Senior Spotlight: Shaakirah Bradshaw

Graduating senior Shaakirah Bradshaw is a creative force to keep on watching!  With four honor cords, this English Major and Dance Minor has turned some head in both arenas.  Recently initiated into the International English Honor Society, and closing the 6th Annual Dance Minor Concert with her work Meet My Emotions, she is highly expressive, full of vision, and has a desire to continue creating thoughtful works for public consumption. In her words:

"After graduation I plan to return home to Philadelphia where I will continue my training in dance. I also want to audition for many dance companies, go on tour, and just share what I love to do."

Bradshaw was recently selected to learn a dance work created and choreographed by the highly acclaimed Artistic Director of the Koresh Dance Company.  This work was performed here at BU as part of the Celebrity Artist Series.  She reflects on that opportunity:

"Dancing with Koresh was one of the best experiences I had here at BU. At the audition I was very nervous but excited at the same time. I just had to remember that this is something I do every day, I just had to relax and do what I love. Once I got in I was very happy and ready to work hard. In practice I worked a lot on finding the meaning of the dance within myself. I did not truly find the meaning of the dance until the company came for the performance. Seeing them rehearse on stage, working together so well,  and dancing with such grace and meaning made me truly understand what I wanted to do in life, and I finally understood the meaning of the dance for me. I am so thankful that I got the chance to dance for Koresh because it made me realize that dance is all I want to do in life. In the end I received a scholarship to dance at the Koresh School of Dance for the summer! I am really excited and cannot wait for new experiences!"

As her dance mentor, I couldn't be more proud of her bold nature, her drive for excellence, and her unique sense of artistry.  She will continue to move and change the world.

Submitted by Professor Julie Petry, MFA

To see the 6th annual Dance Minor Concert featuring Shaakirah's work, click here.

Brittany Churbika produced a video about Bloomsburg University's Dance Minor. Check it out here.

BU Grad Dances to Fame

Christina Davis is a talented 2013 graduate of Bloomsburg University who continues to dance her way to success across the country. She recently reflected on the impact that her education at Bloomsburg has had on her career:

“My journey as a BU Dance minor has shaped and prepared me for many events and opportunities that I have experienced as a graduate. Leaving BU with determination and prep for the dance world, I took my talents and knowledge and traveled to the state of California as a professional dancer. I was able to use everything from performance, test, and class videos to land work with amazing artists such as Emmy nominated Shane Sparks from So You Think You Can Dance, hip hop artist Lil Mama, Eric Bellinger, Meagan Good, and many more. I have been featured on a soon to be aired television show The Real Dancers of North Hollywood. I landed a job touring around China with major artists. My journey continues. I have been to auditions and strive for the best. The Bloomsburg Dance Minor taught me to think outside the box and go outside of my comfort zone in order to succeed in this industry. I am excited to continue to make dreams come true and to call myself an alumnus of Bloomsburg University!”

To watch Christina at work, check out the piece created about her after she won BET’s Lens on Talent Dance competition:  http://www.bet.com/shows/lens-on-talent/news/christina-davis-wins-lens-on-talent-dance.html

Taste of the Arts: BU Dance Minors prepare

BU Dance Minors: Legendary Director/Choreographer Bob Fosse is known for his quirky, witty, sizzlin' numbers.  From the popular Broadway musical Chicago, students Christina Davis and Amber Michael perform a dance reconstruction of Fosse's "Hot Honey Rag."

An afternoon of free entertainment, A Taste of the Arts, is planned for the Moose Exchange in downtown Bloomsburg, Saturday, Feb. 23, from 2 to 5 p.m. Sponsored by Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s College of Liberal Arts, the event is organized by the university’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts, which helps to promote the arts in the community. Join us!

A Taste of the Arts!

BU College of Liberal Arts hosts visual and performing arts showcase

BLOOMSBURG — An afternoon of free entertainment, A Taste of the Arts, is planned for the Moose Exchange in downtown Bloomsburg, Saturday, Feb. 23, from 2 to 5 p.m. Sponsored by Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s College of Liberal Arts, the event is organized by the university’s Center for Visual and Performing Arts, which helps to promote the arts in the community.

Dr. Clickard rehearses the BU Jazz Ensemble

Students and faculty in the art and art history, English, and music, theatre and dance departments will showcase their talents in the Moose Exchange. While art exhibitions, theatrical productions, dance performances, recitals and other musical events, all open to the public, are held throughout the academic year, most of these events take place on campus.  A Taste of the Arts, now in its second year, brings students’ talents to a central venue for the community to enjoy, said James Brown, dean of the College of Liberal Arts.

“We had a spectacular response last year,” Brown said. “There were more than 500 people in attendance, and the interaction with community members was wonderful. We hope to entertain even more local residents at this year’s Taste of the Arts.”

