dance

repertory ballet ensemble

traversing tradition

 

scott & Karen smith theatre

March 27–29, 2025

 

RBE’s production of Traversing Tradition is dedicated to the life and legacy of UVU Ballet Faculty and ballet program alumna Corinne Wallentine (Oct. 11, 1989 – Aug. 24, 2024).

 


 

Co-Artistic Directors: Christa St. John & Tyler Schnese
Rehearsal Assistant: Mikayla Milligan

 

In Collaboration with

Ballet West
Gibney Dance
José Limón Dance Foundation

 

Repertory Ballet Ensemble:

Laura Bermann, Chloe Bremser, Emily Buell, Ashlyn Duckwitz, Lily Fincher, Kenna Jane Francis, Brooklyn Johansen, Bailey McMillan, Raquel Miller, Andy Sefcik, Emarie Junie Thomas, Lucy Tolman, Laurie Belén Wilson 

 

Costume Supervisor: Carla Summers
Lighting Designer: Peter Leonard
Stage Manager: Fish Ford

 

Dean's Message

Courtney Davis

The arts possess the sublime power to inspire, engage, and transform. Just as a solitary note holds the ability to captivate, a single voice, gesture, or melody possesses the ineffable power to carry us away.

We invite you to embark upon a new journey with us this season at The Noorda Center—home to inspiring events and an exciting hub for the arts in Utah County. Our mission is to produce and present artistic excellence, which would not be possible without the generous support of our donors and sponsors. We thank them and express our deep gratitude to all patrons, supporters, and friends of
The Noorda Center.

Thank you for journeying with us this season to experience the profound and transformative power of the arts!

Courtney R. Davis, J.D., M.A.
Dean, School of the Arts

 

 

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program


La Bayadère (excerpts)

Choreographic reimagining by Christa St. John and Colleen Barnes after Marius Petipa
Music: Ludwig Minkus
Costume Accessories: Courtesy of the Joffrey Ballet School
Dancers: Full Company 

Welcome from RBE Directors
Christa St. John & Tyler Schnese

 

CHACONNE 

Choreography: José Limón
Music: J.S. Bach
Staging & Direction: Natalie Desch
Rehearsal Director: Christa St. John
Dancers: Laura Bermann, Ashlyn Duckwitz, Kenna Jane Francis, Brooklyn Johansen, Bailey McMillan, Raquel Miller, Andy Sefcik, Laurie Belén Wilson 

Credits

First performed December 27, 1942 at the Humphrey-Weidman Studio Theater, New York City, by José Limón
 
The Chaconne as a dance form originated in New Spain, now Mexico, as a robust and raucous dance. Bach employed the strict musical form of the Chaconne but enriched it with powerful emotional implications. Mr. Limón has tried to capture in his dance both the formal austerity and the profound feeling of the music.
 
©1996, José Limón Dance Foundation, Inc. These performances of Chaconne, a Limónsm Dance, are presented by arrangement with The José Limón Dance Foundation, Inc. and has been produced in accordance with the Limón Stylesm and Limón Techniquesm service standards established by The José Limón Dance Foundation, Inc. Limónsm, Limón Stylesm and Limón Techniquesm are trade and service marks of The José Limón Dance Foundation, Inc. (All rights reserved)

 

UVU Department of Dance Video

 

 

Giselle

Choreography by Tyler Schnese
Music by Adolphe Adam
Dancers: Full Company

Credits

An excerpt from the second act of the romantic era ballet Giselle, this reimagining explores themes of the afterlife, community, loss, and joy. 

intermission - 10 Minutes

 

=II= =II= 

Directed by: Amy Miller 
Rehearsal Director: Tyler Schnese
Rehearsal Assistance: Mikayla Milligan 

Credits

Choreography & Performance by: 

