University of Iowa Department of Dance

Kieron Dwyane Sargeant has been selected as the Grant Wood Fellow in Dance for the 2022-23 academic year. Please join us in congratulating Kieron!

In this position, he will teach two courses in the department and have time to develop his research. He will also present an end-of-year exhibition.

We look forward to having Kieron as a member of the dance community for another year!

Learn more about Kieron: dance.uiowa.edu/people/kieron-dwayne-sargeant.

Photos courtesy of Kieron, by Megan Helman and Kenneth Johnson.

It's concert week for the BFAs and undergraduates!

Join us in Space Place Theater, April 27–29, for eight new works created by BFA and undergraduate students in the Department of Dance.

Visit arts.uiowa.edu to learn more.

Photo by Alex Bush.

Last night, students and faculty in the Department of Dance were able to showcase their works created in collaboration with writers from the International Writing Program as part of re·sis·tance | rev·o·lu·tion.

The UI Dance Company tour takes our students around the state of Iowa but one of our favorite stops will always be Oaknoll Retirement Residence in Iowa City!

Photos by Stephanie Miracle.

The Department of Dance is thrilled to be collaborating with our friends from the International Writing Program again this spring to bring you re·sis·tance | rev·o·lu·tion.

In this politically and socially tumultuous time, the words “resistance” and “revolution” can elicit strong emotional responses. For this reason, the International Writing Program writers were given Merriam Webster’s definitions of resistance and revolution as a place to begin writing. Over the last several weeks, the dance makers and writers have collaborated on the performance that we bring to you this evening.

With choreography by Sean Thomas Boyt and music by Andy Thierauf, “Seanshuuraku” is the final piece of the Phelan + Boyt + Gray Thesis Concert premiering tomorrow evening in Space Place Theater!

“A play on the Japanese word for ‘concluding performance' ('千秋楽' or senshuuraku), this new dance work situates the stage and live performance as opportunities for self-expression and transformation. Specifically, this dance proposes a means for the titular Sean to imagine and build an environment where bodily agency, presentation, and safety are all possible and probable. Can this dance be the final occasion where they use the theater and the edge of the proscenium to take refuge from the outside world? Using improvisational scores, task-based choreography, and interpretive movement, the adjoining cast of dancers will negotiate differing situations both as individual bodies and as members of a larger group. As experiments, these dance scores prescribe limitations that alter their performance: the successes and failures in each iteration are made visible to the performers and viewers alike. In lieu of protective armor when addressing the potential dangers and embodied traumas of the outside world, Seanshuuraku's ensemble devises and explores other modes of adornment and self-couture to develop blueprints to best outfit themselves for the world.” (Sean Thomas Boyt).

Photos courtesy of Sean Thomas Boyt. Visit arts.uiowa.edu to learn more.

Content warning: This work includes full nudity.

“Showcasing the thesis projects of MFA candidates Katie Phelan, Darrius Gray, and Sean Boyt, the University of Iowa Dance Thesis Concert showcases a variety of disciplines and inspirations expressed through dance.”

Read the full article from The Daily Iowan: https://bit.ly/37emWrS.

Katie Phelan’s “Exposing Layers” premieres this Wednesday, April 13 during the Phelan + Gray + Boyt Thesis Concert.

“This work is a performance that uses a live camera to capture dance on a proscenium stage and projects it on a downstage scrim. The audience can see through the scrim’s projection to observe dancers and camera movement upstage. Today, internet access has made unveiling digital art techniques a secondary performance through tutorials and ‘behind-the-scenes’ explanations. This work is situated in a constant ‘behind-the-scenes’ point of view. It is a performance of method as well as a performance of the relationship between live action and real-time feedback. It makes the ‘cause and effect’ visible on the stage and scrim, which offers a viewing experience that is different from solely stage performance or cinema. The choreography considers a dialogue between the stage performers and mediated bodies on the scrim to ask how they co-exist. Knowledge of the inscribed dancing body is used to create movements of the camera as an extension of the body.” (Katie Phelan)

Created in collaboration with the dancers, with original sound design by Jacob Smithburg.

Photos courtesy of Katie Phelan. Visit arts.uiowa.edu to learn more.

Wishing Andre Perry all the best as he takes on his new role as executive director of Hancher and the Office of Performing Arts and Engagement!

Like all our friends in the performing arts, the Department of Dance looks forward to working with you.

Read the IowaNow article here: https://bit.ly/3rccWGu. Photo by Tim Schoon.

We're exactly one week away from the opening of the Phelan + Gray + Boyt Thesis Concert!

This concert will feature the work of MFA candidates Katie Phelan, Darrius Gray II, and Sean Thomas Boyt.

Photos courtesy of the thesis candidates. Visit arts.uiowa.edu. for more info.

"I am Nobody," directed by MFA candidate Katie Phelan, and "Entre las Grietas / Between the Cracks," directed by professor Eloy Barragán, were both selected for the 2022 American College Dance Association Screendance Festival Gala.

Please join us in congratulating Katie and Eloy!

