Rice Dance Theatre - Sole Searching Program

Sole Searching, the RDT spring 2005 concert, ran April 22 & 23. Four dances shown were created in collaboration with the Shepherd School of Music and performed in an earlier concert. Three pieces were done by guest choreographers, and the Fresh Rice Breakers even joined us this show!

Sole Searching Program

Concert Photos:
Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3
(Or click the title of a dance below to be taken directly to that dance's pictures.)

MindStorms
Choreograper: Nancy Ku
Music: composed by Christopher Lee, Shepherd School of Music
Dancers: Angelica Bush, Zeynep Eroglu, Maya Kaough, Dionella Martinez, Schwannah McCarthy, Ruta Perzynska, Kathleen Shergy, Tiffany Truss

Hear Me Roar
Choreograper: Katie Olson
Music: "Mandelbro7," Blue Man Group
Dancers: Emily Douglas, Della Hoffman, Heather Johnston, Schwannah McCarthy, Tiffany Truss

Kringloop...dust to dust
Choreograper: Rebecca Valls
Music: composed by Kurt Stallmann, Faculty of the Shepherd School of Music
Dancers: Emily Douglas, Della Hoffman, Katie Olson, Anisha Srinivasan
Note: (based on the graphic design Kringloop Cycle by M.C. Escher)

Bird of Prey
Choreograper: Della Hoffman
Music: "Planet of the Phatbird," Leftfield and Fatboy Slim
Dancers: Zeynep Eroglu, Danielle Mouledoux, Nancy O'Conner, Katie Olson, Ruta Perzynska, Rebecca Philips, Meghan Saumur, Anisha Srinivasan, Tiffany Truss

Snow White and His Majesty the Queen
Choreograper: Michelle Edwards
Music: composed by Jordan Kuspa, Shepherd School of Music
Dancers: Angelica Bush, Christine Chen, Lizzi Clark, Elliot Cole, Tracy Edwards, Sara Franco, Della Hoffman, Kathleen Shergy, Mike Smith, Claire Sudolsky

Bittersuite (excerpt)
Choreograper: Sabrina Madison-Cannon, Chrysalis Dance Company
Music: by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, performed by Nina Simone
Dancer: Schwannah McCarthy

The Fresh Rice Breakers
Music: "(Call Me) I'm Super Bad" & "Get on the Good Foot," James Brown
Dancers: Javier Alonso, Jacob Gavia, Marina Post, Rick Camago

Flic, Dab, Fling
Choreograper: Chistine Lidvall
Music: "Chiaroscuro," composed by Richard Lavenda, performed by Richard Brown (vibes), Leone Buyse (alto flute), Paul Ellison (double bass), Ben Kamins (basoon)
Dancers: Schwannah McCarthy, Danielle Mouledoux, Ashley Myers-Turner, Lisi Owens, Natalie Weber

Indian Feet
Choreograper: Anisha Srinivasan
Music: "Indian Rain," Colonial Cousins
Dancers: Ashley Martin, Emily Douglas, Rebecca Philips, Anisha Srinivasan

Bring It On To Centerstage
Choreograper: Tiffany Truss
Music: "Mickey," B*Witched; "U.G.L.Y." Daphne and Celeste; "Cheer For Me," 95 South; "What's A Girl To Do," sister2sister; "Dance," Carmen Ballet
Dancers: Emily Douglas, Della Hoffman, Maya Kaough, Schwannah McCarthy, Katie Olson, Laura Reinsvold, Kathleen Shergy, Meredith Steele

Broken Off From The Sky
Choreograper: Sohpia Torres, guest choreographer
Music: "Adagio for Strings," Samuel Barber
Dancers: Ashley Martin, Danielle Mouledoux, Ashley Myers-Turner, Kathleen Shergy, Eileen Shi, Tiffany Truss

Boom Boom Ba
Choreograper: Helen Cloots
Music: "Boom Boom Ba," Metisse
Dancers: Tracy Edwards, Christine Chen, Heather Johnston, Ashley Martin, Katie Olson, Meghan Saumer, Anisha Srinivasan, Meredith Steele, Claire Sudolsky

In-Visibility
Choreograper: Jess Ray Herzogenrath, guest choreographer
Music: "BOB," Outkast
Dancers: Michelle Edwards, Marysa Mumphrey, Jess Ray Herzogenrath, Natalie Weber
Note: "If it should, maybe you'll recommend me to your oculist," I said, "then I may not-see myself as others see-me not." --Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man

Sabrina Madison-Cannon received her professional training as a scholarship student at the National Academy of Arts and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center. She was a soloist with the Philadelphia Dance Company (Philadanco). She holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Iowa, and she has held faculty positions at Southern Methodist University, the University of North Texas, and the Philadelphia School of Dance Arts. Currently she is an Assistant Professor of Dance in the Conservatory of Music at the University of Missouri in Kansas City. Her choreography has been presented at the International Showcase in Barcelona and Madrid, the New York International Fringe Festival, and the American College Dance Festival. Last fall, Chrysalis Dance Company presented Madison-Cannon's Bittersuite, a suite of dances to Nina Simone songs, at the Wortham Center's Cullen Theatre.

Sophia Torres is the co-founder and co-artistic director of Psophonia Dance Company. A graduate from the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and Southern Methodist University, her performance experience includes Houston Grand Opera, Houston Metropolitan Dance Company and L.A. Music Center Opera. She has received awards and recognition for her innovative choreography including the Artist Fellowship Award and three Artist Project Awards from Cultural Arts Council of Houston and Harris County. Currently, Ms. Torres teaches at the University of Houston and St. John's School and conducts in-school residency workshops through Young Audiences of Houston. She has greatly enjoyed working with the students of Rice University and wishes to thank them all for their time and energy in creating Broken Off From The Sky.

