Restoration project. Ms. Hall is an adjunct professor at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
MARIE BASSE-WILES
SABAR
Friday, August 23 at 7:00pm
Monday, August 26 at 7:00pm
Marie Basse-Wiles was born in Dakar, Senegal, West Africa. The granddaughter of Bambara singer and dancer Maimouna Keita, Marie began her professional career at the age of nine. She began teaching at the age of 12 as a member of the Ballet National of Senegal. Her professional accomplishments include resident work with Kinne N'Diaye Rose, daughter of master drummer Dou Dou N'Diaye Rose, and Papa Dougoufana Traore, as well as renowned choreographers Mamadou N'Diaye, Demba Diallo, Oumy Sene, and Raymon Sylla. Her international touring experience includes performances with the Ballet National of Senegal and Koumpo Dance Company, under the direction of Ibrahima Camara. She has won numerous awards for her commitment to the community and accomplishments in dance. She has created numerous ballets throughout her career as well as a piece for The Center For Traditional Music and Dance "Bedenya 97" Festival, that is archived at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
CNN International sired a beautiful segment about Marie and her West African dance class
OMARI WILES
AFRO BEAT
Monday, August 20 at 7:00pm
Wednesday, August 28 at 7:00pm
Omari Wiles began his training in various African dance forms at the age of 6 years old. He then joined his father and mother, Marie Basse Wiles and Anthony Olukose Wiles, and by his teens he took on the role as Assistant Director of the family company: The Maimouna Ketia School of African Dance. Working with master African dancers, Omari's understanding of African cultures, rythems, and dance has been his foundation venturing further into his training in dance.
Omari trained in other styles such as Hip-Hop, Modern, House, and Vogue. He has been given the chance to work with many artist across the scale: Rashaad Newsome, Janet Jackson, Goldlink, Beyoncé, John Legend, Ephrat Ashire Dance, Jidenna, Maleek Berry, Jennifer Husdon, Gala,Forces, Naomi Campbell, and has been published in Dance Magazine Top 25 to watch, Korean Vogue, British Vogue, The MET, The Guggenheim, Joyce Theater, The Observer, and The New York Times.
Omari is best known as Legendary Omari NiNa Oricci Founder of The House of Nina Oricci and Creative Director of LES BALLET AFRIK.
WILHELMENA TAYLOR
WEST AFRICAN
Tuesday, August 27 at 7:00pm
Thursday, August 29 at 7:00pm
CONT
SHAYLA CALDWELL
HIP HOP
Wednesday, August 21 at 5:30pm
Friday, August 23 at 5:30pm
Friday, August 30 at 5:30pm
EVIDENCE dancer Shayla Caldwell is a native of New Haven, Connecticut. She became heavily influenced by traditional West African dance after being introduced to the Guinean culture by mother and dance mentor Shari Caldwell. She has and continues to work under the instruction of Ali Tatchol Camara and Yamoussa Camara. She attended Educational Center for the Arts under the direction of Susan Matheke, Earl Mosley and Freddie Moore. She then went on to attend Virginia Commonwealth University where she was honored to work with faculty Scott Putman, Christian Von Howard, and Autumn Proctor.
Shayla is currently the Artistic Director at the Caldwell Dance Center in Hamden Conecticut where she also teaches Hip Hop and Contemporary.
*Participants that take Shayla's HIP HOP class will learn a short routine and have the opportunity to perform at the EVIDENCE/Restoration Outddor performance
August 20th at 2pm
ARCELL CABUAG
Friday, August 12 at 6:30pm
Friday, August 19 at 6:30pm
Arcell Cabuag is a Filipino American native of the Bay Area in California. At 18 years old, he studied dance with Charlie McGowan, Debbie Wilson at the Abraham Lincoln Performing Arts Magnet School, Keith Banks at STUDIO 10, and Soozi Childers at the Foster City Dance Academy. In 1995, he attended the Alvin Ailey School where he was first introduced to Ronald K. Brown and EVIDENCE. His professional experience prior includes dancing in: Rock the House for Paramount Pictures, The Shoji Tabuchi Show in Branson, MO, and the Richard Rodgers Centennial Production of The King and I .
Arcell can be seen in the episode Choreographed on Law and Order SVU, and a "Codorinu" commercial with PILOBOLUS shot and aired in Barcelona. He serves the community teaching and setting EVIDENCE repertory to dance studios, college institutions, and teaches the Ronald K. Brown esthetic to community dancers locally and abroad. He is an adjunct professor at Long Island Univeristy (Brooklyn Campus) and a guest choreographer at DANCE ATTACK in Sunnyvale, California. He taught as resident co-director and modern instructor at the RDA Natiotional Choreography Intensive and a co director/instructor at the New Orlean Ballet Association Summer Intensive.
Arcell has assisted Brown in setting works on Philadanco, MUNTU, Ballet Hispanico, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, MalPaso of Havana Cuba, and is the associate choreographer for the Tony Award winning production of The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess (Broadway and National tour).
Arcell joined EVIDENCE in 1997 and was appointed to be the Associate Artistic Director in 2005. He is also a proud receipient of the 2004 New York Dance and Performance “BESSIE” Dancer Award .
*Participants that take Arcell's EVIDENCE Repertory class will learn phrases from a piece from the EVIDENCE repertory and have the opportunity to perform at the EVIDENCE/Restoration Outddor performance August 20th at 2pm
RONALD K. BROWN
CONTEMPORARY
Friday, August 12 at 6:30pm
Friday, August 19 at 6:30pm
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Ronald K. Brown founded Evidence, A Dance Company in1985. He has worked with Mary Anthony Dance Theater, Jennifer Muller/The Works and other choreographers and artists. Brown has set works on Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, Cleo Parker Robinson Ensemble, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Jennifer Muller/The Works, Jeune Ballet d’Afrique Noire, Ko-Thi Dance Company, Philadanco, Muntu Dance Theater of Chicago and Ballet Hispanico.
He has collaborated with such artists as composer/designer Omotayo Wunmi Olaiya, the late writer Craig G. Harris, director Ernie McClintock’s Jazz Actors Theater, choreographers Patricia Hoffbauer and Rokiya Kone, and composers Robert Een, Oliver Lake, Bernadette Speech, David Simons, and Don Meissner
He choreographed Regina Taylor’s award-winning play, Crowns and won an AUDELCO Award for his work on that production. Brown has won a Fred & Adele Astaire Award for Outstanding Choreography in the Tony winning The Gershwin's Porgy & Bess, adapted by Suzan Lori Parks, arrangement by Diedre Murray & directed by Diane Paulus.
In addition Brown was named Def Dance Jam Workshop Mentor of the Year in 2000 and has received; John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Choreographers Fellowship, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, United States Artists Fellowship, and The Ailey Apex Award for teaching. Brown is a member of Stage Directors & Choreographers Society.