Company History
Formed in the spring of 1985, Ann Arbor Dance Works is a collective of members of the University of Michigan Dance faculty. The company is dedicated to the collaborative process and shares a diverse repertory with audiences. In addition to producing works by resident choreographers, the company has hosted many guest choreographers from the US and abroad who have been in residence teaching and setting works on the company members. Guest designers, poets, videographers, visual artists, and composers have collaborated with company members, contributing to the creation of innovative and multi-layered works of resonance, depth, and beauty. Since its inception, Ann Arbor Dance Works has produced choreography to critical and popular acclaim in New York City, throughout the Midwest, and internationally. The company has also produced unique projects in the Ann Arbor community, including the creation of several large-scale dances in non-proscenium settings.
Highlights of the company's history:
2019: Performances of Belle Isle and Beyond, a site dance performance created in collaboration with Detroit's Big Red Wall Dance Company. Presented at the Belle Isle Nature Center, Belle Isle Detroit, June 8 & 9
2018: Performances of works by Serafin Aponte-Najera, Charli Brissey, Corrine Imberski and Ayako Kato, Jennifer Harge, and Dorish Humphrey, Betty Pease Studio Theater
2017: Performances of works by NYC artist Shannon Gillen, Tzveta Kassabova, Peter Sparling, Ali Woerner and Thayer Jonutz, Colin (Mysliwiec) Raybin and Michael Phillips, and Sean Hoskins and Molly Paberzs.
2016: Performances of works by NYC artists and alumni Sarah Konner and Austin Selden; international artists Alessio Silvestrin (Italy/Japan); Ni Jin (China); and resident faculty Missy Beck, Bill DeYoung, and Sean Hoskins. Betty Pease Studio Theater.
2015: 30th Anniversary Season, A Feast of Dances, performed in indoor and outdoor sites throughout the University of Michigan Museum of Art. Encore performance in Betty Pease Studio Theater. Company performance at St. Clair County Community College, Port Huron, MI.
2014: Company presents Into the Wind, a cross-regional interdisciplinary performance inspired by the potential for harnessing wind energy in the Great Lakes. Previews: Betty Pease Studio Theater, Jun 2014; Premiere: Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center, Muskegon, MI, August 22 & 23, 2014.
2013: Company presents Within/Beyond, an evening of dances inspired by new frontiers in scientific research, performed in the lobby of the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.
2012: Company presents Corsets, Grains, & Greenways: Dancing Downtown Ann Arbor, featuring 40 dancers and singers and five community partners. Presented in sites throughout downtown Ann Arbor. Company performances at Glacier Hills Senior Living Center and Betty Pease Studio Theater
2011: Company performances at Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor; Glacier Hills Senior Living Center; Mitchell Elementary School
2010: 25th anniversary performances at the Duderstadt Video and Performance Studio; Glacier Hills Senior Center; and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
2009: Company performances in the Duderstadt Video and Performance Studio and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
2008: Company performances in the Duderstadt Video and Performance Studio, and residencies in three Ann Arbor public schools. Inauguration of Ann Arbor Dance Works Spring Term courses
2007: Company performances in the UM Matthaei Botanical Gardens Conservatory
2005: Company performances Bryan Art and Education Auditorium, Bryan, Ohio, and the Duderstadt Center Video Studio, Ann Arbor
2004: Company performances at Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
2003: Company performances at UM Matthaei Botanical Gardens, February and June
2002: Company performances at the UM Museum of Art, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Betty Pease Studio Theater, and UM Nichols Arboretum
2000: Company performances in the UM Museum of Art, the Betty Pease Studio Theater, and the Toledo Museum of Art
1998: Company performances at the International Computer Music Conference, Power Center, Washtenaw Community College Towlsey Auditorium, and Betty Pease Studio Theater
1997: Performances in the Betty Pease Studio Theater and UM’s Burton Lawn at President Bollinger's Inaugural Celebrations
1996: Performances and lecture demonstrations in the Duderstadt Center Video Studio, Betty Pease Studio Theater, and UM Residential College Auditorium
1995: Company performances at UM Slusser Gallery and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
1994: Performance at groundbreaking ceremony for the Duderstadt Center
1993: Company performances in NYC; Power Center and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
1992: Company performances in NYC, Merce Cunningham Studio, and UM Museum of Art
1990: Company performances Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, MI; Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
1989: Company season McIntosh Theater, Ann Arbor
1988: 11-city company tour of Mexico
1987: Company seasons in NYC; Toronto; Stockton State College, NJ; McIntosh Theater, Ann Arbor; Detroit Music Hall
1986: Company seasons in NYC, Merce Cunningham Studio; McIntosh Theater, Ann Arbor. Stephen Rush joins company as music director.
