A highlight of the 2007 Bates Dance Festival is the 25th Anniversary Gala Concert, featuring performances by renowned intergenerational dance pioneer, Liz Lerman, winner of the MacArthur Foundation “genius” fellowship; hip-hop legend, Rennie Harris, voted one of the most influential people in the last 100 years in Philadelphia; Obie award-winning choreographer Doug Varone, acclaimed for his work in theater, opera, television and film; four-time “Bessie” award winner Bebe Miller, known for her virtuosic works exploring the human condition; Barrymore award winner David Dorfman, recognized for his collaborative community projects; acclaimed theater, opera and dance choreographer and former STOMP cast member Seán Curran; and jazz master and Broadway veteran Danny Buraczeski.

Capping the night will be community/site artists, PearsonWidrig DanceTheater, performing an excerpt from their moving portrait, Katrina Katrina: Love Letter to New Orleans. The festival presents the 25th Anniversary Gala Concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 28, in the Lewiston Middle School Auditorium, 75 Russell St. in Lewiston.

For the past 25 years these seminal artists have graced the stage of the Bates Dance Festival, developing and showcasing their visionary works. For this special occasion each artist will perform a new or re-staged solo work in celebration of the festival’s 25th anniversary.

Described by The Washington Post as “the source of an epochal revolution in the scope and purposes of dance art,” Lerman and her dance/theater works have been seen throughout the United States and abroad. Her aesthetic approach spans the range from abstract to personal to political, while her working process emphasizes research, translation between artistic media, and intensive collaboration with dancers and communities. She founded Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in 1976 and has cultivated the company’s unique multi-generational ensemble, with dancers whose ages span five decades, into a leading force in contemporary dance.

In 1992 Harris founded Rennie Harris Puremovement, a hip-hop dance company dedicated to preserving and disseminating hip-hop culture through workshops, residencies and public performances. He has brought these “social” dances to the “concert” stage, creating a cohesive dance style that finds a cogent voice in the theater. Harris has been compared to 20th-century dance legends Alvin Ailey and Bob Fosse. Nominated for a Lawrence Olivier Award in the Untied Kingdom, he received three “Bessie” New York Dance and Performance awards, two Alvin Ailey Black Choreographers awards, an Ethnic Dance award and the Alpert Award in the Arts for choreography.

Varone creates dances for the concert stage, as well as opera, Broadway, regional theater, film and television. He founded Doug Varone and Dancers in 1986 to explore and process his particular choreographic vision. He is the recipient of numerous honors including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a “Bessie” for Sustained Achievement in Choreography and, most recently, a 2006 OBIE Award. His work has been singled out for its extraordinary physical daring, vivid musicality and genius for capturing through movement the nuances of true human interaction. The company has toured extensively throughout the United States, Europe, South America and Asia, performing regularly at preeminent venues and festivals.

Making dances for more than 20 years, Miller formed Bebe Miller Company in 1985. Known for a mix of virtuosic, athletic speed and fundamental humanity, the company has performed at major dance centers throughout the United States and abroad. In addition to ongoing work with her ensemble, Miller has received commissions from Boston Ballet, Oregon Ballet Theater, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and Philadanco, among other groups across the country and abroad. She has collaborated with artists in film and digital media and has received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and four “Bessie” New York Dance and Performance Awards for choreography.

Dorfman founded his company, David Dorfman Dance, in 1985 and has performed extensively in New York City and throughout North and South America, Great Britain and Europe. His work has been commissioned widely in the United States and Europe. In 2003 he won a Barrymore Award for best choreography at Philadelphia’s Prince Music Theater for the original musical Green Violin. Dorman has been honored with four fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, three from the New York Foundation for the Arts, an American Choreographer’s Award and a 1996 “Bessie” New York Dance and Performance Award for his community-based project Familiar Movements (The Family Project). Most recently, he received a Guggenheim fellowship for his work on underground.

