The Fort Wayne Dance Collective is looking for a talented professional to manage and advance our large and diverse outreach program. We need someone who isn’t afraid to network professionally, write detailed grants, follow up with outreach inquiries, manage, nurture and evaluate artists, and even just make coffee now and then.

The applicant chosen for this position will have completed a four-year degree (or commensurate experience), have strong writing and communication skills, possess superior time management and prioritizing abilities, and harbor an interest and appreciation for dance, movement, wellness, and the arts. Previous experience with nonprofit organizations, creative or grant-writing skills, and an understanding of Macintosh computer systems are a plus. The candidate must be flexible, approachable, and easily co-exist with his or her fellow directors.

If selected, you will work in a fun, laid-back, artsy and respectful environment, learn something new every day (anything from hanging stage lights to scrapbooking), hob-knob with internationally-renowned artists from time to time, and have all the dance and wellness classes, and free popcorn you want (there’s an independent movie theatre in the same building).

This position is budgeted for 30 hours-per-week, with a salary of approximately $24,000 a year. Health benefits are included and are employer-paid. Salary is non-negotiable.

Please submit cover letter, resume and at least two professional references to Andy Welfle, Managing Director via email at andy [at] fwdc [dot] org with “Outreach Director Application” in the subject line, no later than Monday, July 26 at 5:00 pm.

Job responsibilities include:

• Seek out new outreach education and performance opportunities including off-site teaching, as well as opportunities for Fort Wayne Taiko and touring company performances.
• Coordinate and produce contracts for outreach services and evaluate the outcomes.
• Assist in the development of outreach marketing activities and strategies.
• Coordinate special projects in conjunction with management staff.
• Manage and negotiate contracts for outreach teachers and outreach sites.
• Assist with long-range planning and annual budget.
• Collaborate with the management staff and outside professionals in securing outreach funds through grant writing, proofing and managing, as well as fundraising.
• Act as staff liaison with the Personnel committee and Education committee.
• Serve on the Artist Panel Committee and the Fund Development Committee.
• Lead the annual Guest Artist Steering Committee.
• Manage the Guest Artist intern.
• Manage on-site volunteers.
• Secure allies in the arts, multi-cultural and disabled communities.
• Submit monthly reports to Board of Directors and participate in board meetings.
• Attend conferences and workshops that relate to the position as determined by management staff.
• Nurture the growth of outreach instructors.
• Assist with hospitality needs for on-site workshops.

To qualify for this program, students must be between the ages of 6-17 and have a sponsor who is responsible for transportation and moral support of the student’s interest in dance. This person can be a parent, family friend, or other significant adult in the student’s life.

No dance experience is necessary, but hard work and dedication is mandatory.

To register for the audition, call the Fort Wayne Dance Collective at 424-6574 or email us via the contact page. You must obtain a scholarship application form prior to auditioning, and submit it by Monday August 16

One of our goals at the Dance Collective is to foster burgeoning local dance and movement initiatives. A new called, called [undefined]movers, is a comptemporary dance company formed by Kristin Benner, Chelsea Harkelroad and Janae Stewart, who met at Hope College.

They’ll be performing in our space in the Elliot Studio next Saturday, July 17 at 7:00 pm. From their press release:

The performance will consist of five diverse contemporary dance pieces. Ms. Benner choreographed two pieces, one of which entitled “Kicks and Gigs” was originally created and performed for the student choreographed and student led dance performance at Hope College. The second piece she choreographed is called “Amidst”, which is a solo performed to live acoustic guitar played by Adam Nelson. Ms. Harkelroad choreographed a duet that Ms. Stewart has reset entitled “Aviemore” exploring the journey of a relationship through movement as well as the finale, “Scarce”. A collaboration jazz piece called “After Hours” is a piece coming to life before the audience eyes as the dances improvise to the original jazz score by a jazz band. The musicians, Mike Bass, Kin Fong, Mike Reynolds, and James Sa recorded music specifically for this performance called “After Hours”. Harkelroad will also present a work-in-progress called “You Say”.

Tickets are a steal at $2, and are only available at the door. We hope you can make it!

Lisa Tsetse, ABMP-certified massage therapist, Guild-certified Feldenkrais™ practitioner

Join FWDC founding member Lisa Tsetse, as she returns from Ithaca, NY to teach this popular movement method!

What is Feldenkrais?

The Feldenkrais Method™ is an educational system centered on movement, aiming to expand and refine the use of the self through awareness. It is intended for those who wish to improve their movement repertoire (dancers, musicians, artists), as well as those wishing to reduce pain or limitations in movement, and many who want to improve their general well-being and personal development.

Monday, August 9 & Tuesday, August 10
4:45 p.m. to 5:45 p.m.

Held at FWDC Elliot Studio, 437 E. Berry St., Second Floor

Cost: $15 per session, or $25 for both.

Call (260) 424-6574 or contact us to register.

This year, FWDC is collecting spooky spoken word pieces, such as poetry and prose, and nine local choreographers will be putting many of these pieces to choreography in a concert called Dark Dance, Deadly Tongue. Performances will be October 22-24, 2010.

Auditions will be held at the FWDC studios. Dancers should bring their calendars to indicate availability for rehearsals and must be available during all performance times.

Call (260) 424-6574 or email info (at) fwdc (dot) org.

A picture of the sky from Friday Night's Storm, via Indiana's NewsCenter.

Wow. What a weekend.