The idea behind the event is to offer a variety of arts experiences with new performances beginning every 10 minutes. A Taste of the Arts will feature music by the Jazz Ensemble and Husky Singers, dance and theatrical performances, and poetry readings, along with fine arts exhibitions, demonstrations and talks.

“Over the past year, the Center for the Visual and Performing Arts has hosted several programs at the Moose Exchange in an effort to reach out to the community,” Brown said. “A Taste of the Arts is a distinctive event and our students and faculty are looking forward to participating in it once again.”

Visitors may attend any portion of the three-hour program. Refreshments will be available. Details can be found on the CVPA website, www.bloomu.edu/cvpa.

For information, contact Nawal Bonomo, assistant to the dean, College of Liberal Arts, (570) 389-4725 or nbonomo@bloomu.edu.

This Wednesday: Piano Concert with Poetry, Live Drawing, and Dance

Charisse Baldoria

Multi-awarded pianist Dr. Charisse Baldoria is giving a concert on Wednesday, November 7, 7:30 p.m. at Carver Hall, Bloomsburg University.

To top it off, renowned fellow professors from the College of Liberal Arts are joining in with poetry, live drawing, and dance, creating subtle interactions with the music:  Performance artist Hunter Fine will recite works by Federico García Lorca and Rainer Maria Rilke.  Artist Lisa Corine von Koch will create a drawing onstage.  Dancer Julie Petry will perform to arresting rhythms and harmonies.  It would be the first ever collaboration of its kind.

Performing warhorses of the piano repertoire, Dr. Baldoria will play classical works inspired by the world’s varied musical traditions:  Spanish pieces from Albéniz’ monumental Iberia, two Scarlatti sonatas (one in fandango style), three Cuban pieces, and a set inspired by Southeast Asian gongs—featuring works by Debussy, Filipino composer Ramón Santos, and New Zealander Gareth Farr.

Julie Petry

In creating her programs, Dr. Baldoria taps into her complex Filipino identity.  She juxtaposes the indigenous with the colonial, performing music from and inspired by Southeast Asia and Spain, of which the Philippines was a colony for 333 years.  A seasoned performer, Charisse has performed in four continents and won awards in international competitions, including the San Antonio, Hilton Head Island, and Sydney international piano competitions.  She first came to the United States as a Fulbright scholar from the Philippines and got her masters and doctorate from the University of Michigan.  She directs the piano program at Bloomsburg University.

Julie Petry is a multi-Emmy nominated dancer-choreographer formerly based in the Chicago area.  She has worked with PBS/Heartsong Communications; Dance Chicago; and the Summer Palace, Centerlight, and Metropolis Performing Arts Center theatres, among others.  She earned her masters at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Lisa Corine von Koch

Lisa Corine von Koch’s work features sculpture, performance and installation, incorporating ecological practices into art making, and expressing intersections between nature and culture.  She received her masters in Painting and Drawing from Arizona State University and has done numerous exhibitions around the western United States.




A performance artist and communication scholar, Dr. Hunter H. Fine has worked on solo and ensemble shows in the Marion Klineau Theater in Southern Illinois, the Playwrights' Center in Minneapolis, and the Marsh in San Francisco.  His recent scholarship has revolved around the performative constructions of everyday social and civic spaces.

     The concert is free and open to the public.

Arts in Autumn

Bloomsburg University's Center for Visual and Performing Arts is hosting a fundraising dinner on October 21, 2012 featuring a delectable menu as well as an art exhibit and literary, musical, theatrical, and dance performances featuring some of BU's most talented students. Seating is limited and by advance ticket only. Join us!

Achievements

Mass Communications major Natalie Wagner is one of four students across the PA State System of Higher Education to receive one of the first William D. Greenlee Scholarships. Ms. Wagner, of Milton, is dual majoring in anthropology. Congratulations!

Anne Dyer Stuart, English Department, won the 2012 New South Prize Prize for her essay "Idiopathic." She received a $1000 award, and her essay will be published in the Fall 2012 issue of New South. She recently read from her novel at the KGB Bar in New York City as part of Columbia Faculty Selects. She also has poems forthcoming in Third Coast, Midway Journal, and Earth's Daughters. 

The BroadwayWorld Student Center recently featured the students and faculty of BU's Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance on its website, providing valuable national exposure. 

In April, Stephen Whitworth, department of English, delivered a paper on "Psychoanalysis and Teaching" at the Transitions and Transactions Conference at CUNY; he delivered another paper at Fordham in New York in April on Baroque poetry and psychosis at the annual conference of the Affiliated Psychoanalytic Workshops. Two of his articles on psychoanalysis are now featured at on the online journal of the Washington D.C. Lacanian Forum.