STUDIODANCE II Dance at Illinois Series | Dance at Illinois | Studio ...

This production is supported, in part, by 

donations to The Producers Group. Dance at 

Illinois gratefully acknowledges these gifts, 

which assist performing arts students in their 

professional training. 

studiodance II 

Dance at Illinois Series | Dance at Illinois | Studio Theatre 

Thursday, April 22, 2010, at 7:30pm 

Friday-Saturday, April 23-24, 2010, at 7pm & 9pm

PROGRAM 

Studiodance II 

Dance at Illinois 

Thursday-Saturday, April 22-24, 2010 

there is a colony in the backyard 

Choreography 

Sound Designer 

Costume Designer 

Lighting Designer 

Dancers 

Acknowledgments 

Nibia Pastrana Santiago 


Amy Rosario and Nibia Pastrana Santiago 

Brianna Johnson 

Timothy Pauldon 


Thanks to Juan G. Lugo for sharing his creativity, music, and love. Thanks to my parents and my brother 

Pablo for their unconditional support and encouragement. Thanks to Timothy Pauldon for his contribution 

to this piece. Also, special thanks to Ken Beck. 

2 3

I am Cara. This is Mine. 

WaKE 

Choreography 

Cara Newman 

Choreography 

Sarah Haas 


Cara Newman 


Sarah Haas 






Cara Newman 


Sarah Haas 



I’d like to thank you. That’s all. 

I thank my mother. You are always with me. 

4 5

Bushwick 

MAY I FEEL SAID SHE. 

Choreography 

Wedee Kao 

Choreography 

Grace Courvoisier 

Music 




“Over the Pond” by The Album Leaf 

Devin Carroll 

Stephanie Azzaretto 

Amanda Gross 

Allyson Lai 

Julia Radomyski 

Brittany Sylwestrak 

Thank you to my family and friends for all of their love and support. Special thanks to Nicholas, Ellie, Gracie, 

Ryan, and Hopium. Major thanks to my dancers for all of their hard work and dedication. Without your 

contributions, none of this would have been possible. 

Music 





Spoken word: text from Abigail Adams’ letter to John Adams, 

March 31, 1776 




A special thank you to Sara Heller and Anastasia Pappageorge for late-night breakdowns over toast 

and honey; a thank you to my beautiful sisters, Madeleine and Ellory Courvoisier, my parents, Hopium, 

and Wedee. Thank you to Linda Lehovec and Charles Cantrell, who have guided me, and protected me 

throughout this difficult year of recovery, and Amanda Gross, who has given me everything; her love and 

support have healed me as a dancer and also as a woman 

20-minute intermission 

6 7

J, J, Jesus Pieces 

$1.06 per gallon 

Choreography 

Amanda Gross 

Choreography 

Stephanie Azzaretto and Courtney Bradley 

Music 

Excerpts from “Asteroid” by Marcus Maloney, 

“PS” by The Brooks, and “Restless Waters” by Tortoise 

Music 

“Shots” by LMFAO, African Arabian Latin tabla music 

Beatboxing by Beardyman 


Amanda Gross 

Costume Designers 

Stephanie Azzaretto and Courtney Bradley 


Devin Carroll 


Devin Carroll 



Amanda Gross 

COL Joseph E. Gross IV* 

Karl Nerger † 

Thank you to all of the beautiful people in my life, especially Drew, Marcus, Grace, Wedee, and Gabriela. 

Thank you to Karl for graciously stepping in when I needed him and teaching me a proper military burpee. 

Most importantly, thank you to my mom and poppy. 



Stephanie Azzaretto 

Courtney Bradley 

Thank you to Kaki Viano and Jr. Sanchez for their inspiration. We would also like to thank our fellow seniors 

for taking this journey with us. 

*Performing April 23-24 

† 

Performing April 22 

8 9

Strange Fruit 

Dharma Bum 

Choreography 

Brazhal Brewer and Ercelyne McCoy 

Choreography 

Nico Brown 

Music 

“Strange Fruit” by Nina Simone 

Music 

Nico Brown 


Brazhal Brewer and Ercelyne McCoy 


Nico Brown 




Devin Carroll 

Spoken Word Artist 

Abril Edwards 


Nico Brown 



Brazhal Brewer 

Ercelyne McCoy 

Notes 

“When I was a little kid in Oregon I didn’t feel that I was an American at all.” 

Jack Kerouac, The Dharma Bums, 1958 

We would like to thank our loving families for supporting our dreams, goals, and aspirations. 


Thank you Sara, Renée, and Tere. 

Thank you Nick. 

