Two new dance faculty introduced in showcase

The Dance Program has added four new faculty members to its roster during the past two years, adding depth to the program’s instruction in current dance scholarship as well as dance history and the ongoing and evolving cultural fusion of dance around the globe.

Corby is a contemporary choreographer, educator and performer. Her dance theater works have been presented in Wisconsin, Illinois, California, Taiwan and Hungary, where she carried out choreographic research as a Fulbright Fellow.

Corby is the founding director of LIVE ANIMALS, a Chicago-based performance collective; and Kate Corby & Dancers, an ensemble based in San Francisco. She has served on the faculties of the Dance Center of Columbia College, Beloit College and the Pedagogy Department of the Hungarian Dance Academy.

Walker is a dancer and choreographer with the National Dance Theatre Company of Jamaica and is the founder and artistic director of VOICES, a company that explores the fusion of Caribbean dance and contemporary styles using the traditional stage, alternate spaces and multimedia. Walker has toured the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and the Caribbean.

His choreographies have also been performed in Jamaica, New York and England and he has conducted many residencies at universities. He was recently nominated for best choreography in a musical for Jamaica’s Annual National Pantomime.

The concert is scheduled for three nights. It features choreography by Corby and Walker that will be performed by Kate Corby & Dancers and Chris Walker’s NuMoRune Collaborative.

Titled “Causeway,” the concert is a potpourri of contemporary dance perspectives and it includes live music and spoken word as part of the dances. Works being premiered at the concert feature professional dancers and collaborating partners from Chicago, New York, Georgia, Jamaica, Cuba, Suriname and Guyana.

In addition to seeing the new faculty members’ artist ensembles and their choreography, attendees will also see the pair perform dynamic works that explore concepts of identity, geography and borders.

Corby and Walker will perform individually in their own works and together in a dance made for them by Chicago choreographer Carrie Hanson.

The concerts are Thursday–Saturday, Oct. 1–3, 8 p.m., in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space in Lathrop Hall. Tickets are $15, $10 for students and seniors. Tickets may be purchased in advance at the Union Theater or at the door.

The other two new faculty members are Andrea Harris and Peggy Choy.

Harris is a dance historian and scholar. Because of her knowledge of dance history, she is well-positioned to provide insight on the future of dance in the real world and dance education. Her research explores the relationship between dance and identity and how people portray and understand themselves and others through dance. She is especially interested in the interplay between dance and national identity. This position was funded by donor gifts.

Choy is a familiar name on campus. She has taught in the Dance Program since 1993 but has now made a leap to the faculty ranks. Her dance work explores the politics, history and cultural aesthetics of what it means to be an Asian woman in America. She performs dances from Java and teaches courses in Javanese dance, Asian American movement and Chinese martial arts. Choy is also the outreach coordinator for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies.

For more information on the “Causeway” concert, the Dance Program or its new faculty, visit the UW Dance Program.