In between the busy holiday and pre-cherry blossom seasons, wonky Washington celebrates Obscure Academic Conference Season. Modern dance may be just another niche interest, but assume this much about the upcoming 2014 American College Dance Festival Mid-Atlantic Conference at George Mason University: No one is going to be sitting around a hotel ballroom nodding off during the plenary session.
This week, George Mason announced the lineup of the conference speakers and performances that will be open to the public during the March 8 to 11 meeting. The list of speakers alone is cause to sit up and pay attention, and 500 college-age dancers should provide a jolt of caffeine by osmosis. Marquee names on the Sunday afternoon panel discussion include dance critic Deborah Jowitt; Broadway star Elizabeth Parkinson; Robert Battle, artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater; Ashley Wheater, artistic director of Joffrey Ballet; and Kyle Abraham, a choreographer and 2013 MacArthur “genius” grant winner.
“We are so excited,” said conference co-coordinator Karen Reedy, an assistant dance professor at George Mason. “We really wanted do something extra special.”
The two other open-to-the public events on the schedule are the Saturday, March 8 performance by Chicago’s Joffrey Ballet, featuring three contemporary works, and a gala student concert Tuesday, March 11, featuring the best new dances presented at the conference, as judged by a visiting panel of experts: Israeli choreographer Zvi Gotheiner, independent choreographer Sarah Skaggs and longtime Alvin Ailey II Artistic Director Sylvia Waters.
In a format analogous to the turned-around-chair auditions on “The Voice,” Gotheiner, Skaggs and Waters will watch nearly 50 dances at four “adjudication” concerts held during the four-day conference. They will be given no program information, so they won’t know which school they are watching perform, or whether a student or professor created the piece. After providing feedback to every school troupe, the trio of judges will confer Tuesday afternoon and decide which dances deserve to be on the evening program.
How’s that for academic conference drama?
It’s been nearly a decade since George Mason last hosted the Mid-Atlantic gathering. Reedy said they held off until the new studio spaces opened for the 2010-2011 school year, then wanted to make sure they had the time and resources to put together a performance and speaker lineup that would be worthwhile for both the students and Washington’s dance-going public.
“We started going through our Rolodexes,” Reedy said. “Well, we don’t have Rolodexes anymore, but we tried to get a diverse group of people who could talk about their lives in dance, and everything from Broadway to ballet. We pulled our own connections . . . and we brought together a fascinating group of artists.”
Ritzel is a freelance writer.
American College Dance Festival Mid-Atlantic Conference
At George Mason University’s Center for the Arts. Saturday, March 8, p.m. the Joffrey Ballet presents “Body and Soul;” $25-50. Sunday, March 9, 2 p.m. Panel discussion, “Imagine . . . a Life in Dance;” $5-10. Tuesday, March 11, 8 p.m. Gala Concert; $5-10. For more information on the conference, see www.acdfa.org. For tickets, see cfa.gmu.edu or call 888-945-2468.
