Guest Artists / Master Classes
Webster University Department of Dance welcomes
Visiting Professor / Choreographer, Kathy Diehl
Fall 2011 / Spring 2012
Kathy Diehl, originally from Rochester, New York, began her professional dance career with Draper Dance Theater (currently known as Rochester City Ballet) in 1983. As a soloist and founding company member, Diehl performed in many classical and contemporary ballets under the direction of Timothy Draper. After leaving the area to pursue other academic interests, Diehl returned to Rochester in 1995 with a BA in Psychology and a Masters degree in Social Work.
While she began a career in social work, she also joined the faculty of Timothy M. Draper Center for Dance Education where she has been a classical ballet instructor for 16 years. She returned to the stage as a guest artist with Rochester City Ballet in 1996 and as a company member with Present Tense Dance, a contemporary modern dance company. In 2005, Diehl decided to leave the social work profession to pursue her passion for performing and teaching.
She subsequently earned an MFA in Performance and Choreography from The College at Brockport in 2010. Throughout her graduate school career, Diehl was the recipient of the highly competitive teaching assistantship and also received numerous other awards and scholarships including the prestigious Thayer Fellowship.
Since 2007, Diehl has performed extensively in the works of Bill Evans, Anne Burnidge, Larry Keigwin, Mariah Maloney, and Anne Harris Wilcox. She currently teaches dance studies at The College at Brockport, University of Rochester, and Hobart and William Smith Colleges. Diehl is an accomplished choreographer, presenting works at the American Dance Guild Festival, Converge Dance Festival, Rochester Contemporary Dance Collective, the Brockport Alumni Showcase, and in faculty dance concerts at The College at Brockport and Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Webster University Department of Dance welcomes
Alumna and Guest Choreographer
Heather Brown
Spring 2012
Heather Brown, originally from St. Louis, MO, is currently in her 4th season as a tap dancer with the Chicago Human Rhythm Project’s performance and education ensemble, BAM! With BAM!, Heather has performed at the International Dance Festival in Beijing, China, and throughout Chicago and the Midwest in such venues as the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Harris Theater and the Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park. She also had performed and taught several classes in Spain at the annual Tap on Barcelona tap festival and in Reus, Spain. In St. Louis, Heather has performed with BAM! at the Spring to Dance Festival, through Dance St. Louis. As an individual artist, she has also performed at The Joyce Theatre in NYC with the NYC Tap Festival, and as a guest artist with local dance companies in different venues, including jazz clubs in St. Louis. While living in St. Louis, Heather taught tap classes and private lessons at several dance studios. She continues to teach tap classes around Chicago and in St. Louis as a guest choreographer and teacher. Heather graduated from Webster University in St. Louis where she received her B.A. in Marketing and a minor in dance. www.heatherbrowntaps.com
Webster University Department of Dance welcomes
Mariko Kumanomido
Spring 2012
Mariko Kumanomido, originally from St. Louis, MO, studied at Alexandra School of Ballet under Alexandra Zaharias. She attended Washington University in St. Louis for two years, where she studied dance with Christine O'Neal, Mary-Jean Cowell, David Marchant, and Cecil Slaughter, and finished her degree at University of Missouri-Kansas City, where she trained with Paula Weber, Jennifer Medina, and Michael Simms, earning her BFA in Dance. She moved to New York City, and received a Fellowship at the Ailey School. In New York she danced professionally with Buglisi Dance Theater, Jessica Danser/Dansfolk, and C.Eule Dance. In 2010-2011 she studied at the Martha Graham Center of Contemporary Dance, training in Graham Technique, and completing the Graham Teacher Training Program, and performing with Graham II. While in NYC, she also taught beginning ballet and creative movement at Ballet Hispanico. She recently moved back to St. Louis to dance with Common Thread Contemporary Dance Co, under the direction of Jennifer Medina. She is currently teaching beginning ballet at Washington University, creative movement at St.Louis Ballet, and modern dance at COCA. She loves teaching and dancing, and is thankful for the love and support of family and friends.
Webster University Department of Dance welcomes
Leonard Cruz
Spring 2012
Webster University Department of Dance
welcomes Adam Sage
Spring 2012
Adam Sage founded Missouri Ballet Theatre after enjoying a nearly three-decade performing, teaching, coaching and choreographic career that spanned four continents. Mr. Sage served as Artistic Director of Virginia School of the Arts, School Director of School of Nashville Ballet and Ballet Master for Nashville Ballet.
He began his career with California Ballet in his hometown of San Diego, before moving on to dance with Ballet West, Hong Kong Ballet, Ballet Philippines, N.A.P.A.C. Dance Company and Nashville Ballet. Mr. Sage has performed principal roles in all of the great classics and has had the honor of dancing at the Opera House at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Hong Kong Cultural Center and in command performances at the Cultural Center of the Philippines for President Ferdinand Marcos & First Lady Imelda Marcos.
Mr. Sage has coached dancers that have competed in the first “Beijing International Ballet Competition” in China and the prestigious “Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition” in Switzerland as well as the “American Ballet Competition” in Miami, for which he served on the jury panel for the 2007 & 2008 competitions.
He most recently served as guest faculty for the Performing Arts Department at SEMO in Cape Girardeau, MO and staged “Masquerade Waltz” for their dance department.
