Program

Esprit d.c.
Common Ground

BB Jones Dance Theatre
March 24–26, 2022

ARTISTIC DIRECTORS
Monica Campbell & Melissa Younker

STAGE MANAGER
Samijo Kougioulis

LIGHTING DESIGNER
William Peterson

REHEARSAL DIRECTOR
Melissa Younker

REHEARSAL ASSISTANT
Rachel Miller

CDE COMPANY DANCERS

Camry Blackhurst
Kamryn Daughters
Darcie Day
Ciera Erekson
Lexie Johnson
LeGrande Lolo
Rachel Miller

Heather Morley
Jadyn Nelms
Savannah Petersen
Ethan Pitcher
Katelynne Wade
Holly Ward
Estie Weisler

UVU SCHOOL OF THE ARTS COSTUME SHOP

Costume Manager: Amy Whipple
Costume Supervisor: Carla Summers
Assistant Supervisor: Anna-Marie McDaniel
Assistant: Janessa Law

Program
Evening Performance

COMPANY

TITLE - STYLE

Choreography by: CHOREOGRAPHER
Music: MUSIC

DANCERS

Names
Names

All of us are incorrect

Choreography: Courtney Mazeika & CDE Company Dancers
Music: Nils Frahm
Text: Courtney Mazeika & CDE Company Dancers
Costumes: UVU Costume Shop & Courtney Mazeika

Performers:
Camry Blackhurst, Kamryn Daughters, Darcie Day, Ciera Erekson, Lexie Johnson, LeGrande Lolo, Rachel Miller, Heather Morley, Jadyn Nelms, Savannah Petersen, Ethan Pitcher, Katelynne Wade, Holly Ward, Estie Weisler

This work stems from the layered idea that two (or more) things can be true simultaneously. How we can be in the same room, the same relationship, the same situation with others - and yet have completely individual perspectives of what's happening, informed by our own histories, values, and expectations.

Ekstasis

Choreography: Martha Graham
reimagined by Virginie Mécène
Original Music: Lehman Engel
Music for reimagined Ekstasis: Ramon Humet†
Costumes: Martha Graham
Lighting: Nick Hung

Performers:
Jaydn Nelms (3/24 & 3/26 evening)
Rachel Miller (3/25 & 3/26 matinee)

Premiere: May 4, 1933, Guild Theatre, New York City
Ekstasis (reimagined): February 14, 2017, The Joyce Theater, New York City

"The body is a sacred garment." — Martha Graham

Special guest appearance by members of UVU’s Contemporary Dance Ensemble

†"Interludi meditatiu VII" from Homenaje a Martha Graham, © Neu Records 2016, used by arrangement with the copyright owner.

Ekstasis(1933) is thought to be the 37th creation by Graham. In a 1980 interview, Graham explained that the genesis of this dance came from a pelvic thrust gesture that she discovered one day. This led her to explore “a cycle of distortion” that she found deeply meaningful. “Before Ekstasis, I had been using a more static form, trying to find a ritualist working of the body,” she concluded. Virginie Mécène reimagined this version of Ekstasis based on the sparse documentation of this original solo, which included a few photos by Soichi Sunami and Barbara Morgan.

Danke

Choreography: WHYTEBERG
Music: Olivia Newton-John, The Chordettes, Anita Kerr, Brenda Lee, Johnny Tillotson, Nat King Cole
Costumes: UVU Costume Shop & WHYTEBERG

[10 MINUTE INTERMISSION]

Meno’s Garden

Concept & Direction: Brian Gerke
Choreography: Camry Blackhurst, Kamryn Daughters, Darcie Day, Ciera Erekson, Brian Gerke, Lexie Johnson, LeGrande Lolo, Rachel Miller, Heather Morley, Jadyn Nelms, Savannah Petersen, Ethan Pitcher, Katelynne Wade, Holly Ward & Estie Weisler
Music: Ólafur Arnalds, Thom Yorke, Tami T, The Everly Brothers
Costumes: UVU Costume Shop & Brian Gerke

More Beautiful for Having Been Broken

Choreography: Monica Campbell in collaboration with Lexie Johnson & Rachel Miller
Music: Timothy Vajda
Costumes: UVU Costume Shop & Melissa Younker

Performers:
Lexie Johnson & Rachel Miller

Dedicated to Jamie Ross.

Common Bond

Choreography: Martina Jorgensen & Esprit d.c.
Music: Hundred Waters (feat. Chance The Rapper, Moses Sumney & Robin Hannibal)

Esprit d.c. Ensemble:
Ana Aguilar, Madi Allred, Tiffany Asay, Matt Dalebout, Summer Hall, Emma Jensen, Kylie Jensen, Anika Laws, Jessy Ibarra Licona, Lexi Mattson, Lauren Palmer, Ben Pena, Fio Ravello Pulido, Karlee Secakuku, Holly Thelin, John Torio, Lisa Torres, Bekah Williams, Kinley Wilson
Featuring:
Johnny Miller & Valeria Rodriguez

Esprit d.c. is a Hip Hop performance company in its first year at UVU. The company is directed by Martina Jorgensen with incredible support from Dance Department faculty. Fueled by artistic, passionate company members, Esprit hopes to bring the joy, unity, and appreciation of Hip Hop to their community.