After a career on Broadway appearing in such musicals as Mame with Angela Lansbury and The Act with Liza Minnelli, Buraczeski formed the original New York City-based JAZZDANCE in 1979. Based in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul since 1992, the company performed at leading concert halls and festivals throughout the United Sates and in Europe, Russia and the Caribbean. In April of 2005, JAZZDANCE closed its doors with a 25-year retrospective concert at the Southern Theater in Minneapolis. Many of Buraczeski’s works for JAZZDANCE were commissioned by presenters around the country including the Library of Congress, whose 1997 support of Among These Cares was this institution’s first dance commission in more than 50 years. He was named Artist of the Year by the Minneapolis Star Tribune in 2000.

Curran first made his mark on the dance world as a leading dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. An original member of the New York City cast of the Off-Broadway percussion extravaganza Stomp, he performed in the show for four years. Seán Curran Company, founded in 1997, has toured throughout the United States and performed in festivals in France and Germany. Curran has choreographed for the New York City Opera and Metropolitan Opera, Playwrights Horizons and the Shakespeare in the Park and for Broadway in James Joyce’s The Dead. Irish American Magazine selected Curran as one of its “Top 100″ in the year 2000.

Pearson and Widrig, artistic directors of PEARSONWIDRIG DANCETHEATER, have gained an international following for dance theater work that transforms the familiar into the mysterious, the subversive and the intimate. Called “dance theater at its funniest and most compelling” by the leading Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, they have been touring extensively throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, India, Korea, Japan and New Zealand since 1987. In addition to their concert stage work, their site installations and community performance residencies combining dance, music, text and video have taken them from rowboats in New York City’s Central Park to the Great Lawn at Jacob’s Pillow, to the Eiun-in Buddhist temple in Kyoto, Japan.

In addition to main stage performances, the festival offers a selection of free and low-cost events. Complete information is available at the website: http://abacus.bates.edu/dancefest/performseason.php

Celebrating 25 years of offering contemporary dance training, commissioning and performance, the Bates Dance Festival announces its 25th anniversary performance season, July 7 through Aug. 11, 2007, on the campus of Bates College. The five-week festival will feature performances, panel discussions and lectures by more than 30 internationally recognized dance artists from throughout the United States and abroad. The season showcases compelling and visually arresting performances that blend dance, video, live music and spoken word to address perspectives on the body, community and the environment, and themes of political activism, the impact of technology and cultural change.

Highlighting the 2007 festival will be the 25th Anniversary Gala Concert, Saturday, July 28, featuring performances by renowned intergenerational dance pioneer Liz Lerman, winner of the MacArthur Foundation “genius” fellowship; hip-hop legend Rennie Harris, voted one of the most influential people in the last one hundred years of Philadelphia history; Obie award-winning choreographer Doug Varone, acclaimed for his work in theater, opera, television and film; four-time “Bessie” award winner Bebe Miller, known for her virtuosic works exploring the human condition; Barrymore award winner David Dorfman, recognized for his collaborative community projects; acclaimed theater, opera and dance choreographer and former STOMP cast member Seán Curran; and jazz master and Broadway veteran Danny Buraczeski.

Capping the night will be community/site artists PearsonWidrig DanceTheater, performing an excerpt from their moving portrait, Katrina Katrina: Love Letter to New Orleans.The festival presents the 25th Anniversary Gala Concert at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 28, in the Lewiston Middle School Auditorium, Central Avenue.

Victor Quijada’s Montreal-based Rubberbandance Group is a collection of world-class dancers from contemporary and breakdance backgrounds that unite to investigate human relationships through an innovative mix of hip- hop dynamics and contemporary classicism. Rubberbandance brings to the stage fresh and inventive works that marry explosive hip-hop physicality with the subtlety of contemporary storytelling. The music is Baroque, Prokofiev, tango, riff or rap, while the choreography blends ballet, contemporary and hip-hop dance styles. The festival presents Rubberbandance Group at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 14, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St., Bates College.