March 27 & 29
Leah Ahlander*, Laura Bermann, Chloe Bremser, Lily Fincher, Kaarina Garlick*, Brooklyn Johansen, Yerik Martinez^, Grace Messenger*, Antonella Miles*, Heather Morley*, Andy Sefcik, Emarie Junie Thomas, Ashley Wilcox*, Laurie Belén Wilson

March 28
McKayla Browning*, Abigail Brucker^, Ashlyn Duckwitz, Kenna Jane Francis, Lilly Harmer*, Emily Gidney^, Zach Marshall*, Bailey McMillan, Raquel Miller, Heather Morley*, McKenzie Olson*, Lauren Peterson^, Manny Diaz Santos*, Lucy Tolman

*Members of UVU's Contemporary Dance Ensemble
^Members of UVU's Synergy Dance Company 

This collaboration was made possible, in part, through the support of the UVU School of the Arts High Impact Practices Competitive Grant, written by Tyler Schnese.

 

 

Remarks from RBE Rehearsal Director,
Mikayla Milligan

 

With Feeling

Choreography by: Jazz Khai Bynum 
Music: Movement 1- Derek Bermel, Movements 2 and 3 - Duke Ellington
Artistic Consultants: Jamie A. Johnson & Christa St. John
Rehearsal direction and audio engineering by: Christa St. John 
Costumes: Courtesy of Ballet West
Dancers: Laura Bermann, Chloe Bremser, Ashlyn Duckwitz, Bailey McMillan, Raquel Miller, Andy Sefcik, Laurie Belén Wilson 

 

Credits

Jazz Khai Bynum is named after Jazz music. By definition, 1 of African American origin characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and a forceful rhythm; 2 enthusiastic or lively talk. The inspiration for this piece comes from the music, playing with the idea when we are lost in the rhythm. You know when your favorite song comes on and the beat catches your soul and you have to turn the sound all the way up? That is where “With Feeling” exists. A place of peace, freedom, and joy. The last selection, titled Ko-Ko by Duke Ellington, was created the year Jazz Khai Bynum entered into this world surrounded by love and joy!
 
This collaboration with Ballet West was made possible by Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute, Director of Company Management and Touring Misha Eady-Harbold, SOA Assistant Dean Danielle Shipley, Department of Dance Chair Jamie A. Johnson, and RBE Director Christa St. John.

 

matinee program


This special matinee performance is in celebration of the life and legacy of beloved UVU faculty member Corinne Wallentine (Oct. 11, 1989 – Aug. 24, 2024). The abbreviated program features excerpts from Repertory Ballet Ensemble’s Traversing Tradition concert performed by some of Corrinne’s Utah Valley University students alongside two of Corinne's own choreographic works performed by her students from The Dance Conservatory.

Special thanks to Stephanie Brucker, Owner and Artistic Director of The Dance Conservatory, for helping facilitate this matinee performance.

 

 

La Bayadère (excerpts)

Choreographic reimagining by: Christa St. John and Colleen Barnes after Marius Petipa
Music: Ludwig Minkus
Costume Accessories: Courtesy of the Joffrey Ballet School
Dancers: Repertory Ballet Ensemble

 

 

DREAM (May 2019)

Choreography by: Corinne Wallentine

Music: Ludovico Einaudi

Rehearsal Director/restaged by: Janessa Cloward

The Dance Conservatory Dancers: Izzy Brucker, Jordan Burns, Sonya Clayton, Gentry Hawkins, Madison Henrie, Cambrie Pendleton, Sage Sallenback,
Mari Thomas

 

 

With Feeling

Choreography by: Jazz Khai Bynum 
Music: Movement 1- Derek Bermel, Movements 2 and 3 - Duke Ellington
Artistic Consultants: Jamie A. Johnson & Christa St. John
Rehearsal direction and audio engineering by: Christa St. John 
Costumes: Courtesy of Ballet West
Repertory Ballet Ensemble Dancers: Laura Bermann, Chloe Bremser, Ashlyn Duckwitz, Bailey McMillan, Raquel Miller, Andy Sefcik, Laurie Belén Wilson 

