'Delicious Collection' blends dance and film
Contact: Christina Chapple
3/28/06
Caption ...
GUEST CHOREOGRAPHER -- Guest choreographer Jessica Jennings gives direction to dancers Angelina McCloskey of Slidell and Ashli Tallo of Ponchatoula at a rehearsal for her ensemble piece in the Southeastern Louisiana University Danceworks concert “Delicious Collection.” The concert, which blends original choreography with four short award-winning dance films, is scheduled for March 30 at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University Dancework's March 30 concert “Delicious Collection: Dance and Film” will blend four award-winning short films with choreography by special guest Jessica Jennings.
The free concert is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts.
Dance program director Martie Fellom, who had previously met Jennings in the young choreographer's native New York City, invited her to spend a three-week residency at Southeastern to create choreography for Delicious Collection.
"Jessica has studied dance her whole life," Fellom said. "She has studied with a wealth of modern dance teachers, including the styles of Martha Graham and Jose Limon. She has wonderful ideas for choreography and I knew she would be a great person to work with the young dancers in our program."
Jennings said she was thrilled with the opportunity to visit Southeastern and create works especially for the dance students. "It's going to be a huge learning experience for me," she said.
Fellom said Jennings' residency is equally valuable for her students.
"It's part of their education to be exposed to many different choreographers and styles," she said. "Working with a professional like Jessica shows them the discipline and dedication professional dance requires. They have to be committed; they have to make all rehearsals, on time. Choreographing a work on site is an evolving process, like creating a sculpture. If someone misses, you don't have that body there to mold and shape the movements on."
She added, "The audience should also love the opportunity to see a new style of choreography."
Jennings' two pieces for “Delicious Collection” include a solo and an ensemble work in two sections that she said is "about the human need for connection and emotion" and is danced to music by the rock band Cold Play.
Jennings trained and performed with Neubert Ballet Theater, Cumberland Ballet-Edinburgh Festival, the Martha Graham School Trainee Program, and ProDanza Italia-Etruscan Festival. She received her bachelor of fine arts degree cum laude from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
In addition to studying with many famous choreographers, she danced in M. Nigh Shymalan's major motion picture “The Village,” and the independent film-short “The Yellow Wallpaper.” She currently resides in New York City, where she teaches gyrokinesis and recently co-founded Elojes Dance Theater.
Dancers in the concert are Lauren Landry, Daphne Lamendola, and Diamond Williams of Baton Rouge; April Robertson of Amite; Micah Richerand of Folsom; Jarrod Cashe and Thurman Fields of Hammond; Ashli Tallo of Ponchatoula; and Angelina McCloskey of Slidell.
Jennings' choreography will be interspersed between four award-winning short films from around the world that were screened at the 2006 Dance for Camera Film Festival in New York City. The films are “Horses Never Lie” (Canada), “Fly” (New Zeland), “Veien Ut” (“Soaring Wings”) (Norway), and “Nascent” (Australia).
For additional information about “Delicious Collection,” contact the Department of Music and Dramatic Arts Fellom at (985) 549-2133.
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