Students

Mason’s School of Dance Presents Annual Gala Concert at the Center for the Arts

Zoe Harr — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 20:02:31 +0000

Mason’s School of Dance Presents Annual Gala Concert at the Center for the Arts Zoe Harr Thu, 02/22/2024 - 15:02

In This Story

Karen Reedy

Susan Shields

Amanda Snellings

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School of Dance students rehearse Robert Battle’s “Awakening” for Mason’s 2023 Gala Concert.
(Photo Credit: Cristian Torres/Strategic Communications/George Mason University)

George Mason University’s School of Dance presents the 2024 Mason School of Dance Gala Concert on March 22 and 23, celebrating a rich array of diverse choreographic voices that span from the early days of modern dance to the freshest perspectives of today. As such, this year’s program showcases Mason’s School of Dance students in four varied works by well-known choreographers and dance educators Kyle Abraham (Drive), Rena Butler (This, That, and the Third), Martha Graham (Steps in the Street), and Susan Shields (Visions and Miracles).

“We are thrilled to present this year's Mason Dance Company Gala Concert performances, featuring works by such renowned choreographers including our very own Susan Shields,” said Director of the Mason School of Dance Karen Reedy. A hallmark of our program is our strong connection to the professional field. Our dancers grow tremendously through working closely in residency with these important dance artists. They heighten their professionalism, make connections for their careers, and truly grow from students to artists. We invite audiences to join us to witness the stunning results of our dancers’ hard work. For those who would like to take their support of the School of Dance a step further, we hope to see you at the Mason Dance Fête on March 23.”

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham performed at the Center on February 17. (Photo Credit: Courtesy A.I.M by Kyle Abraham)

Commissioned for New York City Center’s Fall for Dance Festival in 2017, Kyle Abraham’s Drive is a memory-infused piece celebrating the ecstasy of a dance club. Abraham has shared that his origins in dance began in the club world when he was a teenager growing up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This personal experience inspired the high-energy propulsive work set to club beats, which features an ensemble of eight dancers. This performance is staged by Jae Neal. In addition to Abraham’s piece being included in Mason’s School of Dance Gala, Abraham’s contemporary dance company, A.I.M by Kyle Abraham, is a 2023/2024 Mason Artist-in-Residence which included masterclasses with Mason School of Dance students and the local community prior to their performance at the Center for the Arts on February 17.

Rena Butler’s This, That, and the Third premiered in 2019 as part of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Forge Forward program. The work explores themes of otherness and code-switching. Over 23 minutes, Butler introduces each member of the six-person cast through distinctive solos and intimate duets. The result is a powerful piece in which the ensemble finds connection through shared experience, revealing the power of multiplicity and a progressive future. This performance is staged by Rena Butler and Madison Pineda. For a special preview of Butler’s piece, watch the video below.

Premiered at New York City’s Guild Theater in 1936—as part of a larger piece entitled Chronicle—Martha Graham’s Steps in the Street was created in response to the rise of fascism in Europe. The rhythmic piece is performed by 12 women, who depict the tragedy and isolation of war through a new dance vocabulary developed by the iconic Graham. The original program notes from the full work’s premiere reads, “Chronicle does not attempt to show the actualities of war; rather, by evoking war’s images, it sets forth the fateful prelude to war, portrays the devastation of spirit which it leaves in its wake, and suggests an answer.” The piece is staged by Elizabeth Auclair.

This piece will also be featured in George Mason University’s Center of the Arts’ Martha Graham Dance Company performance on April 13.

Mason School of Dance Professor, Susan Shields.

A joyous and colorful celebration of music, Susan Shields’ Visions and Miracles will remind audiences that spring is right around the corner. The large ensemble piece debuted in 2012 as part of The Juilliard School’s “New Dances” project. Set to a lively score by composer Christopher Theofanidis, Shields choreography resonates with vibrancy and serves as a metaphor for Mason’s emerging young performers as they embark on their journeys. Shields is an alumna of, and currently a professor in, Mason’s School of Dance. This piece is staged by Shields and assistants Lauren Ciccolini and Nateisha Reaves.