 

Credits

Jazz Khai Bynum is named after Jazz music. By definition, 1 of African American origin characterized by improvisation, syncopation, and a forceful rhythm; 2 enthusiastic or lively talk. The inspiration for this piece comes from the music, playing with the idea when we are lost in the rhythm. You know when your favorite song comes on and the beat catches your soul and you have to turn the sound all the way up? That is where “With Feeling” exists. A place of peace, freedom, and joy. The last selection, titled Ko-Ko by Duke Ellington, was created the year Jazz Khai Bynum entered into this world surrounded by love and joy!
 
This collaboration with Ballet West was made possible by Ballet West Artistic Director Adam Sklute, Director of Company Management and Touring Misha Eady-Harbold, SOA Assistant Dean Danielle Shipley, Department of Dance Chair Jamie A. Johnson, and RBE Director Christa St. John.

SUN (May 2019)

Choreography: Corinne Wallentine
Music: Zoë Keating
Rehearsal Director/restaged: Kelli Pinkerston

The Dance Conservatory Dancers: Clarissa Alba, Anna Baldwin, Jade Boynton, Gentry Hawkins, Eliza Lynch, Adelaide Swink 

 

 

Giselle

Choreography by Tyler Schnese
Music by Adolphe Adam
Dancers: Repertory Ballet Ensemble

Credits

An excerpt from the second act of the romantic era ballet Giselle, this reimagining explores themes of the afterlife, community, loss, and joy. 

 

 

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 biographies 

 

 colleen

Colleen Barnes
(She/Her) 

Colleen Barnes (she/her): is currently the Area Chair and Assistant Professor of Dance-Ballet at the University of Akron’s School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration, where she has worked tirelessly to revitalize and elevate the Dance Program since 2021. At UA she teaches Ballet Technique, Anatomy for Dancers, Freshman & Senior Seminars, Ballet History, 20th Century Dance History, and she choreographs nearly every semester in collaboration with faculty artists from the School of Music. 
 
Colleen has worked at the Joffrey Ballet School since 2009, serving in both faculty and administrative roles. She is the Artistic Director of Joffrey South, Joffrey Colorado, and Joffrey Akron summer intensives, where she finds great joy in mentoring emergent artists and arts administrators. In 2024 Colleen helped establish the BFA partnership between Joffrey Ballet School and the University of Akron, which is an innovative blend of the Joffrey’s professional standard of training with Akron’s traditional higher-ed setting. She has been instrumental in the collaborative curricular development between the two entities.  
 
Colleen’s scholarly research encompasses ballet’s history of exclusion, particularly as it relates to 19th-century ballet and colonialism. Upon this foundational research, her current scholarly interests intersect feminism and gender with ballet culture. Colleen is also researching equity in dance curricula to create more inclusive, supportive, and relevant experience for all students. This research drives her teaching practice, which encourages students to find autonomy and joy through the modality of ballet. Colleen has presented her research both domestically and abroad with Dance Studies Association and Corps de Ballet International. 
 
Colleen danced professionally with the Dayton Ballet, Ballet Pensacola, and Dance Now! Miami, touring both domestically and abroad, in addition to free-lancing. A first-generation college student, Colleen proudly holds an MFA in Ballet from the University of Utah, a BFA in Ballet from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, and a Women’s Studies Graduate Certificate from the University of Akron. Previous institutions of employment include University of Georgia, Ballet West Academy, and Allen Ting Ballet Academy of China.  www.colleenbarnesdance.com


jazz

Jazz Khai Bynum

Jazz Khai Bynum: is a company corps artist with Ballet West. She began training at the age of 5 in Hudson Repertory Dance Theatres’ after school program. She continued her training in Maryland with Maryland Youth Ballet and Dance Theatre of Harlems’ Residency Program at the Kennedy Center. Jazz has also received her B.F.A in Contemporary Performance with an emphasis in ballet from The Boston Conservatory. Jazz came to Ballet West as a Trainee in 2018, joined Ballet West II in 2019 and now is in her fourth season as a Corps Artist with Ballet West. While she continues to enjoy her career as a ballet dancer, she has enjoyed exploring the choreographic process. She is excited to share the premiere of her new work “With Feeling” with you. 


