West Chester University Dance Company Presents Grounded Bodies November 10 – 11
West Chester University’s Department of Theatre & Dance and the University Dance Company presents the fall dance concert Grounded Bodies on Friday, November 10, at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, November 11, at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., in the Madeleine Wing Adler Theatre, Swope Music Building and Performing Arts Center, 817 S. High Street, West Chester. General admission tickets are $12 for adults and $7 for children and are available at the door or at https://wcupatix.com/theatreanddance.
Grounded Bodies showcases the artistry of Faculty Director and Choreographer Gretchen Studlien-Webb, Faculty Choreographer maria Urrutia, Guest Choreographers Dinita and Kyle Clark, and student choreographers Madison Hiller, Mary Lynch, Sara Magrino, Sophia Mattingly, Holly McMenamin, Emily Spatz, and Molly Thorpe.
This concert pays tribute to the 50th Anniversary of Hip-Hop with the finale piece, an energetic and entertaining dance choreographed by guest choreographers Dinita and Kyle Clark. With an all-female cast of 72 student performers, many of the pieces incorporate feminist themes for the dancers to interpret.
Guest Artist Biographies:
Kyle “JustSole” Clark and Dinita “Queen Di” Clark are both award-winning dancers, choreographers, educators, street dance competitors, and cultural organizers who have dedicated over 20+ years to the cultivation, transmission, and preservation of Hip Hop/Street dance forms. They’ve toured nationally and internationally with Rennie Harris Puremovement for nine years as Principals & Rehearsal Directors. They represented the U.S.A. as Cultural Ambassadors three times via The Obama Administration and Next Level USA. They’ve performed, taught and competed internationally in over a dozen countries. They’ve judged and won national and international street dance competitions including Juste Debout USA and House Dance Forever. Over 10+ years, they’ve developed multiple entities that have done work across the country. They created Just Sole! Street Dance Theater Company (Performance), Funky Sole Fundamentals (Education), Groove Factory (Intensive), SoleFull (Party), and The Sole Open (Battle). Some of their honors include both winning UArts President’s Distinguished Teaching Award, Philly Rocky Award, Pew Grant and Fellowship Award and Leeway Transformation Award. After teaching at UArts, Temple, Drexel, and Swarthmore as adjuncts for 10 years, Both Kyle and Dinita earned their MFA’s from UArts. Kyle is a VA Professor at Swarthmore College and Dinita is an Associate Professor at UArts.