The country's foremost choreographers have seen their works brought to life on stage at the Kennedy Center. But when the curtain rises this June, it will be the University of Oregon that takes center stage.
For the first time ever, a work by a UO dancer will be included in the biennial American College Dance Festival – the highest honor in adjudicated collegiate dance.
Rachel Winchester, a candidate in the master of fine arts in dance program, is the choreographer behind “GIRL POOL,” an original work for six dancers. Winchester's work was selected by the Northwest Regional Conference of the American College Dance Festival Association and will be performed at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., June 4-7.
Oregonians will have the chance to see the new work performed live as part of the UO Repertory Dance Company’s annual concert, which will be performed April 18 and 19 in the Dougherty Dance Theatre on the UO campus. Tickets for the concert are available through the UO Ticket Office.
“The opportunity to perform this work at the Kennedy Center is an enormous honor,” Winchester said. “The cast and I are excited to represent the UO Department of Dance on the national stage.”
“GIRL POOL,” based on an early piece of short fiction by science fiction writer Kurt Vonnegut, references the all-female typing pools common in midcentury America, the era in which the story was written. The original story was published posthumously, after the author’s 2007 death, in the compilation “While Mortals Sleep.”
Winchester developed her work, which she describes as a “dance theatre piece,” through an experimental choreographic process involving dramaturgical research and structured improvisation.
The northwest region of the American College Dance Festival Association held its annual meeting April 2-5, at the University of Montana in Missoula. The regional conference comprises collegiate dance companies from Alaska, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.
The regional festival also included dance programs from California's Baja Region. Along with “GIRL POOL,” the regional adjudicators selected a work from California State University, Fullerton, to represent the Northwest Conference.
The cast of “GIRL POOL” includes Dakota Bouher, Jessica Hoage, Nadya Matiya, Faith Morrison, Cecilia Potter and Sasha Rawlinson – all dance students at the UO. Travel costs for the cast members will be supported by the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, the university's student government.
"We're thrilled for Rachel and so proud of the dancers," said Jenifer Craig, chair of the UO Department of Dance. "They won high praise from nationally recognized professionals whose adjudication has rewarded 'GIRL POOL' for exemplary artistic quality. With the help of our UO community, they'll represent the UO by sharing this work at the Kennedy Center."
The American College Dance Festival Association has over 375 member colleges and universities. Regional conferences selected 31 dance programs to participate in the national showcase.
- from the School of Music and Dance