Roger Williams University Dance Theatre to Perform in May

BRISTOL, RI (04/17/2010)(readMedia)-- Rounding out an academic year of rigorous rehearsals, the Roger Williams University Dance Theatre will grace the stage at the University's Performing Arts Center to perform during the first weekend in May.

Dance students will perform works by guest artists Seán Curran and Deganit Shemy and by RWU dance faculty members Michael Bolger, France Hunter, Gary Shore, Kathy Gordon Smith and Melody Ruffin Ward. Student pieces by senior dance majors Dani Cady, Ashley Hinson, Adrienne Crombie and Kirstie Harrington will also be performed.

During the event, dancers will perform "This Way Through" by RWU alumna Angela

Conte '09, which has been selected for presentation at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts as part of the National College Dance Festival on May 27 to 29. Conte is a 2009 graduate of the University's dance and performance studies program; her piece is the only one from New England to be presented at the Washington, D.C. showcase.

The two participating guest artists have each made their mark in the dance world:

Seán Curran is a leading dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company who has received a New York Dance and Performance Bessie Award for his performance in "Secret Pastures." He made his Metropolitan Opera debut choreographing "Romeo and Juliette." Mr. Curran's work has appeared on Broadway in James Joyce's "The Dead" for Playwrights Horizons and "The Rivals" at Lincoln Center Theater. He has created works for Trinity Irish Dance Company, American Ballet Theatre's studio company, Denmark's Upper Cut Company, Sweden's Skänes Dance Theater, Irish Modern Dance Theatre, Ririe Woodbury Dance Theater, and Dance Alloy, as well as for numerous college and university dance departments.

Israeli- and New York-based choreographer Deganit Shemy's work has been performed throughout Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and New York since 2002. Ms. Shemy was named Young Choreographer of the Year by the Israeli Ministry of Education in 2004 and won the 2003 Choreographer Award from the American-Israeli Cultural Foundation. Since relocating to New York, Ms. Shemy has been an artist-in-residence at Dance New Amsterdam, Tribeca Performing Arts Center, Movement Research and Dance Theatre Workshop. She has also been awarded a 2008 NYFA Fellowship grant. In April 2008, her work won the AWARD show for best choreography which is presented at Joyce SOHO. Dance Magazine stated that Ms. Shemy is "a choreographer with scalding, original theatricality."

Performances of the Dance Theatre will be held on Thursday, May 6, and Friday, May 7, at 8 p.m.; matinees will take place on Saturday, May 8, and Sunday, May 9, at 2 p.m. The Performing Arts Center is located on the University's Bristol Campus at One Old Ferry Road. Tickets cost $10 for general admission and $5 for students and seniors. Seating is limited. For ticket inquiries, call the box office at (401) 254-3626.

For media inquiries, contact Associate Professor Gary Shore at (401) 254-3623.

About RWU: Roger Williams University is a leading independent, coeducational liberal arts university at which students live and learn to be global citizens. With 40 academic programs and an array of co-curricular activities on its Bristol, R.I., campus, RWU is committed to its mantra of learning to bridge the world. Under the leadership of President Roy J. Nirschel, Ph.D., the University has achieved unprecedented academic and financial successes. In 2009, U.S. News & World Report named RWU the seventh-ranked baccalaureate college in the north.

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