Christine Lidvall has been on the dance faculty at Rice University since 1988 where she is also a teacher and choreographer for Rice Dance Theatre. Founder and Artistic Associate of Chrysalis Dance Company, she also taught modern dance for eight years at the Houston Ballet Academy. This year she helped to develop a collaborative project with members of the Shepherd School of Music and Rice Dance Theatre with a culminating performance held at Stude Concert Hall on April 5th. Her work has been presented by many companies and schools in the Southwest including Chrysalis, Dancers Unlimited Repertory Company (Dallas), City Ballet of Houston, and Lake Charles Ballet. She has taught for many organizations including North Carolina School of the Arts and Regional Dance, Inc. In May of 2000, Lidvall became certified as a teacher of the Alexander Technique through Alexander Technique International. In addition to offering Alexander Technique classes at Rice, she teaches privately at Affiliates in Physical Therapy and has taught workshops for Actors Source, the C.G. Jung Educational Center of Houston, Ebony Opera Guild, and Shepherd School Opera Workshop among others. Lidvall graduated with a B.Sc. in Communications from Northwestern University and with a Masters in Dance from the University of Houston-Clear Lake.

Rebecca Valls is the director of the Rice Dance Program. She has been on the Dance Faculty at the University of Houston for 14 years. She is the director and choreographer of Becky Valls and Company, a performing group that performs in elementary schools through Young Audiences of Houston. In Louisiana, Valls served as Company Director for Moving South Dance Company (1981-1990). Since residing in Houston, Valls' choreography has been presented by Chrysalis Dance Company, JCC Dance month, Diverse Works, Miller Outdoor Theatre, Urban Indian Beat, and the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, and San Jacinto College. In recent years, Valls has studied 18th century Baroque Dance with internationally acclaimed Baroque dancers, Paige Whitley-Bauguess and Thomas Baird. Valls holds a Masters of Fine Arts in Choreography from Sarah Lawrence College in New York.

Helen Cloots is a Hanszen senior majoring in sociology. She has been a part of RDT since her freshman year and has choreographed for the past four semesters. Helen is currently dancing in the IBP and Suchu production of Medea (shameless plug) and has missed dancing with RDT. She will be studying public health at Columbia University in the fall and wants to thank RDT for making her Rice experience fabulous!

Michelle Edwards, is a senior from Martel College majoring in Sociology and Environmental Policy Studies. She has danced with Rice Dance Theatre for four years now and this is her first choreographic work. She wants to thank RDT, her dancers, and her family.

Della Hoffman is a senior Anthropology major at Will Rice College. She has been a member of Rice Dance Theatre since her freshman year. RDT is her first experience with dance and she feels it has been one of her most rewarding experiences at Rice. The year she decided to try choreographing. Bird of Prey is her second choreographic work. Della would like to thank all of her wonderful dancers for being so much fun to work with. She loves and will miss you all! She would also like to thank Alana, Eric, and Jiin-Yu for all their lovely movement suggestions!

Nancy Ku is a junior Mechanical Engineering major at Hanszen College. She loves RDT and movement improvisation, and can't wait to finally dance again next semester! Nancygrew up tap dancing, and dabbled in jazz dance and musical theater towards the end of high school. She has danced with RDT since her freshman year, and MindStorms is her first choreographic work. Thanks to her dancers both this semester and last for being so creative, adventurous and supportive.

Katie Olson has been dancing since her sister dressed her up in tutus and made her dance to the Flashdance soundtrack in the late 80s. Since then, she has added to her repertoire and to her technique (though falls are still common). This is her 3rd year as a member of RDT and this will be her 3rd time as a choreographer. Katie is a Junior Kinesiology major and is a native Houstonian.

Anisha Srinivasan has been dancing for over 14 years, training mostly in Bharathanatyam and Kuchipudi, two styles of Indian Classical Dance. She's a senior member of the Anjali School of Performing Arts, and has been performing and choreographing with the company in multimedia productions for many years. She has been choreographing for the South Asian Society at rice, started learning modern dance after coming to Rice, and has since been using her background as inspiration to create fusion movement.

Tiffany Truss, a military brat, claims pieces of several locations home. This is her 3rd year with RDT and 2nd choreographic experience. When not running, skipping, twirling, flipping or doing other random things throughout the day due to excessive energy, this Mechanical Engineering/Managerial Studies major can be found dreaming of going to Greece, finding a Greek prince--that owns an island!--and getting married.

Richard Lavenda's music has been performed around the world by, among many others, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, Musica Nova/Tel Aviv, the Slovak Radio Orchestra, Da Camera, ZAWA!, the Fischer Duo, and the Sun, T'ang and Enso String Quartets. His compositions include an opera, numerous pieces for orchestra, and a wide diversity of chamber music. He has been a guest composer on many campuses and concert series around the United States, at festivals in Germany, the Czech Republic, Australia, Ukraine, Finland, and Slovenia, and on programs at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. His "Clarinet Concerto," commissioned by the Houston Symphony Orchestra will be premiered by them May 14-16, 2005 in Jones Hall. He joined the faculty of the Shepherd School of Music at Rice in 1987, and is now Professor of Composition and Theory.