natalie

Natalie Desch 
(She/Her)

Natalie Desch (she/her): is an artist and educator hailing from New Castle, Pennsylvania. A BFA graduate of the Juilliard School and an MFA graduate of the University of Washington, she performed for five seasons with the Limón Dance Company and eleven seasons with Doug Varone and Dancers in NYC. She additionally danced soloist roles in various productions at the Metropolitan Opera and other regional opera companies around the US. Natalie has restaged the works of José Limón, Doug Varone, Jirí Kylián, and Daniel Charon on performing groups around the world, and her choreography has been presented at venues throughout the country. In 2014 Natalie relocated to Salt Lake City, UT, and began teaching at Ballet West Academy, Westminster College, Utah Valley University, and Salt Lake Community College. Natalie joined the University of Utah’s School of Dance as an Assistant Professor in 2019.


limon

José Limón  (1908-1972) 

José Limón (1908-1972):  electrified the world with his dynamic masculine dancing and dramatic choreography. One of the 20th century’s most important and influential dance makers, he spent his entire career pioneering a new art form and fighting for the recognition and establishment of the American Modern Dance. Born in Culiacán, Mexico in 1908, he immigrated to California in 1915, and in 1928 Limón came to New York and saw his first dance program. Limón enrolled in the dance school of Doris Humphrey and Charles Weidman and, from 1930 - 1940, performed in works created by his teachers. In 1946, with Doris Humphrey as Artistic Director, Limón formed his own company. Over the following 25 years, he established himself and his company as one of the major forces of 20th century dance. Limón was a key faculty member in The Juilliard School's Dance Division beginning in 1953 and continued choreographing until his death in 1972. Limón choreographed a total of seventy-four works, including The Moor’s Pavane, Missa Brevis, There is a Time, The Traitor, and Psalm.


abby

Amy miller

Amy Miller is a NYC-based dancer, choreographer, educator, administrator and advocate.  Recently appointed as Gibney’s new Director of Engagement, she builds on her long dedication to both artistry and social action by facilitating the deepening of reciprocal exchange with educational institutions and building new programming that further acknowledges the fractal nature of transformation both inside and outside the studio in our constantly shifting world.


Originally from Ohio, her youth as a gymnast evolved into training at The Dance Institute at the University of Akron. She spent a decade at the Ohio Ballet where she performed works by a wide-range of choreographers including José Limon, Lucinda Childs, George Balanchine and Alonzo King.  She was a founding member of Cleveland-based GroundWorks DanceTheater where she choreographed numerous works and continues her ongoing connection as artistic advisor.  Since 2012, she has been a Director and a performing member of Gibney Company performing works by Gina Gibney, Bryan Arias, Peter Chu and Shannon Gillen.


Interested in revealing ways to foster both artistic excellence and social engagement in all her work, Miller strives to prioritize both components in equal measure.  For nearly a decade, Miller has focused on Gibney’s Community Action initiatives and has worked closely with social workers toward facilitating movement workshops with survivors of gender-based violence, conducted both local and international trainings for artists interested in engaging in social action, and facilitated healthy relationship workshops for young people to raise awareness about the role of the arts in violence prevention. Miller will steward the expansion of the Moving Toward Justice platform at Gibney providing a supportive curriculum for activating arts-based social justice projects aimed at addressing gaps in the field.  Miller co-facilitates creative spaces for advocacy alongside Gibney’s ‘Move to Move Beyond Storytellers,’ a group of survivors creating performances for audiences and performers alike to deepen our critical consciousness, witness the power of reclaiming one’s agency, and move toward shared liberation. Actively moving toward co-creating spaces that value antiracism as a foundational tenet, Miller is a facilitation committee member of Gibney’s internal Decentering Whiteness Working Group offering white-identifying staff members opportunities to unlearn oppressive structures, as well as dovetail energies with Gibney’s Multiracial Staff Group directly addressing reducing harm to and support of our BIPOC staff and greater community.


