Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company

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EQUILIBRIUM
September 24-26, 2009

Choreographers:

Karole Armitage is director of the New York-based Armitage Gone! Dance Company. After dancing in George Balanchine's Geneva Ballet (1973-1975) and with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (1976-1981), she developed a unique choreographic style, which combines contemporary movement with classical ballet and modern dance to create a virtuoso, poetic style. In Italy, Karole Armitage served as director of the 45-member Ballet of Florence (1996-2000); the Venice Biennale of Contemporary Dance (2001); and worked as resident choreographer for the Ballet de Lorraine in France (2000-2005). She has contributed to the repertoires of major dance companies throughout Europe and North America including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Mikhail Baryshnikov's American Ballet Theatre, The Kansas City Ballet, Rambert Dance Company in London, the Ballet Nacional de Cuba and the ballets of Berlin, Bern, Lyon, Monte Carlo, Munich and Naples. Karole Armitage also directs opera and has worked for pop stars Madonna and Michael Jackson and frequently collaborates with artists from other fields such as James Ivory, Jeff Koons, Christian Lacroix, Lukas Ligeti, Brice Marden and David Salle. She recently was nominated for a Tony Award for choreography for the Broadway production of Hair and was awarded France's most prestigious award, Commandeur dans L'ordre des Arts et des Lettres.

Charlotte Boye-Christensen, a native of Denmark, has fulfilled the extremely demanding career of freelance choreographer, teacher and dancer for the past 11 years. She joined Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company in 2002 to assist in the artistic direction of the company. She received her formal training in London and completed her MFA Degree at Tisch School of the Arts, New York University.
She has been commissioned to create new works for many companies, including Singapore Dance Theatre, Tisch School of the Arts' Second Avenue Dance Company, the National School for Contemporary Dance in Denmark, and the Royal Danish Ballet School. She is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship and was recently awarded the Choo-San Goh award for choreographic excellence.

Carolyn Carlson began her dance career as a student at the University of Utah in the 1960's. Since then she has been a member of Nikolais Dance Theatre, lead choreographer at the Paris Opera House and the Fenice of Venice, Company Director for Cullberg Ballet in Stockholm, and the Director of Dance for the Biennale of Venice. As a teacher of dance, her master classes influenced a generation of choreographers in the 1980's. Her Atelier de Paris dance studio continues to influence dancers from around the world. Carolyn was made Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur and Chevalier des Arts et Lettres. She has received numerous awards, notably that of the "Victoires de la Musique" for Signes at the Paris Opera House in 1998 and the Benois de la Danse in Moscow 1999. She is currently the Artistic Director for the National Choreographic Center in Roubaix, France.

Kay Andersen received his BA from Southern Utah University and his MA from New York University in dance profession with an emphasis in performance and choreography. For 11 years he was a soloist, participated in the creation of important roles, and taught company and master classes with the Nikolais and Murray Louis Dance Company. He has performed in well-known venues throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and South America. He performed extensively with the American Folk Ballet and was a member of the company for 24 years. Mr. Andersen has been an Associate Professor of Dance at Southern Utah University for nine years.

Eric Handman graduated from Skidmore College in 1991 with a degree in English. He spent much of the next decade in New York City performing as a member of various companies, such as Doug Varone and Dancers, nicholasleichterdance, and Joy Kellman & Co. He also worked as a freelancer for choreographers Stephen Koester, David Dorfman, Lisa Race, Pooh Kaye, Wendy Perron, Simone Forti, Debra Fernandez, Tim Harling & Lisa Giobbi, Eun Me Ahn and Koosil-ja Hwang (Kumiko Kimoto). In 2003, Handman received his M.F.A. from the University of Utah's Department of Modern Dance, where he focused on studying and creating dance films. He now serves the department as an Assistant Professor/Lecturer and teaches technique and theory classes, as well as research methods for departmental graduate students.

Erik Stern holds a B.A. in Biology from UC Santa Cruz and an M.F.A. in Dance from CalArts. Since 1987 he has co-directed the Dr. Schaffer and Mr. Stern Dance Ensemble with Karl Schaffer. The company has received over 50 grants and toured throughout North America, most recently at the World Science Festival at NYU. His evening-length work "Demolition Derby: When a Mind Loses its License to Drive" premiered in Utah and was performed in New York City in 2007. As a Teaching Artist with the Kennedy Center's Partners in Education Program, he instructs students and educators throughout the U.S. Erik danced with Tandy Beal & Co. for 10 years and has appeared in works by Remy Charlyp and others. His commentary on Alzheimer's disease and dance appeared last spring in Academic Medicine, and he co-authored a book about dance and mathematics. He currently teaches at Weber State University in Utah.

Doris Hudson de Trujillo, a native of Connecticut has fulfilled a demanding career as an artist/educator nationally and internationally. She earned her B.F.A. in Modern Dance from the University of Utah and her M.A. from Brigham Young University. Doris performed internationally as a member of the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company. She has presented her choreography, research, and workshops throughout the United States, South Africa, Spain, and Scotland as an independent artist and as the director of her own companies. She has taught on the faculties of the University of Utah, Weber State University, and Brigham Young University, and is currently an Associate Professor of Dance, Modern Dance Program Coordinator, and Artistic Director of Contemporary Dance Ensemble at Utah Valley University. Doris is the Dance Consultant to the Utah State Office of Education and is the past President of the Utah Dance Education Organization.