(October 2023) MERGE!: Bridging the Gap Between High School to Community College to University to Professional Artist
Gallim is based in Brooklyn, New York, Gallim Dance Company is a movement creation company dedicated to art, education and community building for a diverse, inclusive, and accessible world. Under the direction of Andrea Miller, the Company nurtures creative careers and stimulates the imagination of worldwide audiences through continual innovation in dance, theater, film and the visual arts.
We continue Building, Merging and Mentoring students from high school to community college to the university level in dance.
(October 2022)We are continuing our collaboration with Towson University Dance Program – MERGE!: Bridging the Gap Between High School to Community College to University to Professional Artist.
The project highlights prominent female artistic directors and/or choreographers in a one-week residency including restaging of choreographic works on both Towson University and Community College of Baltimore County dance majors, free masterclasses for selected Baltimore County Public High School students and the community. MERGE! will culminate in a cross-exchange performance between dance majors from both Towson University and the Community College of Baltimore County in their annual concerts. The CCBC Dance Concert will be November 11 – 12, 2022 at CCBC Catonsville, Center for the Arts Theater. Tickets available at www.ccbctickets.com or call Box Office 443-840-ARTS.
This program is funded in part by Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation and Maryland Dance Education Association.
Our Guest Artist for Fall 2022 is Ephrat Asherie. Ephrat “Bounce” Asherie is a New York City-based b-girl, dancer, and choreographer and a 2016 Bessie Award Winner for Innovative Achievement in Dance. Asherie has received numerous awards to support her work including Dance Magazine’s Inaugural Harkness Promise Award, the Jacob’s Pillow Fellowship at the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts at LIU, and a Jerome Foundation Travel and Study Grant. Last year, she received a National Dance Project award to support the development and touring of her newest work, Odeon. Asherie is also the recipient of a Mondo Cane! commission from Dixon Place, a Creative Development Residency from Jacob’s Pillow, Workspace and Extended Life Residencies from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council and two residencies through the CUNY Dance Initiative. Asherie is a regular guest artist with Dorrance Dance and has worked and collaborated with Doug Elkins, Rennie Harris, Bill Irwin, David Parsons, Gus Solomons Jr., and Buddha Stretch, among others. She earned her BA from Barnard College, Columbia University in Italian and her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where she researched the vernacular jazz dance roots of contemporary street and club dances. Asherie has been on faculty at Wesleyan University and set pieces for students at Smith College, SUNY Brockport, Alvin Ailey Dance Center, University of Texas Rio Grande, Old Dominion University and teaches at Broadway Dance Center. Asherie is a co-founding member of the all-female house dance collective, MAWU and and is forever grateful to NYC’s underground dance community for inspiring her to pursue a life as an artist.
We are looking forward to working with several other prominent female artistic directors including Gallim in Fall of 2023.A multi-tiered collaboration spanning five years, Towson University and the Community College of Baltimore County are bringing the focus back to collegiate dance in Maryland with their MERGE! project. Building, Merging and Mentoring students from high school to community college to the university level in dance. We began this collaboration with Carolyn Dorfman Dance. Last year we worked with Company E!
(October 2021) MERGE!: Bridging the Gap Between High School to Community College to University to Professional Artist
We are continuing our collaboration with Towson University Dance Program – MERGE!: Bridging the Gap Between High School to Community College to University to Professional Artist. The project highlights prominent female artistic directors and/or choreographers in a one-week residency including restaging of choreographic works on both Towson University and Community College of Baltimore County dance majors, free masterclasses for selected Baltimore County Public High School students and the community. MERGE! will culminate in a cross-exchange performance between dance majors from both Towson University and the Community College of Baltimore County in their annual concerts. The CCBC Dance Concert was held November 11 – 13, 2021 at CCBC Dundalk, John E. Ravekes Theatre.
This program is funded in part by Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation.
Our Guest Artist for Fall 2021 is Company E. They have worked on 5 continents and 30+ countries, including 6 evening-length commissions at the Kennedy Center in DC. The company performs, teaches, and collaborates with international and national artists through the US Department of State, creating programs from Israel, Spain, Poland, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and more. Choreographer Robert J. Priore is a founding member and independent choreographer; his work has been presented in DC, NYC, Cuba, Kazakhstan, and Russia, to name a few. Managing Director Tara Compton Parson, along with CCBC Alum Kelsey Lewis, and others have restaged excerpts from Robert J. Priore’s work Voila Viola.
We are looking forward to working with several other prominent female artistic directors including Ephrat Asherie in Fall of 2022.
A multi-tiered collaboration spanning five years, Towson University and the Community College of Baltimore County are bringing the focus back to collegiate dance in Maryland with their MERGE! project. Building, Merging and Mentoring students from high school to community college to the university level in dance. We began this collaboration with Carolyn Dorfman Dance.