10 11

This Space for Rent 

Choreography 






Racy Brand, Laura Brosch, Jessica Cornish, and Chad Miller 

Laura Brosch 

Racy Brand, Laura Brosch, Jessica Cornish, and Chad Miller 

Devin Carroll 

Racy Brand 

Laura Brosch 

Jessica Cornish 

Chad Miller 

We’d like to thank Barack Obama (except Jessica Cornish), the cast of Star Trek, Conan O’Brien, Snoopy and 

Woodstock . . . and Will Schneider. Oh, and we should probably thank our parents. 

PROFILES 

Stephanie Azzaretto (Choreographer) will receive 

her BFA in the spring of 2010 from the U of I. While 

attending the University, she had the opportunity 

to perform the works of Linda Lehovec, Rebecca 

Nettl-Fiol, Jan Erkert, Angeline Fledderman-Miller, 

and Angeline Holmes. She was also awarded the 

Talented Student Tuition Scholarship. In the summer 

of 2008, she was accepted as a summer scholarship 

student at the Giordano Dance Center, and in the 

following summer she was invited to participate in 

the Invited Artists Program for River North Dance 

Chicago. She is also a recipient of the Mark Morris 

Shadow Program. Stephanie has loved her time here 

at the U of I and is looking forward to the future and 

whatever it may bring. 

Courtney Bradley (Choreographer) is a senior dance 

major. She has performed in works by Rebecca 

Nettl-Fiol, Linda Lehovec, Jan Erkert, and Angeline 

Holmes, among others. Currently, she is working on 

her senior thesis for completion in May 2010. Upon 

graduation, she plans on moving to LA to pursue her 

passion for hip hop. 

Brazhal Brewer (Choreographer) is currently 

a third-year student here at the U of I, where 

she double majors in dance and health (with a 

concentration in behavior change). Brazhal has a 

versatile background in dance. Dancing since the 

age of two, she has trained in ballet, jazz, modern, 

pointe, African, and many more. She has trained 

with Studio One Dance Conservatory in Chicago, 

the Ballet Chicago Company, the Joffrey Strobel 

Program, Gallery 37, and the Alvin Ailey Company 

in New York City. Brazhal enjoys sharing her passion 

of dance with others. This is her choreographic 

debut with Ercelyne McCoy, showing her work 

through Dance at Illinois. Brewer aspires to not 

only teach dance but also become a movement/ 

dance therapist. Dance at Illinois has opened many 

choreographic doors and opportunities for Brazhal 

to find her own voice through dance expression. 

Nico Brown (Choreographer) is a senior in the 

stage management program. This is his final show 

at Illinois, and he is thankful to share his work with 

those who have guided him so much. Next stop: 

New York City. 

Grace Courvoisier (Choreographer) is a 

junior working toward her BFA in dance as an 

undergraduate at the U of I on the Talented Student 

Scholarship. A native of Las Vegas, Nevada, she 

has appeared in works at Krannert Center including 

Laurie Carlos’ Map Light, and she appeared in the 

reconstruction of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance 

Company’s D-Man in the Waters in 2007. 

Amanda Gross (Choreographer) is a junior with 

Dance at Illinois and is working on a minor in 

sociology. This year she was seen in Nicholas Duran’s 

in the offing, Rebecca Nettl-Fiol’s In the Storm 

of Roses, and Hope Goldman’s Truth and Beauty 

Bombs. She is on scholarship under the Talented 

Student Award. She is also the co-president of the 

RSO International Impact and will be volunteering 

this summer with the Street Children program in 

New Delhi, India. 

Sarah Haas (Choreographer) is a Chicago-based 

dance artist currently pursuing her graduate degree 

at the U of I. She was a Linkup artist in residence 

at Links Hall in Chicago for one year and an artist 

in residence at the Doghaven Center for the Arts 

12 13

in Three Oaks, Michigan, for two months. She has 

received favorable mention in the Chicago Tribune, 

was broadcast on channel 23 by New Chinese 

Media, has been honored twice as a Chicago Reader 

Critic’s Choice, and was recently a featured studio 

artist in The News-Gazette. 

Wedee Kao (Choreographer) is currently a junior 

studying dance and music at the U of I. This past 

February, Wedee performed in Astral Convertible 

(Re-Imagined), a piece that was choreographed by 

Trisha Brown in 1989 and re-imagined by Kathleen 

Fisher. He also performed in a new work by Rebecca 

Nettl-Fiol entitled In the Storm of Roses. Wedee 

recently performed in Hope Goldman’s trio, Truth 

and Beauty Bombs. He is currently a recipient of the 

Talented Student Scholarship, and since 2008 he has 

received the Lydia E. Parker Bates Scholarship for 

high academic achievement in the arts. Last spring, 

Wedee was awarded the Emerging Choreographic 

Voice Award for his piece Triip (2009) that was 

performed at Studiodance II. 

