Dance COLEctive in residence April 23-29

Dance COLEctive, a modern dance company based in Chicago, will conduct a series of activities and performances at Knox College and in the community during a week-long residency, April 23-29.

"We've been planning the community components of this residency for more than a year," said Jennifer Smith, associate professor of dance at Knox. Cole, Smith and Kathleen Ridlon, assistant profressor of dance at Knox, all have extensive experience teaching dance as a community outreach. Ridlon also is coordinator of the Knox College Center for Community Service, and has been leading dance workshops with Knox students and the local Boys and Girls Club for the past two years, through her company, Midwest Dance Group.

Dance COLEctive will lead workshops with the Galesburg Boys & Girls Club on April 25, and the Galesburg Initiative for Girls program on April 27.

The residency will culminate in two performances of "Written on the Body" at 7:30 p.m., Thursday and Friday, April 28 and 29 in Studio Theatre, Ford Center for the Fine Arts, on the Knox campus in Galesburg. The performances are free and open to the public.

"Working with the Galesburg community is a way for Knox students and the community to see themselves, each other, and the field of dance, in a new light," Smith said.

Dance COLEctive also will participate in classes and workshops throughout the week with Knox students. "Jennifer and I have been integrating the opportunities with this residency into our classes all term," Ridlon said. "Working with professional dancers is an incredible opportunity for Knox students to develop their own voices as artists."

Composed by Cole, "Written on the Body" is inspired by the writings and lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte, three English sisters who published novels and poetry under male pseudonyms in the 1830s.

"Written on the Body utilizes the Bronte's hidden lives as a framework for exploration of the male and female representation of ideas through the medium of dance," Cole said. The performance features original music by Kevin O'Donnell, costumes by Atalee Judy and a videoscape by Michael Cole.

"Dance COLEctive is one of Chicago's premiere dance companies," Smith said. "They've developed cutting-edge choreography, innovative collaborations, and creative site-specific-works that challenge our assumptions about how dance is presented."

Dance COLEctive, celebrating 15 years of working in Chicago, was highlighted earlier this year in a Chicago Tribune feature, "Chicago's Dance Renaissance." The company was formed in March 1996 by Cole, who has degrees from the Alabama School of Fine Arts, Columbia College in Chicago, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dance COLEctive previously performed at Knox in 2003.

Cole has taught at the Alabama Ballet, American College Dance Festival, Ballet Tennessee, and schools, colleges and universities. Her works have been commissioned by the Alabama Ballet, Springfield Ballet Company, Sanspointe Dance Company, Birmingham Museum of Art, Girl's Preparatory School of Tennessee, Beloit College and Columbia College. She teaches at Northwestern University and Columbia College Chicago.

The Dance COLEctive residency is sponsored by the Knox College Dance Program, with support from Terpsichore Dance Collective, the John & Elaine Fellowes Fund, Cultural Events Committee, Karil Kirk-Ortner Dance Fund, Student Senate, Center for Community Service and the Dean of the College.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 48 states and 51 countries. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.