Sherman hosts annual dance extravaganza on Sunday
By PETE PAPPALARDO
For the Pocono Record
January 22, 2010
Triskaidekaphobes might want to break the jinx by attending the 13th annual Mountain Dance Concert on Sunday at the Sherman Theater.
The concert is co-sponsored by the Fine Arts Discovery Series and PA Dance Vision, founded by Maria Triano. She explains that the idea of a dance concert corresponds exactly with its musical counterpart. The challenge is to present various pieces which have a pleasing variety while still adding to the overall theme or feeling of the event.
“It’s based in art. It’s not like a recital where everyone is standing on the same line. The choreographers are creating a visual statement, a vision. Their work is about different human conditions: ego, social issues or science. My job was to put together different individuals who had different statements to make,” Triano said.
Twelve dance companies and more than 70 dancers, mostly from eastern Pennsylvania, will combine their vision and talent for the production, which will feature dance styles such as hip-hop, fusion, tap and modern dance, as well as more classical forms like ballet.
Although all the performers are professional or semi-professional dancers, the program is really geared toward showcasing the skill of the choreographers in creating the outer form of what begins as an inner vision, according to Triano.
“Dance starts in the choreographer’s head. It’s grasped by the dancer, then performed out into the audience. I look for people who are up-and-coming artists, who have pre-professional and professional dancers,” she said.
The life experiences and interests of the choreographers include diverse works which ensure that the program has a visual and textural richness for the audience. Jill Fitzgerald studied with tap masters such as Buster Brown and LaVaughn Robinson. Ballet Northeast of Kingston presents dance in the classical tradition of Russia’s Kirov Ballet, while Music & Motion employs all of those with a splash of funk and acrobatic styles.
The experience is not lost on the choreographers and dancers who participate, either. Long-time participant Dr. Elizabeth Gibbons, head of East Stroudsburg University’s growing dance program, explained that the concert is like a dancer’s Christmas.
“Everybody’s going to be running around downstairs. Maybe you get the chance to talk to someone, for a minute. It’s a great experience for the students to come and see the talent and what a real production is like. Very often I see groups I didn’t even know existed. It’s like opening a big box of treasure. Once the curtains and lights are on stage, it glitters and glows like a box of hidden treasure,” she said.
Technical rehearsals are held on two separate nights to accommodate the schedules and distances the troupes have to travel, so that most dancers never see the other routines until the time of the concert.
“I’ve been involved off and on since (Triano) started it. Each group comes up on stage to see the size of the stage,” said Gibbons, and to attend to details of lighting and sound, so that each troupe has but a single bite at the technical apple.
Gibbons explained that most troupes have rehearsed the pieces innumerable times for other shows, and in fact pieces are sometimes conscripted for the concert after having been seen performing elsewhere, as was the case with the ESU contingent.
According to Triano, the bad old days of receiving tapes from choreographers in the mail are over, and the Internet makes selecting dance companies far easier than it was at the first Mountain Dance Concert. While interested choreographers still need to apply, provide mission statements and credentials, judging the quality of a studio’s work is less daunting than in the past.
“Thankfully nowadays it makes it a lot easier to pick the work. Through the beauty of YouTube I can look for choreographic excellence. First and foremost, I look at the choreographer’s work. There is a story to follow. Like watching a good movie, you want to watch a good dance. If you aren’t captivated, what’s the point?” Triano said.
Proceeds from the concert will help the Sherman Theater capital campaign as well as pay for a dance scholarship to a graduating high school senior who will major or minor in dance. Auditions for the scholarship will be held in late spring.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Mountain Dance Concert
WHEN: 2 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Sherman Theater, 524 Main St., Stroudsburg
COST: $15 for adults, $12 for children. Ticket can be purchased online or at the door.
WEB SITE: www.shermantheater.com
SPONSORS: PA Dance Vision & The Fine Arts Discovery Series. Proceeds will go to assist the Sherman Theater and will be raised for a dance scholarship to a graduating high school senior.
CHOREOGRAPHERS: Lynne Mariani, Elizabeth Gibbons, Eng Matthews, Mary Ellen Valenti, Diane Sharp-Nachsin, Germaine Salsberg, Regina Mento. Group choreography for Music & Motion Dance under the direction of Steven Weisz, Marianne Delehanty, Francesca Stigliano and Maria Triano.
FEATURED DANCE COMPANIES: Ballet Northeast, Kingston; PA Youth Theatre, Bethlehem; University Dance Company, East Stroudsburg; Tap Ties, Lehigh Valley; Serendipity Dance Company, Lehigh Valley; SHARP Dance Company, Philadelphia; Music & Motion Dance, Drexel Hill; MarDelDance, Quakertown and Harrington, N.J.; Northeast Ballet Ensemble, Stroudsburg; FuSia Dance Company, Tannersville; Eng & Friends Dance Company, Philadelphia; and PA Dance Vision, East Stroudsburg.
DANCERS: Slyvie Harris, Andrea Heard, Alyssa Johnson, Rebecca Johnson, Ashley Newhard, Miranda Pannick, Casey Reeman, Melora Storm, Mallory Zondag, Sarah Brown, Julie Degnan, Julianna Gorman, Kara Lawson, Dan Pascoe, Cally Richardson, Mikaela Rowe, ToniAnn Arena, Emily Perkins, Veronica Torres, Samantha Jones, Lauren Deery, Brielle Johnson, Chrissy Palumbo, Miranda Barieri, Janelle Berry, Christina Caruso, Kristine Castillo, Veronica Delfino, Abigail Gillow, Marisa Weinberg, Joslyn Williams, Regina Mento, Shannon Krische, Lissa Salitros-Longley, Lauren Sion, Nicole Spengler, Emily Alexander, Breanna Dancy, Brooke Fiorito, Victoria Sarau, Megan Ganter, Kristen Blundi, Brittney Terra, Lindsay Terra, Jen Gill, Paula Heeschen, Joann Pohutski, Kasi Reborchick, Mary Ellen Valenti, Brooke Womer, Joseph Cicala, Patrick Korstange, Jill Turanski, Crystal Bartolacci, Jill Fitzgerald, Melody Kline, Amy Smith, Eisa Jackson, Eng A. Matthews, Leslie Ann Pike, Lauren Sion, Kristen Hancz, Noelle Kukel, Krystal Wagner, Jamie Wisneiwski, Nicole Maliszewski, Caitlin Taylor, Erika Dawdy, Jennifer Smith, Alyssa Warrington, Caroline Swanson, Brittany Lutz, Stephanie Carlos, Cassandra Watts, Hayley Teator, Emily Benn and Christina Cafro.