Special Thanks To:
CCBC President, Dr. Sandra Kurtinitis
CCBC Provost and Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Joaquin Martinez
CCBC School of Arts and Communication Dean, Dr. William Watson
The Towson University Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications, Regina Carlow
CCBC Performing Arts and Humanities Chair, Professor Nick VanHorn
CCBC Associate Professor/Artistic Director CCBC Dance Company, Melinda Blomquist
CCBC Arts Pathways Coordinator, Dr. Rebecca Ocampo
CCBC Performing Arts Director, Dr. Anne M. Lefter
CCBC Performing Arts Administrative Assistant, Johanna Lawrence
CCBC School of Arts and Communication Communications Assistant, Cathy Kratovil
CCBC Purchasing Director, James Adelman
The Towson University Department of Dance
The Towson University Community Dance is part of The College of Fine Arts and Communications
The Towson University Dance Department Chair, Catherine Horta-Hayden
The Towson University Dance Department Faculty and Community Dance
(March 2021) MERGE: Bridging the Gap Between Community College to University to Professional
A multi-tiered collaboration spanning five years, Towson University and the Community College of Baltimore County are bringing the focus back to collegiate dance in Maryland with their MERGE project. The project highlights five prominent female artistic directors and/or choreographers in a one-week residency including restaging of choreographic works on both Towson University and Community College of Baltimore County dance majors, free masterclasses for selected Baltimore County Public High School students and the community, and a live performance hosted by Community College of Baltimore County. MERGE will culminate in a cross-exchange performance between dance majors from both Towson University and the Community College of Baltimore County in their annual concerts. Building, Merging and Mentoring students from high school to community college to the university level in dance. We begin this collaboration with Carolyn Dorfman Dance. Our virtual concert took place Friday, March 19 at 7p.m. View the program.
We are looking forward to working with several other prominent female artistic directors including Hope Boykin and Ephrat Asherie. And we are working on the details for coming performances; we will share this information on our Internet connections when finalized.
This program is made possible, in part, by support from
About Carolyn Dorfman Dance
Carolyn Dorfman Dance connects life and dance in bold, athletic and dramatic works by Carolyn Dorfman and nationally renowned choreographers. The company’s 10 multi-ethnic and stunning dancers present high-energy and technically demanding dance that unleashes the powerful storytelling and imagery of its visionary creator. This distinctive combination takes audiences on intellectual and emotional journeys that ultimately illuminate and celebrate the human experience. The highly acclaimed ensemble is known for emotional resonance and artistic excellence in both performance and its interaction with audiences, students and community. Carolyn Dorfman Dance appears at major theaters, dance festivals, universities, schools, museums and galleries regionally, nationally and internationally.
Carolyn Dorfman Dance is supported in part by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State; New Jersey Arts and Culture Recovery Fund; Henry S. and Mala Dorfman Foundation; the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation; Gregory S. Gallick, M.D., and Staff; Jeff and Leah Kronthal/Kronthal Family Foundation; Dr. Ann Stock and Arshad Zakaria/Zakaria Family Foundation; The Hyde and Watson Foundation; and E.J. Grassmann Trust; among other generous foundations, corporations, and individual donors committed to Carolyn Dorfman Dance’s artistry and programming.
About CCBC Dance
The CCBC Dance Program provides students with opportunities to experience and learn about a broad spectrum of dance. Whether they are Dance majors or studying Dance for personal enrichment, we offer all students a solid program of dance technique, creative courses, performance opportunities, and strong dance academics. CCBC Dance students are invited to express themselves through the study of dance and to participate in all aspects of dance as an art form.
About Towson University Dance
The Department of Dance is a center of excellence in dance education and artistry. Towson offers professional dance training within the context of a comprehensive liberal arts education. Majors experience rigorous preparation to dance and create dance at all ages and stages of life—in professional companies, as educators and as arts advocates.
The BFA Dance program at Towson University provides a strong liberal arts education combined with rigorous technique-based training that supports individual development of the dancer, artist and dance educator. Students are prepared to enter the professional world as dancers, choreographers, teachers and leaders in the arts.
Graduates of our programs have gone on to be principal dancers and choreographers in prestigious companies, owners and artistic directors at private studios, and teachers. Others pursue advanced degrees. Double majoring is popular in the areas of exercise science, psychology, mass communication, business, family studies and others.
Special Thanks To:
CCBC President, Dr. Sandra Kurtinitis
CCBC Provost & Vice President of Instruction, Dr. Joaquin Martinez
CCBC Vice President of Enrollment & Student Services, Dr. Rich Lilley
CCBC School of Arts & Communication Dean, Dr. William Watson
The Towson University Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications, Regina Carlow
CCBC Performing Arts & Humanities Chair, Professor Patti Crossman
CCBC Associate Professor/Artistic Director CCBC Dance Company, Melinda Blomquist
CCBC Arts Pathways Coordinator, Dr. Rebecca Ocampo
CCBC Performing Arts Director, Dr. Anne M. Lefter
CCBC Performing Arts Administrative Assistant, Johanna Lawrence
CCBC School of Arts & Communication Communications Assistant, Cathy Kratovil
CCBC Acting Purchasing Director, Sharon Federowicz
The Towson University Department of Dance
The Towson University Community Dance is part of The College of Fine Arts and Communications
The Towson University Dance Department Chair, Catherine Horta-Hayden
The Towson University Dance Department Faculty and Community Dance
Explore dance opportunities at ccbcmd.edu/dance
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