“With all Meadows B.F.A. majors under one roof, dancers at SMU are instilled with a culture of collaboration and artistic curiosity,” writes Nichelle Suzanne in the September 22, 2016, issue of Arts+Culture Texas magazine. In her profile of contemporary dance luminaries Jennifer Mabus ’93, Lydia Hance ’06, Alex Karigan Farrior ’07, Albert Drake ’15 and Joshua L. Peugh ’06, she credits their success to innate talent coupled with the rigorous training at Meadows where “opportunities to prepare for the artistic and economic challenges of dance and dance making are provided” throughout a student’s academic career at SMU. Suzanne notes, “As diverse as the dance artists who have emerged from SMU’s Division of Dance and infiltrated contemporary dance in Texas are, they are allied by the high standard of excellence demanded at Meadows.”
Arts+Culture Texas
Southern Methodist University’s Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas is home to one of the nation’s most highly regarded and rigorous dance programs. The Division of Dance releases graduates who leave with the training, talent, and drive to pursue a career in dance performance and who have gone on to dance with such legendary companies as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Martha Graham Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company and more.
A few fly back. And some stay to build their own nest.
The ones who choose to stomp ground primarily in Texas go big right here at home. These leaders and influencers in Texas dance are releasing shockwaves, some of which are felt far beyond state lines. Each has a unique voice, like the fiercely independent Jennifer Mabus, or the sharply focused Lydia Hance or the creatively charged Alex Karigan Farrior and Albert Drake, or the indefatigably nimble Joshua L. Peugh. They demonstrate one common trait: A powerful ability to carve their own niche. Perhaps there’s something in the water at Meadows.
“In the first year, students take a class called the Dancers Toolbox, which looks at developing skills that support a sustainable and long lasting career in dance,” says Associate Professor and Division of Dance Chair at Southern Methodist University (SMU) Patty Harrington Delaney.
In fact, throughout a dancer’s academic career at SMU, opportunities to prepare for the artistic and economic challenges of dance and dance making are provided. Standing out among these are well-established events like the Brown Bag series, a faculty-mentored showcase for student choreography, and senior-year trips to attend the Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) Conference, where students encounter a large number of dance companies from all over the world. This year, students will participate in a workshop at New York City’s Gibney Dance Center, where they will develop skills for building a support network, take part in a mock audition, and ask questions of established artists.
READ THE FULL STORY
Categories
Lone Star Dance Luminaries Share SMU Meadows Training
Writing in the September 22, 2016, issue of Arts+Culture Texas magazine, Nichelle Suzanne profiles contemporary dance luminaries Jennifer Mabus ’93, Lydia Hance ’06, Alex Karigan Farrior ’07, Albert Drake ’15 and Joshua L. Peugh ’06. “As diverse as the dance artists who have emerged from SMU’s Division of Dance and infiltrated contemporary dance in Texas are, they are allied by the high standard of excellence demanded at Meadows.”