Ercelyne McCoy (Choreographer) is a junior dance 

major at the U of I. She has trained with the Gallery 

37 all-city dance ensemble, the Joffrey Ballet Strobel 

Step-Up Program, Mayfair, and the ETA Creative 

Arts Foundation. This is her choreographic debut 

at the U of I, partnering with Brazhal Brewer and 

spoken word artist Abril Edwards. Her dream is to 

one day own her own dance company. 

Cara Newman (Choreographer) is a junior dance 

major at the U of I. She is an avid tapper, talker, 

doodler. I am Cara. This is Mine is a piece of work. 

Nibia Pastrana Santiago (Choreographer) was born 

in Puerto Rico and graduated with a BA in dance 

and women’s studies from the University of Puerto 

Rico. Currently, she is a first-year graduate student 

with Dance at Illinois and is pursuing a minor in 

Latina/Latino studies. 

Cynthia Oliver (Concert Director) joined the 

UI dance faculty in August 2000. She creates 

performance collages that move from dance to word 

to sound and back again toward a contemporary 

dance theatre. A Bronx-born, Virgin Island-reared 

performer, she incorporates the textures of 

Caribbean performance with African and American 

aesthetic sensibilities. Oliver has been awarded 

and/or commissioned by numerous national 

foundations and performance venues. In 1996, 

she received a New York Dance and Performance 

(“Bessie”) Award for her evening-length work 

Death’s Door. In 2000, she was named Outstanding 

Young Choreographer by reviewer Frank Werner in 

the German magazine Ballet Tanz. In 2004, Oliver 

collaborated with the German filmmaker Marcus 

Behrens of the European Arts Channel Canal Arte to 

adapt her evening-length work AfroSocialiteLifeDiva 

(ASLD) to film. ASLD aired on Arte in France, Italy, 

and Germany in fall 2005 and on 3sat in Germany, 

Austria, and Switzerland in spring 2006. In 2009, 

she was nominated for a Cal Arts Alpert Award. 

Oliver has danced with Theatre Dance Inc. and 

the Caribbean Dance Company of St. Croix, Virgin 

Islands, as well as with independent choreographers 

and companies in New York, such as the David 

Gordon Pick Up Co.; Prowess DanceArts Collective; 

Ron K. Brown/Evidence, A Dance Company; and, 

most recently, the Bebe Miller Company. As an 

actor, she has performed in Ntozake Shange’s A 

Photograph: Lovers in Motion; a number of Laurie 

Carlos’ works, including the “Bessie” Award-winning 

White Chocolate for My Father; and works by Greg 

Tate and Ione. In addition to her performance 

credits, Oliver holds a PhD from the Department 

of Performance Studies at New York University’s 

Tisch School of the Arts. Her scholarly work focuses 

on performance in the Anglophone Caribbean, 

particularly the US Virgin Islands. Her book Queen 

of the Virgins: Pageantry and Black Womanhood in 

the Caribbean has been recently published by the 

University Press of Mississippi (2009). 

Emily Brainerd (Technical Director) is in her first 

year of pursuing an MFA in scenic technology at the 

U of I. Prior to this, she spent four years working 

as the technical director at Iowa State University in 

Ames. She has also worked as a shop supervisor 

at the American Players Theatre in Spring Green, 

Wisconsin. Her previous credits at the U of I include 

Killer Joe and The Marriage of Figaro. 

Devin Carroll (Lighting Designer) is making his 

design debut at Krannert Center. He previously 

has been the assistant lighting designer for the 

Department of Theatre productions of Anon(ymous) 

and Necessary Targets. He has previously designed 

at the Athenaeum Theatre in Chicago for an original 

musical called A Son at the Front. He has also 

worked in the Armory Free Theatre on numerous 

occasions, most recently as the lighting designer 

for The First Celestial Adventures of Mr. Antipyrine. 

For the last few summers, Devin has worked as a 

counselor, carpenter, and electrician for a middle 

school theatre camp. However, this summer he will 

be working as a production intern for the Jacob’s 

Pillow dance company in Becket, Massachusetts. 

René Chadwick (Hair/Makeup Master) came to 

the U of I in 2004. She has designed professionally 

for the Nashville Ballet Company, Nashville and 

Illinois Shakespeare Festivals, Celebration Theatre 

Company, American Negro Playwright Theatre, 

Epiphany Dance Company, Hope Summer 

Repertory Theatre, and UI-based Summer Studio 

Theatre Company. René’s academic design credits 

include works for the U of I, the University of Utah, 

Tennessee State University, Belmont University, 

Tennessee’s Governor’s School for the Arts, and 

Middle Tennessee State University. 