1985-1992: Midwest tours to such locations as Hope College, Holland MI; Grand Haven, MI; Sylvania, Ohio; Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI; Muskingum University, New Concord,OH, Petosky, MI; Alma College, MI and Albion College, MI.
1985: Company formed by Mary Cole, Gay Delanghe, Bill DeYoung, Jessica Fogel, Marsha Pabalis, Peter Sparling, and Linda Spriggs. Company seasons in NYC (Marymount Manhattan College) and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
Founding member and Company Lighting Designer: Mary Cole
Ann Arbor Dance Works has hosted international and national guest artists, including:
Monica Bill Barnes, Sidra Bell, Emily Berry, Barbara Bombicz, Maggie Boogaart, Jeanne Parsons Bostian, Catlin Cobb, Lindsay Dietz, Carolyn Dorfman, Heidi Durning, Willi Feuer, Cristina Gigirey/Danza Abend Costa Rice, Alan Good, Bipasha Guptaroy, Daniel Gwirtzman, Lucas Hoving, Corinne Imberski, Ni Jin, Kimberly Jones, Jason Marchant, Susan Matheke, Daniel McCusker, Ruth Leney Midkiff, Danys "La Mora" Perez, Dana Reitz, Christina Sears-Etter, Alessio Silvestrin, Augusto Soledade, Biza Sompa, Leyya Tawil, Carol Teitelbaum, Sally Wallace, Edisa Weeks, and Beth Wielinski Freiman.
Guest designers, dancers, writers, poets, videographers, composers:
Sara Adlerstein, Robert Alexander, David Biedenbender, Alan Billings, David Borden, Patricia Bova, Karen Brown, Michelle Chamuel, Alice Crawford, Aaron Gold, Michael Gould, John Gutoskey, Lynn Holbrook, Susannah Keith, Russ Kuhner, David T. Little, Christian Matjias Mecca, Stephen Rush, Barbara Magee, Kasia Mrozewska, Cynthia Pachikara, Marcia Polenberg, Marianetta Porter, Ted Ramsay, Terri Sarris, John Schak, Lynn Slaughter, Sherry Smith, Keith Taylor, Mel Tomlinson, Henry Van Kuiken, Martha Graham Wiseman, Suzanne Young.
2018: Performances of works by Serafin Aponte-Najera, Charli Brissey, Corrine Imberski and Ayako Kato, Jennifer Harge, and Dorish Humphrey, Betty Pease Studio Theater
2017: Performances of works by NYC artist Shannon Gillen, Tzveta Kassabova, Peter Sparling, Ali Woerner and Thayer Jonutz, Colin (Mysliwiec) Raybin and Michael Phillips, and Sean Hoskins and Molly Paberzs.
2016: Performances of works by NYC artists and alumni Sarah Konner and Austin Selden; international artists Alessio Silvestrin (Italy/Japan); Ni Jin (China); and resident faculty Missy Beck, Bill DeYoung, and Sean Hoskins. Betty Pease Studio Theater.
2015: 30th Anniversary Season, A Feast of Dances, performed in indoor and outdoor sites throughout the University of Michigan Museum of Art. Encore performance in Betty Pease Studio Theater. Company performance at St. Clair County Community College, Port Huron, MI.
2014: Company presents Into the Wind, a cross-regional interdisciplinary performance inspired by the potential for harnessing wind energy in the Great Lakes. Previews: Betty Pease Studio Theater, Jun 2014; Premiere: Michigan Alternative and Renewable Energy Center, Muskegon, MI, August 22 & 23, 2014.
2013: Company presents Within/Beyond, an evening of dances inspired by new frontiers in scientific research, performed in the lobby of the University of Michigan Museum of Natural History.