Miller has facilitated teaching residencies at Oberlin College, Brown University, NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Bates Dance Festival, SUNY Purchase and The National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron among many others.  Miller is currently a teaching artist for the Bard College Dance Program/Gibney Partnership, a multi-year engagement that represents a wide-ranging vision of what dance can be in a liberal arts curriculum.  She has conducted Gibney Company international residencies at Mimar Sinan University and Koc University (Istanbul), University of Cape Town (South Africa), DOCH: School of Dance and Circus (Stockholm), MUDA Africa (Tanzania) and Gisenyi, Rwanda. Miller has thrice been a Dance/USA Mentor through their Institute for Leadership Training. Miller was honored to receive an Arts & Artists in Progress “Pay it Forward” Award from Brooklyn Arts Exchange.  Miller holds a BFA in Dance and is a recipient of an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award for her choreography.


petipa

Marius Petipa (1818-1910)  

Marius Petipa (1818-1910): was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue, and choreographer. Petipa is one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history.
 
Marius Petipa is noted for his long career as Premier maître de ballet (First Ballet Master) of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, making him Ballet Master and principal choreographer of the Imperial Ballet (today known as the Mariinsky Ballet), a position he held from 1871 until 1903. Petipa created over fifty ballets, some of which have survived in versions either faithful to, inspired by, or reconstructed from his originals. He is most noted for The Pharaoh's Daughter (1862); Don Quixote (1869); La Bayadère (1877); Le Talisman (1889); The Sleeping Beauty (1890); The Nutcracker (choreographed jointly with Lev Ivanov) (1892); Le Réveil de Flore (1894); La Halte de cavalerie (1896); Raymonda (1898); Les Saisons (1900), and Les Millions d'Arlequin (a.k.a. Harlequinade) (1900).
 
Petipa also revived a substantial number of works created by other choreographers. Many of his revivals have become the basis of the majority of subsequent productions of those works. The most famous of Petipa's revivals are Le Corsaire, Giselle,La Esmeralda, Coppélia, La Fille Mal Gardée (with Lev Ivanov), The Little Humpbacked Horse, and Swan Lake (with Lev Ivanov).


tyler

Tyler Schnese  
(He/They)

Tyler Schnese (he/they) is an Assistant Professor in Ballet at Utah Valley University. Born and raised in Appleton, WI, he studied with Jeanette Makaroff before receiving a BFA from SUNY Purchase. Tyler was a Soloist with the Hessisches Staatsballett in Wiesbaden, Germany, and later, Gibney Dance Company in New York City. He has performed works by Alexander Ekman, Crystal Pite, George Balanchine, Nicolo Fonte, Bill T. Jones, Richard Siegal and Marcos Morau (La Veronal) among many others. He received a nomination for the German Stage Prize (Der Faust) in 2016 for his interpretation of the title role in Tim Plegge’s Kaspar Hauser. In addition to teaching at various institutions in the US and abroad, Tyler continues to work with Gibney as a Lead Actionist facilitating movement workshops with survivors of trauma. As a choreographer, movement director, and dancer he has worked on short films and music videos for Steve Aoki, Sting, Damani Pompey, Naima Ramos-Chapman, and Emma Sophia Caymares. Tyler won Repertory Dance Theatre’s Regalia choreography competition and received a commission for the company's 22-23 season.


christa

Christa St. John

Christa St. John, MFA, is an Assistant Professor of Ballet, Ballet Program Coordinator, and Co-Artistic Director of Repertory Ballet Ensemble at Utah Valley University (UVU). In addition to directing the company, she teaches ballet choreography, ballet pedagogy, pointe, ballet technique, and dance theory courses, mentors emergent student choreographers and scholars, and regularly presents scholarly and creative works at national and international festivals, conferences, and performance venues. Her appointment at UVU follows a professional ballet performance career that spanned over a decade and four years as a division director of an integrated academic and ballet conservatory for pre-professional dancers.