Prior to the March 23 performance, supporters will attend the Mason Dance Fête at 5:30 p.m. in the deLaski Performing Arts Building. This intimate benefit event is a special celebration of Mason’s School of Dance faculty and students. Guests will enjoy open studio demonstrations of works by leading choreographers, including those featured in the Gala Concert program, as well as a food-and-drink reception. All net proceeds from the Mason Dance Fête go toward Mason School of Dance student scholarship funds. The event is co-chaired by Kimberly K. Eby and Julia G. Morelli and Platinum Sponsors of the event are Dr. Peter N. Stearns and Ms. Donna L. Kidd. To learn more about the hard work and art created by Mason School of Dance, watch the video below.

Witness the impressive future of dance and purchase tickets to Mason School of Dance Gala Concert on March 22 and 23. For sponsorship inquiries and questions about Mason Dance Fête, please contact Amanda Snellings at 703-993-1593.

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College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

Dance

dance faculty

Students

Mason School of Dance students collaborate with Doug Varone and Dancers in upcoming performances

Shayla Brown — Wed, 30 Nov 2022 19:18:42 +0000

Mason School of Dance students collaborate with Doug Varone and Dancers in upcoming performances Shayla Brown Wed, 11/30/2022 - 14:18

In This Story

Karen Reedy

Mason School of Dance students rehearsing for upcoming performance of "Double Octet." Photo by Jessie Ferguson

Dancing is in Morgan Olschewske’s blood. “I was dancing around the house since I could walk. My mom is a dance teacher, and she also went to school for dance.”

The George Mason University junior and 16 of her peers were selected by esteemed Doug Varone and Dancers, one of Mason’s artists-in-residence, to participate in the upcoming performances. Eight of the students will perform alongside the company in February, and all 17 will perform at the Center for the Arts at the annual Mason Dance Company Gala in the spring. The students will be performing a version of the piece, “Double Octet."

Auditions took place in October, and all 70 School of Dance majors participated.

“Casting is completely up to the artist who comes in. We try to make this as real-world as possible for our field,” said Karen Reedy, director of Mason’s School of Dance. “All of the students would give anything to be in that room working, so it’s a real highlight for these dancers who were selected.”

Morgan Olschewske (front) and Michael Cherry rehearsing for "Double Octet." Photo by Jessie Ferguson

Guest artist residencies are intense and invaluable artistic experiences for our dancers, said Reedy.

Sophomore Joseph Schuman has been dancing for 16 years and was cast by Doug Varone and Dancers as a cover in the performance.

“I am covering two main roles in the work. So, in the case of injury or any other issue that pulls one of those dancers out of the performance, I would go in for them,” Schuman explained. “It’s a hugely important and integral part of choreographic work, especially now after what we’ve seen through COVID. Things change quickly, and it’s better to have more bodies than less.” 

Olschewske and Schuman said they both admire Varone’s creative process, particularly his style of movement and composition. They found mentors in company dancers Daeyana Moss and Ryan Yamauchi who led the students through the audition process.

“They were so kind and down to earth. I loved just watching them move because they’re professionals in the company,” said Olschewske. “That was a highlight for me in the lesson of what kind of dancer I want to be.”

“I think what makes instructors and auditioners special is when they offer you the same vulnerability that they expect from you. Some people can be cold and unfeeling and still ask you for this very sensitive part of yourself,” said Schuman. “As artists, we’re meant to offer these parts of ourselves, and it’s comforting to have them offer that same level of being vulnerable with us, and making it a space where we can really dive into what we need to.” 

Mason School of Dance students rehearsing for "Double Octet." Photo by Jessie Ferguson

"The fact that Doug Varone has invited our dancers to perform with his company is a big deal," said Reedy, who is also a Mason alum with an MFA in Dance. "It says a lot about the respect he holds for our School of Dance and the professional level of our incredibly talented young artists."

