|
Distinguished Alumni
2012 HEIDI DUCKLER is the Artistic Director and founder of Heidi Duckler Dance Theatre. Since its inception in 1985, she has choreographed more than 100 original dance works at unique sites in Russia, Hong Kong, New York, Miami, Las Vegas, Portland, and throughout Southern California including Los Angeles City Hall, Lincoln Heights Jail, the Los Angeles River, the Herald Examiner Building, the former Ambassador Hotel and the Los Angeles Police Academy. Called “the reigning queen of site-specific performance,” by the L.A. Times, her work has been commissioned by Miami Light, Grand Performances, REDCAT, Aben Dans in Denmark, Brookfield Properties, and the Hong Kong Youth Arts Foundation, among others. She earned a BS in Dance from the University of Oregon and an MA in Choreography from UCLA. Duckler recently participated in the Los Angeles County Arts Commission's Arts Leadership Initiative and the City of Los Angeles Mayor's Cultural Master Plan Advisory Committee.
2011 Over three decades ago, Mary Seereiter was introduced to the power of movement through Aftrican Dance. This experience awakened a deep sense of spirit, a vital connection with the earth and a love of that which can only be experienced through the non-verbal movement of body and soul. Since that primal introduction, Mary has dedicated her life to the practice, study and teaching of Movement Arts. Mary created, developed and led the Dance Program at Lane Community College from 1980 to 2003. She pioneered a somatic curriculum including Body-Mind Centering ®, Authentic Movement, Anatomy for Dancers and studies in Laban Movement Analysis™. Her background in dance and choreography have forged her pursuit of the longenivty of a healthy, moving body. Her interest is Body Psychology led her to various forms of Healing Arts. Mary is a certified teacher and practitioner of Body-Mind Centering, a certified Laban Movement Analyst (CMA), and a skilled practitioner and teacher of Authentic Movement. She holds a Master's degree in Dance with a related field in Anatomy and Kinesiology. She trained for one year as a counselor in the addictive behavior program. She is a Registered Movement Theraist (RMT) through the International Somatics Movement Education and Thearpy Association (ISMETA).
2010
Students of Mr. Ryan have been accepted to some of the most respected dance programs in America including Houston Ballet, San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Julliard, Chicago Ballet, North Carolina School of the Arts, The Harid Conservatory , Lines Ballet of San Francisco, the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, the University of Utah, Goucher College, Belhaven College, the University of Oregon, Interlochen Arts Academy, Joffrey II, and the Boston Ballet. In 2010 the University of Oregon honored Mr. Ryan as Alumni of the Year.
2009
2008
Sellers-Young has authored three books: Teaching Personality with Gracefulness (1993), a discussion of Kanriye Fujima's life and teaching of Nihon Buyo in the U.S.; Breathing, Movement, Exploration, a movement text for actors (Applause Books, 2001); and an edited volume with Anthony Shay on the globalization of the bellydance, titled Bellydance: Orientalism, Transnationalism and Harem Fantasy (Mazda Press, 2005).
2007
2006
2005
2004
2000
|
Tim Ryan has taught dance since 1977 in public and private schools in both Portland and Eugene, Oregon. He was a recipient of a Graduate Teaching Fellowship and earned his M.S. and B.S. in Dance pedagogy from the University of Oregon. He completed his post-graduate study, as one of five students accepted from a pool of five thousand applicants, at the Royal Academy of Dance Teachers College in London, UK.
Ann Rodiger has extensive experience and training in the Alexander Technique, including 25 years of a thriving private practice in New York City, and eight years of teaching an Alexander Technique Teacher Training Course. Her expertise includes movement analysis and observation, movement fundamentals and awareness, movement recording, and cultivation of change in people’s movement behavior. She has worked with health care professionals, secretaries, musicians, directors, actors, and dancers in movement re-education and repatterning. She works with repetitive stress injuries, vocal malfunctions, back pain, people recovering from injuries and surgery, as well as those with symptoms of stress. Rodiger has taught at the graduate and undergraduate level, and developed curriculum and teaching methods at many universities, including: California State University at Hayward, University of Illinois at Urbana, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee, University of Hawaii at Manoa, The Juilliard School, and City University of New York. Her international teaching and travel experience ncludes workshops in Germany, France, and Switzerland. As a Labanotation expert, she has notated, reconstructed and checked many dance scores from Labanotation. Rodiger holds an M.A. in dance from The Ohio State University and is a member of the American Society of the Alexander Technique. She is the Director for the Balance Arts Alexander Technique Teacher Training Program in New York City.
Barbara Sellers-Young, a professor at UC-Davis, has a B.S. in Sociology, M.S. in Dance, and a Ph.D. in Theatre, all from the University of Oregon. She has continued study of various western and Asian physical disciplines, including Laban, Mask, Meditation, Yoga, T'ai chi, Wu chi, and Chi gong. Prior to her academic career, she was a dancer/choreographer/director who performed in the Northwest and at such venues as Mumokan Theatre (Kyoto, Japan) and University Theatre (Manchester, England). She has taught workshops and classes in dance and movement for such international organizations as the Association of Theatre in Higher Education and the International Federation of Theatre Research, as well as at universities in England, China, and Austrailia. Her research projects on the moving body have taken place in Sudan, Egypt, Nepal, Japan, China, England, and Austrailia. Her articles can be found in The Journal of Popular Culture, Theatre Topics, Asian Theatre Journal, and Dance Research Journal.