A festival favorite, David Dorfman Dance returns to Maine with underground, a compelling and provocative exploration of political activism.  Inspired by social protest and the incendiary activities of the Weather Underground during the 1960s, Dorfman captures the era’s restive mood and dangerous politics through an electrifying combination of live performance, cutting-edge LED technology, ’60′s music with a score by Jonathan Bepler (composer for Matthew Barney’s Cremaster films) and video design by Jacob Pinholster (Spamalot, Wicked). A dozen local dancers join Dorfman’s company to create an atmosphere of political protest that raises disturbing questions about the nature of protest: What happens when activism veers into violence? Can killing ever be justified? Dorfman and his skilled performers embody the urgency and desperation of these issues with their passionate performance. The festival presents David Dorfman Dance at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St., Bates College.

The annual Different Voices concert showcases choreographers, from the United States, Africa and Latin America, who bring diverse styles and perspectives to the festival stage. The evening includes new works by Claudia Lavista and Omar Gibran, of Mexico’s acclaimed contemporary company Delfos; San Francisco-based Kathleen Hermesdorf and Albert Mathias of motionlab; Adriana Arana and Alejandro Avalos, from the University of Colima’s (Mexico) highly acclaimed folkloric dance company; South African choreographer Lucky Kele; and Seattle-based choreographer Amy O’Neal. The festival presents Different Voices at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 2, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St., Bates College.

Bridgman Packer Dance explores the concept of “video partnering” in its latest work, Trilogy, a highly visceral and visually arresting integration of live performance and video technology that explodes the duet form into a magically populated stage where image and reality collide. Trilogy features live music by three renowned composers whose distinctive musical styles are strongly influenced by contemporary, classical or jazz musical genres. Robert Een plays cello for Seductive Reasoning; Ken Field blows his sax for Under the Skin; and Grammy-Award-winning percussionist Glen Velez does a dazzling turn on his frame drum for Memory Bank. The festival presents Bridgman Packer Dance at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St., Bates College.

Marianela Boán, Cuba’s best-known avant-garde choreographer brings her newly formed company BoánDanz Action to present False Testimony. Boán masterfully employs her choreographic method of “contaminated dance,” merging many art forms for a deep investigation of our post-technological era where the virtual reality of video cameras is omnipresent. A seamless integration of dance, video and live music, False Testimony combines wit, craft and a sophisticated use of technology to comment on today’s wired world. The festival presents BoánDanz Action at 8 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 5, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St., Bates College.

Celebrating the festival’s commitment to producing innovative outdoor events, PearsonWidrig DanceTheater returns to Maine this summer to create another magical site-specific performance installation, this time on and around Lake Andrews on the Bates College campus. Incorporating 40 dancers, 20-plus singers and musicians, and youth and community members of all ages, this event will use sound, light, movement and inventive set pieces to enliven the night environment. PearsonWidrig DanceTheater has gained an international following for work that transforms the familiar into the mysterious, the subversive and the intimate. The festival presents PearsonWidrig DanceTheater at 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday, Aug. 9 and 10, at Keigwin Amphitheater, 75 Russell St., Bates College.

In addition to main stage performances, the festival offers a selection of free and low-cost events. Global Exchange: Sharing Across Cultures, a panel discussion with international visiting artists, takes place at 8 p.m. Thursday, July 26, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St. The Early Days, a panel discussion with veteran festival teacher Dan Wagoner and founder Marcy Plavin takes place at 8 p.m. Friday, July 27, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall.

A Dialogue with Dance Makers, a panel discussion with Rennie Harris, Doug Varone, Danny Buraczeski and Marianela Boán takes place at 8 p.m. Monday, July 30, in Schaeffer Theatre, 305 College St. An Evening of Improvised Work, led by contact-improviser Nancy Stark Smith with a select group of festival dancers and musicians, takes place at 8 p.m. Sunday, July 29, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall, 75 Russell St.

