Monica Bill Barnes & Company, a New York City-based troupe, will hold a master class and lecture/demonstration on campus and give a public performance in Albany as part of the Theater and Dance Department’s Stephanie C. Davis Dance Residency.
The master class for intermediate students is set for Wednesday, Oct. 19, with a lecture/demonstration Thursday, Oct. 20. Both events will take place 6:30 p.m. - 8 p.m. in the dance studio in the Visual Arts Building.
The performance – free for Union faculty, students and staff with Union ID – is at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, at The Egg, Center for the Performing Arts. Round-trip bus transportation will be provided; buses leave from the Nott/Seward parking lot at 7 p.m.
The company, known for creating works that celebrate the theatrics of everyday life, will present the three-act “Everything is Getting Better All the Time.” It is billed as “an evening that will borrow from the glamour of rock concerts, the good will of Little League games and the enthusiasm of a high school marching band.”
This is the fourth year of the Davis residency. It is made possible by a gift from Sue and Gus Davis ’59, a clinical professor of pathology at Yale and active alumnus from Orange, Conn., in memory of their daughter, Stephanie C. Davis, who was a modern dancer and environmental activist with a love of the performing arts.
“The Davises have generously given us this wonderful opportunity for our students to learn from professional dancers and to see the company perform,” said Dance Program Director Miryam Moutillet.
Monica Bill Barnes launched her company in 2002. She has been hailed by the Village Voice as “one of the wittiest young choreographers around – she can stir your heart as well as make you laugh.”
Her work has been presented by Jacob’s Pillow (Becket, Mass.), DancePlace (Washington, D.C.), Lincoln Center Institute, International Dance and Movement Festival on the Volga (Yaroslav, Russia) and Tanz Festival (Karlsruhe, Germany).
Also in demand as a guest artist for residencies and performance projects, Barnes has brought scores of people to the stage through various site-specific projects and intergenerational large group works. The company has received grants from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Joyce Theater Foundation and other organizations.
Tickets to The Egg performance are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. They may be picked up weekdays at the Yulman Theater Box Office 12:30-1:30 p.m. and at the Visual Arts Building Office 3-4:30 p.m. For more information, contact Linda Goodman, goodmanl@union.edu.