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Artist in Residence

Dance Gala Concert

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

Students

Mason film major returns to Kosovo to document his family's displacement

Damian Cristodero — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 16:01:45 +0000

Mason film major returns to Kosovo to document his family's displacement Damian Cristodero Mon, 12/04/2017 - 11:01

Erblin Nushi, a senior film and video studies major, and his production crew drew the attention of a Kosovar public interested in films detailing a chapter in their nation's history of conflict. Photos courtesy of Tilia Entertainment.

Erblin Nushi’s thesis film BINI has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious Student Academy Awards. His film is one of the eight films to advance as a finalist in the Narrative (Domestic Film Schools) category and the only undergraduate film in the category, competing against MFA thesis films from top-ranked U.S. university film programs.

“During my two years at Mason, I was shaped to be the filmmaker I am by giving me the space and encouragement to tell stories that are personal and stories that matter,” said Nushi (BA Film and Video Studies 2018).“BINI is exactly that. I took the opportunity to give a voice to all those lives lost during the war and spread awareness about the horrid events of 1999 in my home country, Kosovo.”

He said he would like to thank the faculty that has guided him through this process, and the Academy for this prestigious opportunity.

The Academy created the student awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. The awards will take place Thursday, Oct. 11, at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

The memories of the day armed Serbian soldiers chased his family from their home in Kosovo 19 years ago come and go, said George Mason University graduating senior Erblin Nushi.

Rounded up in the city square of Peja, the Nushis and others were loaded into trucks and covered with tarps for a six-hour ride on an unpaved road to the Albanian border. There was little air in the truck and several people suffocated, Nushi said. Nushi’s father used a utility knife to make a life-saving hole in the tarp so Nushi and his siblings could breathe.

“These are the mini-flashbacks I have,” he said.

That day is documented in a 19-minute short narrative film titled “BINI,” written and directed by Nushi and filmed over the course of a month in Kosovo this summer. The film will be shown at 1 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, in the JC Cinema on the Fairfax Campus.

It’s been a remarkable—if dangerous—journey, and the 6-year-old homeless refugee in a war zone is now a budding 25-year-old filmmaker.

Nushi and his crew, including three other George Mason students and a professor, had barely more than a month to find locations, cast six speaking and 40 nonspeaking roles, rehearse the actors, design the wardrobe, shoot the film, edit the footage and compose the score.

Along the way Nushi appeared on five television talks shows—“and always wearing my Mason hat,” he said—as the production drew the attention of a Kosovar public interested in films detailing a chapter in the nation’s history of conflict.

“The whole country knew we were there making this film,” he said.

He also encountered Kosovar film personalities he idolized as a child, and he was able to hire two actors featured in the Oscar-nominated 2016 short film, “Shok.”

Nushi came to the United States with his family in 2010. He transferred to Mason after two years at Northern Virginia Community College, where he focused his studies on his first love, acting. But as a film and video studies (FAVS) major at Mason he was compelled to make short films—and discovered an affinity. “BINI” is the ninth film he’s made in two years at Mason.

“Honestly, I still prefer acting,” he said, “but storytelling is addicting.”

“He’s one of the most prolific filmmakers and one of the most talented students we have,” said Lisa Thrasher, the FAVS Professor of Film Business and Producing and the producer of “BINI.”

Thrasher, who accompanied the Mason team to Kosovo, said Nushi raised the $15,000 budget for “BINI” himself by bundling money from awards, scholarships, a work-study job, donations from friends and family, and donations via an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign. “The department has supported his talent and his energy” with gear, personnel and encouragement, Thrasher said.

“I have been in this country for seven years,” Nushi said, “and I don’t think I would have gone to Kosovo and did what I did without [FAVS]. I thought when I came to Mason I would get a diploma, but I got a lot more.”

“BINI” will be screened as a sneak-peek viewing, obligatory for Nushi’s December graduation requirement. As part of FAVS’ “Senior Showcase” of films, “BINI” will be accompanied by a “making of” documentary, also directed by Nushi (and filmed by Mason senior Logan McKennah Brown via a Sony F7 camera award from FAVS sponsor Sony). The Kosovar cast of “BINI,” as well as the Kosovar ambassador to the United States, Vlora Çitaku, will also be on hand.