A
Sampling for a Small Space
dances
by Theresa Duhon
|
Friday, February 6 |
- 8 pm |
tickets $12 |
Theresa Duhon and dancers present five dances that address the issue of limited space.
Dancers: Mariko Ando,
Carol Cheung, Theresa Duhon, Mollie Melugin-Slaton, Sophie Poletti
with special guest artist: Matiss Duhon
Theresa Duhon's Artist Statement
As someone who has concentrated almost exclusively throughout my career on my
role as a dancer for other choreographers, I am now shifting my focus to my own
choreographic identity. In that spirit, I am mostly interested in exploring a
wide range of styles and techniques at this point. I use a new approach to
every piece that I create, sometimes inspired by music, by specific dancers, by
poems, by ideas or images, or simply by choreographic exercises that I assign
myself. My recent musical choices range from J. S. Bach to Yann Tiersen
(composer of the "Amelie" soundtrack) to mum. The types of works I
create are equally diverse. It is not that I am searching for my own definitive
style, but rather that I would prefer to always experiment with styles, at
least in the foreseeable future.
Theresa Duhon is originally from Austin, TX, where she danced with the Austin Contemporary Ballet and performed in modern dance pieces by Woody McGriff and Jose Luis Bustamante. She received her BFA in Dance from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she performed in works by Twyla Tharp and Deborah Jowitt, among others. Since then, she has danced with numerous New York choreographers, including Sean Curran, Kathleen Dyer, Carol Fonda, Guta Hedewig, Marija Krtolica, and JoAnna Mend1 Shaw. She has also served as Rehearsal Director for SeedDance Company, Carol Fonda & Dancers, and KDNY, and recently set Kathleen Dyer's piece "East Whistwaddle Ladies" on members of the Huntsville Ballet Company in Huntsville, AL.
As a teacher, Ms. Duhon has taught ballet and modem dance to both children and adults for a number of years. For the past three years, she has served on the faculty of Dance Forum NY, teaching BodiBalance and modern dance classes and workshops, and choreographing for faculty concerts.
Ms. Duhon's choreography has been shown in various venues in Austin, TX, as well as at Hatch, Dance Forum NY, Red Shoes, TIXE, and Pop Sustainability (among others) in New York. She has also been commissioned to create works for children and teenagers.
Performers' bios
Mariko Ando was born in Tokyo, Japan, and began her dance career at Kan Horiuchi’s Unique Ballet Theatre, where she studied and later became a company member. Ms. Ando came to the U.S. to study modern dance in 1999. She recently graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BFA cum laude in Dance and received a Conservatory of Dance Award for Performance. She is currently working with Buglisi/Foreman and VanDance.
Carol Cheung has her Masters in Aerospace Engineering from MIT. She
has since been a systems engineer at Lincoln Laboratory until recently moving
to NYC to
pursue a modern dance career this past April. She trains at the Paul Taylor
School, with David Howard and Zvi Gottheiner, and has also performed with
DJ MacDonald. She is thrilled to be dancing for Theresa and with these other
great dancers!
Matiss Duhon answered the clarion call of juggling when he was thirteen years old. When he was eighteen, people started giving him money to juggle. Matiss now regularly performs at the Six Flags outside of Chicago, has won multiple juggling competitions, and can also be found juggling in restaurants, clubs, and events around Chicago, sometimes even by invitation. He would like to thank his sister for the opportunity to be a part of this show, and for not trying to make him 'dance.'
Sophie Poletti grew up in Los Angeles, CA. She spent seven years dancing with the Nevada Ballet Theatre and guesting with companies in Las Vegas and southern California, while pursuing Literature studies at UCLA. Since moving to NY in 2001, Sophie has worked with Gleich Dances, Michael Mao Dance, Terrain and the Kathak Ensemble, touring abroad to China, Denmark, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, as well as performing locally at the Fringe NYC Festival, the Kitchen, Judson Church, BAX and the Tribeca center for the performing arts. She is currently working with the Dance Circle Company, Beth Soll and John Ollom. Sophie is a certified instructor in the Pilates method.
Mollie Melugin-Slaton received a BFA in Dance from Cornish College
of the Arts in Seattle, WA. Since moving to New York she has danced with KDNY,
Underfoot Dance and Jeremy Laverdure. She has recently performed with Theresa
Duhon at One Arm Red in Dumbo. She is also a Pilates and Gyrotonic instructor
at the Movement Salon.