2012: Company presents Corsets, Grains, & Greenways: Dancing Downtown Ann Arbor, featuring 40 dancers and singers and five community partners. Presented in sites throughout downtown Ann Arbor. Company performances at Glacier Hills Senior Living Center and Betty Pease Studio Theater
2011: Company performances at Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor; Glacier Hills Senior Living Center; Mitchell Elementary School
2010: 25th anniversary performances at the Duderstadt Video and Performance Studio; Glacier Hills Senior Center; and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
2009: Company performances in the Duderstadt Video and Performance Studio and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
2008: Company performances in the Duderstadt Video and Performance Studio, and residencies in three Ann Arbor public schools. Inauguration of Ann Arbor Dance Works Spring Term courses
2007: Company performances in the UM Matthaei Botanical Gardens Conservatory
2005: Company performances Bryan Art and Education Auditorium, Bryan, Ohio, and the Duderstadt Center Video Studio, Ann Arbor
2004: Company performances at Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
2003: Company performances at UM Matthaei Botanical Gardens, February and June
2002: Company performances at the UM Museum of Art, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Betty Pease Studio Theater, and UM Nichols Arboretum
2000: Company performances in the UM Museum of Art, the Betty Pease Studio Theater, and the Toledo Museum of Art
1998: Company performances at the International Computer Music Conference, Power Center, Washtenaw Community College Towlsey Auditorium, and Betty Pease Studio Theater
1997: Performances in the Betty Pease Studio Theater and UM’s Burton Lawn at President Bollinger's Inaugural Celebrations
1996: Performances and lecture demonstrations in the Duderstadt Center Video Studio, Betty Pease Studio Theater, and UM Residential College Auditorium
1995: Company performances at UM Slusser Gallery and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
1994: Performance at groundbreaking ceremony for the Duderstadt Center
1993: Company performances in NYC; Power Center and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
1992: Company performances in NYC, Merce Cunningham Studio, and UM Museum of Art
1990: Company performances Interlochen Arts Academy, Interlochen, MI; Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
1989: Company season McIntosh Theater, Ann Arbor
1988: 11-city company tour of Mexico
1987: Company seasons in NYC; Toronto; Stockton State College, NJ; McIntosh Theater, Ann Arbor; Detroit Music Hall
1986: Company seasons in NYC, Merce Cunningham Studio; McIntosh Theater, Ann Arbor. Stephen Rush joins company as music director.
1985-1992: Midwest tours to such locations as Hope College, Holland MI; Grand Haven, MI; Sylvania, Ohio; Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI; Muskingum University, New Concord,OH, Petosky, MI; Alma College, MI and Albion College, MI.
1985: Company formed by Mary Cole, Gay Delanghe, Bill DeYoung, Jessica Fogel, Marsha Pabalis, Peter Sparling, and Linda Spriggs. Company seasons in NYC (Marymount Manhattan College) and Betty Pease Studio Theater, Ann Arbor
Founding member and Company Lighting Designer: Mary Cole
Ann Arbor Dance Works has hosted international and national guest artists, including:
Monica Bill Barnes, Sidra Bell, Emily Berry, Barbara Bombicz, Maggie Boogaart, Jeanne Parsons Bostian, Catlin Cobb, Lindsay Dietz, Carolyn Dorfman, Heidi Durning, Willi Feuer, Cristina Gigirey/Danza Abend Costa Rice, Alan Good, Bipasha Guptaroy, Daniel Gwirtzman, Lucas Hoving, Corinne Imberski, Ni Jin, Kimberly Jones, Jason Marchant, Susan Matheke, Daniel McCusker, Ruth Leney Midkiff, Danys "La Mora" Perez, Dana Reitz, Christina Sears-Etter, Alessio Silvestrin, Augusto Soledade, Biza Sompa, Leyya Tawil, Carol Teitelbaum, Sally Wallace, Edisa Weeks, and Beth Wielinski Freiman.
Guest designers, dancers, writers, poets, videographers, composers:
Sara Adlerstein, Robert Alexander, David Biedenbender, Alan Billings, David Borden, Patricia Bova, Karen Brown, Michelle Chamuel, Alice Crawford, Aaron Gold, Michael Gould, John Gutoskey, Lynn Holbrook, Susannah Keith, Russ Kuhner, David T. Little, Christian Matjias Mecca, Stephen Rush, Barbara Magee, Kasia Mrozewska, Cynthia Pachikara, Marcia Polenberg, Marianetta Porter, Ted Ramsay, Terri Sarris, John Schak, Lynn Slaughter, Sherry Smith, Keith Taylor, Mel Tomlinson, Henry Van Kuiken, Martha Graham Wiseman, Suzanne Young.
Legacy of Gay Delanghe
Gay Delanghe (1941-2006) was a founding and integral member of Ann Arbor Dance Works from its inception until her death. The generous funding received from the Delanghe Endowment has enabled Ann Arbor Dance Works to expand its repertory and offer substantial residencies with guest artists, a plan Delanghe had long envisioned. Delanghe believed in nurturing not only the new talents rising within the ranks of UM's dance majors; she also continuously supported alumni who have gone on to make their mark in the field as prominent dancers and choreographers. Since her death, the company has featured several guest artists alumni who were her students.