The Musician’s Concert features an eclectic mix of music from around the globe performed by gifted musicians/composers in residence, at 8 p.m. Tuesday, July 31, in the Olin Arts Center Concert Hall.

Rounding out the festival’s five-week season is the Festival Finale, featuring dancers of all ages and abilities performing modern and jazz dance works by Danny Buraczeski, David Dorfman and Marianela Boán. The Festival Finale takes place at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11, in Alumni Gymnasium, 130 Central Ave.

In conjunction with its performances, the festival presents Inside Dance: Understanding Contemporary Dance, a series of pre-and post-performance discussions and lectures led by noted dance scholar Suzanne Carbonneau. Offering audiences insight into the artists and their work, the lectures accompany performances by David Dorfman Dance on Saturday, July 21, Bridgman Packer Dance on Saturday, Aug. 4, and BoánDanz Action on Sunday, Aug. 5. Discussions will be held at 7:15 p.m. in Schaeffer Theater, 305 College St.

For tickets, program schedules and further details please visit the festival’s website.

About the Bates Dance Festival
Founded in 1982 at Bates College in Maine the Bates Dance Festival brings together an international community of contemporary dance choreographers, performers, educators and students in cooperative community to study, perform and create new work. The festival serves as an annual destination for artists, students and audiences to engage in a full range of dance activities and performances that foster creative exchange of ideas, encourage exploration of new ground and provide the opportunity to experience a wide spectrum of dance/movement disciplines.

Twenty-four Bates College students and two chaperones head to Biloxi, Miss., April 15-20 for an “Alternative Spring Break” as Hands on Gulf Coast volunteers in a hurricane-ravaged community.

Organized and financially supported by the Office of the Chaplain, this justice-minded Bates volunteer corps will assist in the continued cleanup and rebuilding of two city sections. Since Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in 2005, Hands On Gulf Coast volunteers have made a huge impact on coastal Mississippi, says Bates Chaplain Bill Blaine-Wallace.

Blaine-Wallace and Associate Professor of Physical Education Marsha Graef will accompany Bates students to the beachfront city of Biloxi, where they will stay at the site of Hands On Gulf Coast. Some students will sleep in a large bunk room with outdoor showers, while others have chosen to camp in tents on the lawn. Student volunteers are in charge of cooking two meals a day, Blaine-Wallace says. “We will be doing demolition, yard work, clean- up, construction, transportation and work with children,” he says.

In collaboration with Biloxi City Councilman Bill Stallworth and the city of Biloxi, Hands On volunteers have assisted in the cleanup and rebuilding of two city sections, including the removal of trees from more than 600 sites, gutting more than 700 homes, walking hundreds of dogs, delivering countless supplies and feeding and housing more than 3,000 volunteers.

Prior to their departure, students have organized two fundraising efforts at Bates to offset the cost of the trip for each volunteer. On April 4, student participants host a “Gulf Coast Lunch” from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. in Chase Lounge where, for $10, diners can support the trip by enjoying Cajun food prepared and donated by Bates Dining Services. Students also plan a silent auction of services and gift certificates from local businesses and individuals.

Two Bates College juniors will join six students from the University of Maine system’s Orono and Farmington campuses, and two Maine Campus Compact leaders, in New Orleans during the week of February break to work on construction projects with Habitat for Humanity. While there, Michael Wilson of Groton, Mass., and Brooke Miller of Arlington, Va., will meet with local residents who have been affected by the hurricane and will reflect on the concept of service.

“Our aim for the project,” Wilson says, “is to make connections between service and need in Louisiana and service and need in Maine, so that the five-day experience becomes part of our larger development as good citizens and friends.”

