Assistant Professor of Dance Tiffanie Carson, M.F.A., presented her 2016 work, “nexUS,” this month at the 34th annual Clarice Smith Choreographers’ Showcase at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in College Park, Maryland. Taryn Packheiser Brown from Dance Metro DC described the choreography “visually stunning.” The seven male dancers who performed the piece also received strong praise: “…the men toggled between unison power and cannon ripples of gestures. Isolations and jazzy accents were set to a sound score reminiscent of a ninja movie scene, which made the dance exciting and fun to watch.” Read the full review here.
Called “a rite of passage in the DC-area dance community” by The Washington Post, the Choreographers’ Showcase is one of the longest-running showcases of new and established choreographers in the country. Presented in partnership with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, the showcase has been inspiring dance audiences and building the regional dance community since 1983. For participation information, visit theclarice.umd.edu.
On Feb. 18, “nexUS” was also presented at the 2017 Pushing Progress Showcase Series at the Salvatore Capezio Theater at Peridance Capezio Center in New York City. The event offers opportunities for emerging artists to share their works onstage alongside more established choreographers. All seven male dancers had the opportunity to showcase the work and represent Shenandoah Conservatory at this second regionally recognized venue. Dancers included Deontay Gray ’16, Nikolaos Hartnett ’18, Dominic Mills-Patrick ’20, Michael Ross ’17, Ezé Sanabria ’20, Christopher Saunders ’17 and Aaron Tonaki ’20. All seven students are currently pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance at Shenandoah Conservatory.