Daniel R. James (Dance Production Manager) 

enjoys his second career in the arts after working in 

the maritime business as a sailor, tugboat operator, 

and steamship agency accountant. He has designed 

lighting for dance, stage, and performance art 

around the country since 1990. Before coming to 

the U of I, James had been the lighting designer, 

technical director, and stage manager for the 

Department of Dance and Choreography at Virginia 

Commonwealth University in Richmond. He is one 

of the founding members and served as lighting 

designer for the Sojourn Theatre Company of 

Portland, Oregon. After a hiatus of four years, 

James returned to the Weathervane Theatre in 

the White Mountains of New Hampshire for the 

summer 2004 season. He has returned each year 

since as the resident lighting designer. He has 

14 15

Production staff 

designed lights at the Weathervane for productions 

of West Side Story, Sweeney Todd, Miss Saigon, The 

Producers, Proof, Doubt, The Full Monty, and many 

more in alternating repertory. He has a BA in dance 

ethnology from San Francisco State University and 

an MFA in technical theatre/lighting design from 

Virginia Tech. 

Brianna Johnson (Lighting Designer) is a secondyear 

MFA lighting design candidate. She got her BA 

in theatre design from Alma College, where she had 

the opportunity to design many shows for theatre, 

dance, and concerts. At the U of I, she has designed 

Anton Chekhov’s Three Sisters, Hip-Hop Project: 

Insight into the Hip-Hop Generation, Gum, More 

Than They That Watch for the Morning (an Oscar 

Wilde adaptation for the Armory Free Theatre), and 

most recently the 2009 Fall Dance Finals. 

Joshua Kaiser (Stage Manager) is a junior in the 

stage management program at the U of I. This is his 

first stage management position, and he is honored 

to be sharing it with Katie Lichtenstein. Joshua has 

worked as an assistant stage manager on opera, 

dance, and theatre productions at Krannert Center, 

and he will be stage managing at the Interlochen 

Center for the Arts this summer. 

Katie Lichtenstein (Stage Manager) is a senior 

in the BFA program and is proud to be spending 

her last production at Krannert Center sharing the 

booth with her friend and colleague Josh Kaiser. 

Throughout her developing experience in dance 

production, including work at Jacob’s Pillow, the 

American College Dance Festival Association, and 

almost every Studiodance show in the last three 

years, Katie has learned that dance is where her 

heart lies. She hopes to continue her work in the 

dance world as she plans to move to Chicago in the 

fall. 

Elizabeth Parthum (Sound Designer) is a first-year 

MFA sound design student at the U of I. Originally 

from Chesterfield, Virginia, she completed her 

undergraduate degree at DeSales University in 

Allentown, Pennsylvania. She recently worked as 

the sound designer for Killer Joe and assisted on 

sound design for The Crucible and A History of the 

American Film. 

Julie Rundell (Properties Master) has been the 

assistant properties director since 1990. Before 

coming to Urbana, she worked at theatres in North 

Carolina, Michigan, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. 

Occasionally, her work can also be seen in Chicago. 

She has a BFA from the North Carolina School of the 

Arts. 

Annaliese Weber (Costume Design Consultant) is 

a second-year MFA candidate in costume design. 

She received her BA in theatre from Longwood 

University in Farmville, Virginia. Her most recent 

designs include Always . . . Patsy Cline, The Golden 

Age of Broadway: A Cabaret, and Broadway Today: 

A Cabaret at the Post Playhouse Summer Rep in 

Crawford, Nebraska. Other costume design credits 

include Three Days of Rain at the Armory Free 

Theatre and Yonder Mountain and The Longwood 

Writers Show, both at Longwood University. She 

has also served as an assistant costume designer for 

Annie Get Your Gun and Hello, Dolly! at the Post 

Playhouse and for Hip-Hop Project: Insight into the 

Hip-Hop Generation, Three Sisters, and Roméo et 

Juliette at the U of I. 

Concert Director 

Dance Production Manager 

Stage Managers 

Assistant Stage Manager 

Technical Director 

Lighting Designers 


Properties Master 

Costume Design Consultant 

Hair/Makeup Master 

Dance Department Video Coordinator 

Dance Assistant Stage Manager 

Stage/Properties Running Crew 

Costume Running Crew 

Lighting Board Operator 

Sound Board Operator 

Patch Board Operator 

Video Running Crew 

Cynthia Oliver 

Daniel R. James 

Joshua Kaiser 

Katie Lichtenstein 

Ari Wartell 

Emily Brainerd 

Devin Carroll 


Elizabeth Parthum 

Julie Rundell 

Annaliese Weber 

René Chadwick 

Joseph Hutto 

Kelsey Middleton 

Jessica Cornish 

Amanda Gross 

Allyson Lai 

Brittany Sylvestrak 

Melissa Pillarella 

Heather Smith 

Kristen Walterman 

Sanda Saveanu 

Kathryn Williams 

Nora Tonge 

Nichole Johnson 

Stephen West 

16 17

STUDIODANCE II Dance at Illinois Series | Dance at Illinois | Studio ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?