Although we are just beginning to experience winter at its best at CCBC, spring is definitely on the horizon. Preparations for another energetic and expressive semester with the award winning CCBC Dance Company have begun. Master classes are scheduled, details can be found at http://www.ccbcmd.edu/Campus-Life-and-Activities/Arts-and-Culture/Performing-Arts/Dance-Performances.aspx.
Jon Lehrer, guest artist for the Spring 2019 Dance Concert, will lead two Master Classes and present his new work he has set on the CCBC Dance Company.
He was raised in Queens, New York and took his very first dance class at age 19 at the University at Buffalo. His teased a dancer he was dating about how easy an A was to get in dance class and she dared him to try a beginning level modern dance class. His life was changed. After two short years of training at UB, Jon was asked to join the University’s Zodiaque Dance Company. He ultimately received his B.F.A in Dance from the University at Buffalo.
As a professional, Jon has danced with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company, Paul Sanasardo, John Passafiume Dancers, in Merv Griffin’s “Funderful” and the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular. Jon joined Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago in 1997, as the Rehearsal Director and then as Associate Director. During his ten years with Giordano, Jon also became the resident choreographer, creating seven original works on the company that received rave reviews all around the world.
Jon’s influence is witnessed around the globe, from choreographed works to teaching master classes and as a guest artist at numerous universities. In 2003, Jon was honored to receive the Distinguished Alumni Award from University at Buffalo Zodiaque Dance Company for his accomplishments as a dancer and choreographer. He has also been featured (November 2007 Cover) in the Dance Teacher Magazine, has been reviewed and interviewed several times by Dance Magazine. His works include a Modern Dance Syllabus written for CNADM in 2009. This syllabus is utilized by teachers across the country to properly teach and introduce their students to modern dance. He has been awarded by notable organizations repeatedly for his excellence and artistry in dance.
In July 2007, Jon moved to Buffalo, New York, to begin his much anticipated professional dance company. The company showcases his unique choreography and definitive style. Jon’s extensive background in both the modern and jazz dance idioms fosters choreography that is organic, artistic, accessible and often humorous, reflecting life experience and the human condition. Quoting Dance Magazine, “…took the house not so much by storm as by quantum physics. Jon Lehrer’s strikingly original choreography transformed the stage into an energy field of super-charged particles.”
Master Classes will be presented by the CCBC Dance Company which is directed by Melinda Blomquist who holds a M.F.A in Dance Choreography and Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a Master of Arts in Dance Pedagogy from Brigham Young University.
Melinda has presented her choreographic work at numerous venues nationally and internationally including the South Central American College Dance Festival, Northwest Vista College, the National Dance Association Pedagogy Conferences, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and the Attakkalari Festival in Bangalore India. She was a soloist with the Kenai Peninsula Dancers, and has performed in her own work and in works by various choreographers including Tamara Schrieber, Daniel Gwirtzman, Wally Cardona, Barbra Grubel, Jennifer Smith, Julie Petry and Kelli Brown.
Melinda is involved in community outreach, focusing on promoting the importance of dance as art form in public education. She has provided workshops and master classes in Texas, Alaska, and Maryland to students at the Elementary, Middle, and High School levels. She will teach a Ballet Master class at CCBC Essex on Tuesday, February 26. The level of the class is for the intermediate to advanced level dancer and is open to the community. Melinda can be reached by email mblomquist@ccbcmd.edu or by phone 443.840.1347. Read her full bio here.
Tommy Parlon is the Dance Coordinator at CCBC and is a dancer, choreographer and educator. He is a native of Washington D.C., and received his M.F.A. in Dance (Choreography and Technology) from Arizona State University and his BFA in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. From 1998-2002 he was an Assistant Professor of Dance at Kent State University. While in New York City he danced with J. Fregalette Janson Dance, Centaur Dance Theatre, Beyondance Inc! and the Paris based multi-media performance art company FIASCO.
Tommy has danced in and choreographed several works through out the United States. He was awarded an Individual Artist Award in Solo Dance Performance from the Maryland State Arts Council in 2004 and an Artist Award in Choreography in 2007. Read his full bio here.
He will teach a Jazz Dance Master class at CCBC Essex on Monday, February 11. The level of the class is for the intermediate to advanced level dancer and is open to the community.