As part of their effort, Miller and Wilson hosted a series of pre-trip talks at Bates about the spirituality of service, including one by Gregory Rosenthal, Bates Class of 2005 and winner of the 2004 William Stringfellow Award for Peace and Justice, who works for a small religious-based homeless shelter in Schenectady, N.Y. Miller and Wilson plan to use observations from these preliminary discussions as a basis of comparison for what they will accomplish in New Orleans.

Upon their return to campus, the two Bates students will deliver a report to conclude the series. Their final presentation will evaluate their trip. They will consider, says Miller, “what we find spiritual in service and how we plan to live in Maine in light of the experiences we had.”

Maine Campus Compact is a coalition of 19 college and university presidents committed to the civic purposes of higher education. To support this civic mission, Campus Compact promotes community service that develops students’ citizenship skills and values, encourages partnerships between campuses and communities, and assists faculty who seek to integrate public and community engagement into their teaching and research.

Members of the Bates College community have donated more than $16,000 in response to the Katrina Relief Initiative (KRI), a fund-raiser spearheaded by Bates students, faculty and staff, and supported by the Office of the Chaplain and the Harward Center for Community Partnerships.

Of the $16,472 raised, $8,400 comprised cash donations, said Harward Center director David Scobey, who announced the final results of the effort organized by Bates students in the days following Hurricane Katrina. KRI will donate 70 percent of the cash to the American Red Cross for Gulf Coast relief, and 30 percent will be distributed locally for heating assistance to families in need, Scobey said.

The $8,072 balance of the total was donated by Bates contributors directly to relief agencies. “KRI deserves our thanks for leading this philanthropic effort and for the additional educational and community-building work they did. It was inspiring to see their leadership, compassion, hard work and creativity,” Scobey said.

KRI student organizer Christopher Petrella ’06 of Somers, Conn., valued the initiative experience for strengthening his sense of community and confirmed his belief that “we all, as individuals, have the ability to make a positive impact on the lives of others.”

For more information about KRI, please call 207-786-6202.

Bates College students enrolled in the course “Afroambiente” (“Black Environment”), taught by Associate Professor of Spanish Baltasar Fra-Molinero, will give a multimedia presentation on the effects of Hurricane Katrina on both New Orleans and the United States at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 29, in Room 204 of Carnegie Science Hall, Campus Avenue. The public is invited to attend free of charge.

Topics the students will discuss include a chronology of events surrounding Hurricane Katrina, the response to the emergency by authorities, a profile of the storm’s victims, media coverage of the situation and an analysis of the crisis in the context of environmental injustice.

State Sen. Peggy Rotundo will speak about the Katrina Relief Initiative, a combined effort by Bates students, staff and faculty to help victims of the hurricane and local residents affected by rising fuel costs. As of Sept. 27, the campuswide initiative has raised $12,686 –$5,097 from students and $7,589 from faculty and staff. The Bates College Harward Center for Community Partnerships is serving as the collection point for donations, which can be made by contacting community volunteer coordinator Marty Deschaines at this mdeschai@bates.edu.

A discussion will follow the presentations, and refreshments will be served. For more information, contact Dustin Drury at this ddrury@bates.edu.

Bates College has joined the international outpouring of support for the Gulf Coast regions devastated by Hurricane Katrina (see links below).

A combined effort by Bates student, staff and faculty, the Katrina Relief Initiative had raised more than $5,000 as of Sept. 13.

On Sept. 14, it was announced that proceeds from a student and community art show during Parents and Family Weekend will go to the KRI.

Meanwhile, 18 students from Maine who had intended to start the semester at Loyola, Tulane and the University of New Orleans have accepted Bates’ offer of free tuition for the semester. Three come from the Lewiston-Auburn area, with others from as far south as Wells and as far northeast as Addison.

Related news:

• Bates students offer presentation about Katrina’s effects on New Orleans and the nation
• At Bates, ‘everyone’s been great’ to students sent by Katrina
• Fund drive under way as vigil is planned for victims
• President Hansen on Bates’ response to Katrina
• Bates offers free tuition to Maine students displaced by Katrina