Dr. Ray Miller received his M.S. in Dance (1977) and a Ph.D. in Theatre (1984) from the University of Oregon. His professional credentials encompass musical theatre, theatre and dance history, dance aesthetics, modern and jazz/tap technique, mime and pantomime, directing, and choreography. Mr. Miller is professor and chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. He is the current president of the Congress on Research in Dance (CORD). Miller has directed and/or choreographed more than 200 musicals, operas, plays, and/or dance concerts. He has worked with playwrites to develop and produce new works, such as "Leaning Towards Infinity" based on a novel by Sue Woolfe. He has directed some of his own work, such as the play "Tragedy at Kent State", and dance dramas based on the events of 9/11 and the plight of runaways in Atlanta. Miller has written articles and reviews for numerous academic journals, and presented papers at numerous national conferences. Praeger Press will soon publish his book on the history of dance on the American musical stage.
Dianne Markham received a B.A. in Contemporary Dance from the University of Oregon. Throughout her professional career, Dianne performed nationally and internationally with the Murray Louis Dance Company and Nureyev and Friends. She has trained with Hanya Holm, Alwin Nikolais, Murray Louis, Phyllis Lamhut, Zena Rommet, Alfred Corvino, and Finus Jhung. Dianne's choreography has been performed by national and international companies at such venues including the Kennedy Center, the First Helsinki International Ballet Competition, and for a PBS documentary based on the choreographic process for "Silent Places/The Looking Glass". Recently, Dianne has been a guest teacher/choreographer at the Mid-Pacific Performing Arts High School in Hawaii, a principal teacher at the Nikolais/Louis Legacy workshop in Salt Lake City, Utah, and a Distinguished Alumna Commencement speaker at the University of Oregon. She is a recent recipient of the Board of Govenor's Excellence in Teaching Award. Ms. Markham has been teaching at North Carolina School of the Arts since 1980 where she served as Assistant Dean for ten years, and has choreographed more than thirty-seven original works.
Tiffany Mills was born in North Carolina and raised in Oregon. She moved to New York City in 1995 after receiving her B.A. in Dance from the University of Oregon Honors College, and M.F.A. in Choreography from the Ohio State University. Called "one of the real talents of the emerging generation" by the Village Voice, and "Smart, fresh, and accomplished" by the New York Times, Tiffany Mills' choreography has been produced at a variety of venues both in New York and nationally, including Lincoln Center Out of Doors Series, Joyce Soho, Dance Theater Workshop, P.S. 122, Jacobs Pillow Dance Festival, Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, and Portland Institute for Contemporary Art's Time Based Arts Festival. Mills received a Bates Dance Festival Emerging Choreographer Award in 1998, was a member of HERE's Artist Residency Program in 2002 and 2003, and was selected as a University of Oregon School of Music and Dance Distinguished Alumna for 2005. She was also honored by the University of Oregon by receivig the Boekhelheide Creativity Award in Chemistry, Music, and Dance in 2006.
Barry McNabb received his Bachelor of Science in Dance from the University of Oregon in 1981. He made his professional debut in July of 1981 for Bob Fosse in his production, "Dancin'", for which he was also the dance captain. He then went to work with Agnes DeMille, Juliet Prowse, Michael Bennet, Peter Genarro, Mike Ockrent, Harold Prince, and Gillian Lynne, among others, also appearing in the original Broadway casts of "Me and My Girl" and "The Phantom of the Opera", and on television for "Saturday Night Live" and "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". As a director and choreographer his work has been seen in numerous Off-Broadway, Regional, International, as well as major New York theaters including the Majestic, St. James, The Broadway, Winter Garden, Lincoln Center, and on film, television and commercials. His productions have garnerned many nominations and awards such as the Drama Desk, Connecticut Critics, MAC, Bistro, Barrymore, Emmy and Premio (Spanish Tony, three times). He was instrumental in the development of Broadway Cares, a theatre charity that has to date awarded over 20,000,000 to AIDS research and care facilities. He produced/wrote/directed/choreographed what has become their largest annual money-raiser, Broadway's Annual Easter Bonnet Competitions. He was also a member of the first Mentoring Group from the professional theatre community to work as individual mentors to inner-city children. He has served on multiple committees for the theatrical director's union, the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers (SSDC) and currently is the chairman of the Callaway Award. This award is the only peer award given in the NYC theatre community. It is given each year by a panel of twelve directors and choreographers for outstanding work in the New York Theatrical season. Mr. McNabb has been its chair for three years. In addition he has taught master classes throughout the world and has served on the faculties of the Royal Academy of Dance, Academy of Musical and Dramatic Arts, UO's Summer Dance Pursuits, and others. He was presented the UO School of Music Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2004 and returned to choreograph "For Jamie" as a gift to UO-RDC and the UO Department of Dance.
Janet Towner, dancer and educator, studied at the Charles Weidman School of Modern Dance and performed in the Charles Weidman Theatre Dance Company from 1969 to 1975. Ms. Towner became a principal dancer in the Weidman Company and served as Weidman's teaching and choreographic assistant during those years. Since 1975, she has taught and reconstructed Weidman's works for colleges and dance companies throughout the United States. In 1990, Janet received her M.S. in dance from the University of Oregon.