Posts Tagged ‘Duke University’

Donna Faye Burchfield will leave her post as dean of the American Dance Festival School in Durham, North Carolina, at the end of the 2010 ADF season to become director of the University of the Arts School of Dance in Philadelphia.

Donna Faye Burchfield

A dancer, choreographer, and teacher, Burchfield joined ADF as a student in 1982 and began working at ADF in 1984. She was a faculty member and associate dean before becoming dean in 2000.

Her innovations as dean included the school’s MFA, post-baccalaureate, and combined BA/BFA programs in collaboration with Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, where Burchfield was a professor of dance.

“We are grateful that she will continue what she loves—creating dynamic situations where dancers can thrive. She has passionately supported dancers here at ADF and we will sorely miss her vigor and innovation,” said Charles Reinhart, ADF director.

The ADF School serves more than 400 students from around the globe every June and July on the campus of Duke University in Durham. For more information on the ADF or Donna Faye Burchfield, visit http://www.americandancefestival.org/staff/dean.html.

The American Dance Festival has dedicated its 2010 season to Dr. Tallman Trask III, executive vice president of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where the annual festival is held.

Trask “has long been an ally of the ADF, helping shape the mutually collaborative relationship between the Festival, Duke University, and the greater Durham community,” the ADF said in a news release. He has served since 1995 as Duke’s principal administrative and fiscal officer.

The ADF’s 77th season, “What is Dance Theater?” will be presented at the Durham Performing Arts Center and Duke University’s Reynolds Industries Theater from June 10 to July 24. For details, visit www.americandancefestival.org.

 Yang Meiqi, who pioneered modern dance in her native China, will be awarded the 2010 Balasaraswati/Joy Ann Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching by the American Dance Festival in a ceremony July 18 at Duke University’s West Campus in Durham, North Carolina. Choreographer Shen Wei, founder of Shen Wei Dance Arts and a former student of Yang Meiqi, will speak at the ceremony.

 “Yang Meiqi’s brave and unrelenting pursuit to successfully build an unknown art form in her home country unequivocally deems her the mother of modern dance in China,” the ADF said in a press statement.

With the help of the ADF and its teachers, Yang established the first modern dance program at the Guangdong Dance Academy and founded the country’s first modern dance troupe, the Guangdong Modern Dance Company.

Yang served as director of teaching and research and principal at the Guangdong Dance Academy and has also been director of the Chinese Dancer’s Association and a member of the Guangzhou Municipal Arts Educational Committee.

The American Dance Festival will announce the lineup for its 77th season, “What Is Dance Theater?” and host a dance party on March 19th at The Cotton Room at Golden Belt in Durham, North Carolina. Door prizes will include a pair of season subscriptions.

The season’s performances will be presented at the Durham Performing Arts Center and Duke University’s Reynolds Industries Theater from June 10 to July 24. Details will be available after the announcement at
www.americandancefestival.org.

The American Dance Festival has issued a call for film and video entries for its 15^th annual Dancing for the Camera Festival, to be held June 25 to 27 at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.

The early deadline is April 7 for submissions in the categories of choreography for the camera; documentaries; experimental and digital technologies; and student work. The final deadline is May 7.

Douglas Rosenberg, a professor at the University of Wisconsin at Madison and a prolific dance video maker for more than two decades, is director of the festival. For more information or to download an entry form, visit www.americandancefestival.org. Questions should be directed to Jill Guyton at adf@americandancefestival.org.