Intermediate Ballet - February 8 @ 11:30am - 1:00pm - Kirk Peterson
Kirk Peterson was born in New Orleans and trained from the age of three by Lelia Haller, a distinguished pedagogue formerly of the Paris Opera Ballet; Kirk Peterson has had an extensive career as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre, San Francisco Ballet, London Festival Ballet, Harkness Ballet and National Ballet of Washington. Peterson has danced all the classics and a wide range of works by the world's leading choreographers. Peterson worked with Antony Tudor throughout his tenure with ABT and had a particularly strong association with Glen Tetley. Peterson began choreographing while a dancer with ABT, continued at the invitation of Michael Smuin for San Francisco Ballet and has to date choreographed over 50 ballets. For five years Peterson was the innovative Artistic Director of Hartford Ballet where he created new versions of THE RITE OF SPRING, FIREBIRD and AFTERNOON OF A FAUN, and for five years has been the Resident Choreographer for Cincinnati Ballet. Peterson returned to ABT in 1999 as ballet master. Most recently, Peterson was Artistic Director of ABT II and a Master Teaching Associate for ABT. On Oct. 25th, 2007 Alberta Ballet premiered Peterson's new full-length OTHELLO to rave reviews and recently appointed him as an Associate Artistic Director for Alberta Ballet's 2009-2010 season.
Leonard Cruz was born in Pampanga, the Philippines and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. He started dancing at the age of four learning Filipino and Hawaiian Folk Dances, as well as Ballet. In 1983 he was a Finalist in the Arts Recognition Talent Search sponsored by the NFAA in Miami, Florida and was later named Presidential Scholar in the Arts. He received his Bachelor of Arts and Master's of Arts Degree in Dance from U.C.L.A.
He has performed with Robert Wilson, Kei Takei's Moving Earth, Shapiro and Smith Dance, Sally Silvers, and for five years with Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane and Co. He can be seen in Jone’s “Into the Promise Land” documentary as well as in his book “Last Night On Earth.” In 1993 Cruz moved to Germany and was a guest with Pina Bausch in Wuppertal and a member of the Folkwang Tanz Studio in Essen-Werden. From 1994-2001 he danced in the Bremer Stadttheater under the Directorship of Susanne Linke and Urs Dietrich. He is Artistic Director of Leonard Cruz Tanztheater which has performed at various venues internationally; such as the Yard in Martha’s Vineyard, MA to the Pumpenhaus Theater in Munster, Germany.
Dr. Leonard Cruz (ABD) is presently writing his PhD dissertation in Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee where he also received his MFA degree in Performance/Choreography in 2009. He has been a Guest Assistant Professor in Dance at Duke University 2008-2009 and recently guest faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2009-2010 and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee 2010-2011.
Indian Classical Dance - Feb. 15, 11:30am - 1:30pm - Monica Newsam
Bharatanatyam, is a dance that reveals the spiritual through the physical and emotional body. It is one of the most popular Indian classical dance forms, originally from South India. This ancient classical Indian dance style is based on the Natya Shastra, the spiritual scriptures of the classical Indian dance. The dance form is based on 'Adavu' (steps), 'bhavabhinaya' (facial expression) and 'Hasthamudra' (hand gestures). For this class we will learn the basics of all three components with the purpose of merging them into a short sequence that will allow the student to get a more complete experience of the dance style.
Master Classes / Workshops - Spring 2012
All Classes are an Intermediate/Advanced Level, unless otherwise specified.
All Students are welcome to attend!
Loretto Hilton Center, Jean and Wells Hobler Center for Dance, Large Dance Studio
130 Edgar Road, Webster Groves, MO 63119 - See Map
For more information contact Beckah Reed: voigtbe@webster.edu; 314/246-7744
Webster University Department of Dance welcomes
James Robey as Assistant Professor of Dance
August of 2012
James Robey is Founding Artistic Director of James Robey Dance; a member of the Society of Dance History Scholars, International Association of Dance Medicine and Science, and National Dance Education Organization; and is author and creator of the James Robey Jazz Dance Technique and Syllabus™. He served as Director of the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance for 11 years, Director of the dance program at Western Reserve Academy, Director of the Jazz and Modern Program at Eastern Connecticut Ballet, and has been a faculty member in the dance programs at The Hartt School/University of Hartford, the University of Akron, Manhattan Motion Dance Studios, Long Island High School for the Performing Arts, Dance Institue, and Naugatuck Valley Community College.
Along with creating over 30 new works for James Robey Dance since 1998, he has choreographed for the Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra's productions of "Histoire du Soldat" and Benjamin Britton’s “Dances from Gloriana”, the 5x5 Dance Festival at St. Joseph's College, CT Meets NY Dance Fest at Dance New Amsterdam in NYC, Ridgefield 300: A Concert Celebration, Locust Contemporary Dance Works, Zig Zag Ballet's “A Celebration of Men in Dance” in Vermont, Connecticut, and New York, and choreographed original works for Full Force Dance Theatre, Wellesley College, Naugatuck Valley Community College, and Artists for Peace. James is a two-time finalist in the Leo's Choreography Competitive Event at the Jazz Dance World Congress in Buffalo and Chicago.
His professional performing career included the Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company, Connecticut Ballet, New York Dance Theater, Ground Works Dance Theater, Off Center Dance Theater, Ohio Dance Theater, Covenant Ballet Theater of Brooklyn, Cleveland Opera, Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Busch Gardens. James has served on the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Dance Alliance; on Connecticut Ballet's Danbury Dance Initiative Task Force; on the creative team behind the Young Choreographer’s Festival in Stamford, CT; and presented papers and workshops at the National Dance Education Organization’s National Conference in Minneapolis in 2011, at the Hawaii University International Conferences on Art and Humanities in Honolulu in 2012, and at Advancing Creative Thinking: Imagination to Innovation in CT in 2012. In addition, James has taught master classes throughout the U.S., Guam, Canada, and Japan.