Christa is a prolific choreographer and has premiered numerous works for professional and university dancers and frequently collaborates with professional and university orchestras as well as university theatre, opera, and visual arts programs. Since launching her choreographic career in 2014, she has earned significant commissions including the creation of her own full-length version of The Nutcracker for Ballet Indiana. In addition to her work at UVU, Christa teaches masterclasses across the US and regularly serves as a faculty member and choreographer for Joffrey Ballet School’s summer intensive programs. Christa holds an MFA in Dance from the University of Oklahoma.


corrine

Corinne Wallentine (1989-2024)

Corinne Wallentine (1989-2024): began training at Jacqueline's School of Ballet (1993-2001) and later joined The Dance Conservatory (2001-2008). Graduating with honors, she received her BFA - Ballet Emphasis from Utah Valley University and was the recipient of the Award of Merit in Dance from UVU College of Fine Arts while attending under a full dance performance scholarship (2009-2012). While at UVU Corinne performed with Repertory Ballet Ensemble (2008-2011) under the direction of Nichole Ortega and Shayla Bott. Performing credits, among others, include principal roles in La Slyphide and Paquita. With Repertory Ballet Ensemble, she participated in the Regional Dance America Festival (2010-2011) and was named Honors Dancer at the festival in Las Vegas, Nevada (2011). In 2011, Corinne performed with Utah Metropolitan Ballet under professional contract. With this company she enjoyed dancing in works including A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Nutcracker, Le Corsaire and various contemporary works with professional choreographers. 
 
While at UVU, Corinne was educated in the method and practice of ballet theory and technique. From her training and academic work, she developed a comprehensive ballet curriculum, which is the basis for ballet instruction at TDC. In (2018, 2021), she attended the Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet teacher workshop and received training (pre-ballet to pre-professional levels) from notable ballet instructors, Marica Dale Weary, Darla Hoover and Alan Hineline to name a few. Corinne is certified in Progressing Ballet Technique, an innovative body-conditioning and strengthening program that assists her students’ development of the muscle memory required in each exercise in all forms of dance. 
 
In addition to her role as Ballet Director at The Dance Conservatory, Corinne was a ballet faculty member at UVU, teaching multiple levels of ballet technique and pointe, Dance as an Art Form, and Dance Conditioning, until she passed away in August of 2024. 



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As we prepare to welcome the community to experience the wonder at The Noorda Center, we'd like to thank you for making it all possible. 

The performing arts inspire us to engage with others, discover new ways of thinking and feeling, and provides us with hope—in short, we believe the arts transform you. As an exciting hub for the arts in Utah County, we produce hundreds of performances by talented students, faculty, and world-renowned visiting artists. We invite everyone to join in connecting through the arts. 

As part of UVU’s inaugural EverGREEN fundraising campaign, we invite you to make a gift to The Department of Dance today

Your gift not only impacts students success, but ensures programming and exciting artistic creation continues.

Please make a gift today by clicking below. Thank you!

 

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the noorda Series
coming soon

SCHOOL OF
the ARTS

coming Soon

 

 

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THE DEPARTMENT OF DANCE

Chair, Associate Professor
Jamie Johnson

Administrative Assistant
LAURAL HILL

 

Associate Chair
Sarah Donohue

Modern/Contemporary
Dr. Lyndsey Vader

Ballet
Christa St. John & Nichole Ortega

 

Ballroom
Chris Witt

Dance Ed
Amy Markgraf

 

 

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