Lessons in B-Boying | University of Iowa

In an excerpt from his new book, We Heard It When We Were Young, University of Iowa dance alumnus Chuy Renteria reflects on the first time he found catharsis through breakdancing.

Read the complete Iowa Magazine article below.

Lessons in B-Boying | University of Iowa I knew what I had to do before she even hung up the phone. My first real girlfriend was breaking up with me. She wasn't even breaking up with me. She had gotten a friend to call me and break up with me for her.

Thank you for supporting the Department of Dance on One Day for Iowa and for the many ways you support us all year! 💛🖤

#1DayForIowa

There’s still time to show your support for dance on One Day for Iowa!

* Participate in one of the challenges you’ve seen today in our stories
* Like, comment, and share our posts on Facebook or Instagram
* Or, give a gift today!

#1DayForIowa
https://1dayforiowa.org/fa-dance22 🖤💛

Photo by Alex Bush.

We interrupt today’s One Day for Iowa messaging with this special reminder:

"Timeless Motion," featuring MFA thesis candidates Juliet Remmers and Michael Landez, opens in Space Place Theater tonight!

Pictured here are Juliet and Michael during Joshua L. Peugh’s residency last August. Peugh choreographed “Una Hombre y a Woman,” one of the works you’ll see tonight.

Photos courtesy of Michael Landez. Visit arts.uiowa.edu for more info.

Emily Trapnell is another one of our many students who receives support from departmental scholarships. We hope you’ll consider giving a gift to our scholarship fund today!

"I am greatly honored to have received the recognition and support from the Françoise Martinet Scholarship for the past two years," says Emily. "Through this, Martinet has shared a piece of her admirable legacy with me. With this scholarship, I have been able to transcend financial limitations, continue to practice my craft, and strive to pursue a career similar to Martinet’s."

#1DayForIowa
Give here: https://1dayforiowa.org/fa-dance22. 🖤💛

Photo by Alex Bush.

Students in the Department of Dance are supported through a variety of scholarships! Here’s what Talia Howard had to say about being the recipient of one such scholarship.

“The department's scholarship has truly helped me attend the program. I have been able to continue to grow to as a dancer through their amazing training. Not only is this a great department, but it is a department that will support you in many ways, including through the offering of scholarships.”

#1DayForIowa
Give here: https://1dayforiowa.org/fa-dance22. 🖤💛

Photo by Alex Bush.

Today’s One Day for Iowa, the university’s day of giving! We hope you’ll join us today by supporting the scholarship fund for the Department of Dance.

Not in the position to give? That’s okay! You can still show your support by sharing our social media content throughout the day or by participating in one of the many challenges that we’ll be featuring on our Facebook and Instagram stories.

#1DayForIowa 🖤💛
Give today! https://1dayforiowa.org/fa-dance22

Photo by Alex Bush.

The Department of Dance is thrilled to announce that Stephanie Miracle, who has been at Iowa as a visiting professor since 2019, will join the tenure-track faculty as an assistant professor in the fall of 2022.

She has been an invaluable colleague and has enhanced the student experience in our department with innovative interdisciplinary collaborations.

Please join us in welcoming Stephanie!

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Miracle.

"Timeless Motion” a concert featuring the MFA thesis projects of Juliet Remmers and Michael Landez is happening live in Space Place Theater next week, March 30–April 1.

The concert will present four works, including José Limón’s, “The Moor’s Pavane.” Michael and Juliet worked with Kurt Douglas of Limon Dance Company last fall to set the work and performed it, alongside fellow MFA candidates Darrius Gray and Emmalee Hallinan, for a limited audience as part of Dance Gala. They look forward to being able to share this masterpiece with an audience again!

Content Warning: The following images include artistic representation of scenes of domestic violence, as portrayed in William Shakespeare’s "Othello."

#limondance #limon75 #alegacyinmovement

Photos by Miranda Meyer.

Dance MFA student Ellen has been awarded a 2022 Digital Scholarship & Publishing Studio Summer Fellowship from the University of Iowa Graduate College. This competitive award will allow her to complete a mentored internship and research project this summer.

Please join us in congratulating Ellen!

Photo by Olivia Moon Photography

Student Spotlight: Graduate student duo prepare for dance thesis concert

Dance MFA Candidates Michael Landez and Juliet Remmers are featured in this lovely article from The Daily Iowan. See their thesis concert on March 30 and 31 and April 1. https://fb.me/e/2UBJ501jw

https://dailyiowan.com/2022/03/08/student-spotlight-graduate-student-duo-prepare-for-dance-thesis-concert/

Student Spotlight: Graduate student duo prepare for dance thesis concert At this time of year, graduate students usually feel pressure to work on their thesis papers, but for two third-year graduate students working on their MFAs in dance on the performance track, their paper takes shape in the form of a concert. At the University of Iowa’s fall 2021 Dance Gala, dance ...

Last month, the Board of Regents approved a 10-year facilities master plan for the University of Iowa, which will include the renovation of the former Museum of Art building to become the new home of the UI Department of Dance! This exciting move to an updated building is still in the planning and development stages, and a timeline for the renovation has not yet been set. The department will continue to thrive in Halsey Hall until our new home is ready!