Me, Seeing You, See Me

Concept & Direction: Melissa Younker
Choreography: CDE Company Dancers & Melissa Younker
Music: The Comet is Coming & The Smiths (Cover by CDE)
Ukulele: Darcie Day
Vocal Coach: Elijah Hancock
Costumes: UVU Costume Shop & Melissa Younker

Program
Student Matinee

CDE Introductions & Meno’s Garden (excerpts)

Ekstasis

Danke

More Beautiful for Having Been Broken

Common Bond

Me, Seeing You, See Me

Biographies

CDE CHOREOGRapHERS

Monica Campbell danced nationally and internationally with Diavolo –Architecture in Motion, where she also acted as the Rehearsal Director and Associate Artistic Director with Jacques Heim. She was an Associate Choreographer for Diavolo’s Fluid Infinities that premiered at the Hollywood Bowl in 2013. She completed a sold out run in Salt Lake City of her evening length piece The Final Hours and her screendances Truimvirate and Aleppo Agonistes have been featured in international screendance festivals. She is currently an Associate Professor in Utah Valley University’s Department of Dance, as well as the Department of Dance Chair, and the Co-Artistic Director of Contemporary Dance Ensemble.

Brian Gerke is an award-winning choreographer, performer, and educator from Montana, who spent the majority of his career living, performing, and teaching in Europe, where he was a soloist in Iceland's National Dance Company. Also, while living abroad, Brian co-directed his own dance company, presenting works in over 50 theaters, spanning 12 countries. Brian is an Assistant Professor and the Coordinator of Modern Dance at Utah Valley University. He has been a member of the Heartland Collective, a SLC-based company since its inception in 2018. Above all, Brian is driven by the desire to wholeheartedly live, work, play, communicate, and educate while remaining mindful of and supported by his core values...Compassion & Integrity.

Courtney Mazeika received her BFA in Dance from the University of Texas at Austin; then trained under Summer Lee Rhatigan at the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance. She has had the opportunity to perform in original works by Tom Weinberger, Bobbi Jene Smith, David Harvey, Christian Burns, Lone King Projects, Alex Ketley and more. Her independent choreography has been shared at the Rotterdam International Duet Choreography Competition, Chop Shop Contemporary Dance Festival, Austin Dance Festival, University of Texas at Austin, SALT Contemporary Dance, SALT2, Oquirrh West Project and more. She has been a performing artist with UNA Productions since 2018. www.courtneymazeika.com.

WHYTEBERG is a Los Angeles based duo created by Gracie Whyte and Laura Berg as a platform for their collaborative work. Since their inception in August 2014, WHYTEBERG has created and performed work for stage and film, including Warner Bros. produced “Dang,” a music video for hip-hop musicians Mac Miller and Anderson .Paak and an evening of dance hosted by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at their Pop-Up Gallery. WHYTEBERG has performed live work at venues such as REDCAT, Musco Center for the Arts, Tempe Center for the Arts, Robert B Moore Theatre, Bootleg Theatre, Electric Lodge, among others. They teach their floorwork class Ground Grooves to professionals in Los Angeles and college-level students at universities such as CSULB, LMU, Chapman, UCLA, CSULA. Gracie and Laura are most interested in figuring out how to blend disciplines, integrating dance into other genres to elevate the level of art being created. www.whyteberg.com.

Melissa Younker is a movement artist with a multifaceted dedication to dance. She is a founding member of Heartland Collective, collaborating in choreography, performance, video editing and costume design. Additionally, she is Co-Artistic Director for Contemporary Dance Ensemble at UVU. She received her BFA from California State University, Long Beach and was a dance artist with Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company from 2014-2020. Melissa has toured as a performing and teaching artist in over 10 states in the US, as well as internationally in France, Mongolia, and South Korea. Through every aspect of her work, she remains thoroughly curious. www.melissayounker.com.

CONTEMPORARY DANCE ENSEMBLE

Camry Blackhurst is a dancer and choreographer from Pleasant Grove, Utah. She has worked with notable artists like Francisco Gella, Virginie Mécène, and Jason Parsons. In 2021, Camry joined CDE and was a guest artist with RDT performing the iconic “Steps in the Street” by Martha Graham.

Land Acknowledgment

Utah Valley University acknowledges that we gather on land sacred to all Indigenous people who came before us in this vast crossroads region. The University is committed to working in partnership—as enacted through education and community activities—with Utah’s Native Nations comprising: the San Juan Southern Paiute, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Uintah & Ouray Reservation of the Northern Ute, Skull Valley Goshute, Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, Northwestern Band of Shoshone Nation, Hopi Tribe, Navajo Nation, Ute Mountain Ute-White Mesa Community, and urban Indian communities. We recognize these Native Nations and their continued connections with traditional homelands, mountains, rivers, and lakes as well as their sovereign relationships with state and federal governments. We honor their collective memory and continued physical and spiritual presence. We revere their resilience and example in preserving their connections to the Creator and to all their relations, now and in the future.

With this statement comes responsibility and accountability. We resolve to follow up with actionable items to make the School of the Arts at UVU and The Noorda Center for the Performing Arts an inclusive, equitable, and just space for all. There is much work to be done, and we are committed to putting these words into practice.

Artwork by Shane Walking Eagle (Sisseton Dakota).