It’s ironic that last year’s June concert was called Mother Nature’s Nightmare, because this year, it really lived up to that title. In case you didn’t know, our Friday King’s Curse family concert was ended prematurely by high wind/tornado sirens going off. Our 140 cast members spent about 45 minutes in the basement, while our 450 audience members were asked to remain in the auditorium. The temperature dropped 15 degrees, it started hailing, and the sky looked like something out of the beginning of the Wizard of Oz.

Despite no tornadoes actually touching down, I think it was the right thing to do. Between the sirens, the sheets of rain, and the extremely high winds, it could have easily turned into a tornado situation, and when you have a cast consisting mostly of 3-12 year-olds, it’s better safe than sorry. And luckily, the Arts United Center is maybe literally the safest building in Fort Wayne. Between its box-within-a-box architecture, and the foot-thick concrete walls, it’s going to take a lot more than a tornado to penetrate that building. Having a few upset parents is better than even the small chance of severe weather injuring one of our students.

We’d like to apologize to our wonderful cast, to their dedicated parents, and the audience members who attended the performance. Although we got through the story portion of the concert, we were unable to finish the final dance number, the curtain call, and the awards ceremony. We’d also like to thank all of the above, as well as the Arts United Center staff for their quick actions to keep us safe.

Incidentally, I attended the Northeast Indiana Public Radio wine tasting dinner the next night at the Arts United Center (which was a fabulous event as well), and the fire alarm went off because of a contained kitchen fire. I think I need to steer clear of that place — it looks like I’m bringing the King’s Curse with me!

Please stay tuned for an upcoming post highlighting those who have been honored as a award recipient. Also: did you attend the event? Any thoughts, testimonials, or comments on the performance? Let us know in the comments below.

Please join us at the FWDC studios on Monday, June 21 at 6:00 PM for a simple celebration of these achievements, and a taste of the year to come. We’ll have light refreshments, and board members on hand to meet and socialize with. It won’t be more than an hour.

Although you’re welcome to just show up, we’d appreciate it if you’d send us an email and let us know to expect you.

Thank you — we hope to see to see you soon!

The first of a series of "King's Curse" rehearsals Saturday Morning, June 5.

The office is always buzzing this time of the year. We’re less than two weeks away from our June family Concert, “The King’s Curse”. We have a record 141 cast members this year!

Let me repeat that. One hundred and forty-one cast members. The majority of them are children.

Any big production involves some amount of chaos, and this is going to be no different. We have the Teardrops and the Knitters, both classes of 3-5 year-olds, We have Jesters, Witches, Drama Queens, Horses, Crabs, Bats, and more. Much more. Our narrow hallway has been clogged with dancers, parents, and crew members, and it’s been a challenge communicating details about the big performance to the masses.

Challenging, but fun.

It’s always amazing to me, even after working through 3 of these shows previously, how Liz and a score of other teachers and production people take a story, break it down into individual class dances, and then piece it together again. Although I participate in the crafting of the story along with the other FWDC staffers, Liz and our teachers make it happen. With rehearsal and time, the chaos melts into an hour-long story dance that is utterly charming.

If you’d like to come see the magic that is created by 141 dancers, let me know. Tickets are on sale for $12 (and $10 if you have a child 12 or younger)

The collective part of FWDC refers to a couple different parts. First, our management structure is in a collective style. Rather than a traditional nonprofit where there is an Executive Director and sub directors under her, all three of our directors reports directly to the board. And if there is a decision that would otherwise be made by an executive director, our three directors make it collectively, by consensus. There is only one other collective-style management nonprofit in town: the Center for Nonviolence. Our two organizations were founded around the same time, and have close ties, as many of the same people were involved in our inceptions.

There is also another element to the “collective” in our organization, and it’s in the way we teach and create art. The DC Dance Collective says it best at their FAQ page:

A Collective, like a traditional dance school, offers a full range of classes for dancers of all ages and all levels. The difference between a collective and a traditional dance school is that a collective provides support for the artists and their individual talents, rather than stringently setting rules and defining curriculums. A collective allows the instructors the freedom to relay their expertise to students in whatever way they see fit. Furthermore, a collective strives to include as many different dance styles from as many different cultures as possible. Students benefit by being able to choose from a wide range of classes taught by experienced instructors with differing styles and philosophies, which allows them to compare and contrast those styles and philosophies, and thereby form their own opinions, and grow as artists and individuals.

There you have it. We at the FWDC pride ourselves on the individual cultivation of a dancer, not as a cog in the choreography machine, but as a whole and innate creative individual. We have a focus on creative expression, democratic collaboration, and improvisation.

We hope you can come and be part of the collective! Our summer class schedule is up, and it’ll be starting at the end of June!

The King’s Curse

An original story-dance concert by
the Fort Wayne Dance Collective

WHEN: Friday, June 18, 7:00 pm
WHERE: Arts United Center, 303 E. Main St.
COST: $12 adults, $10 children 12 and under

Fort Wayne Dance Collective is proud to present “The King’s Curse,” an original story-dance concert, performed by local students, ranging in age from 3 years old to adult. The concert is happening Friday, June 18, 2010 at 7:00 pm at the Arts United Center, 303 E. Main St. Tickets are $12 for adults, and $10 for children 12 and under. For tickets, call (260) 424-6574 or email info@fwdc.org.

In the story, the King and the Queen hold a grand ball, and send out invitation by carrier pigeons. The pigeon heading to deliver one to Madam Thorndye, the local pharmacist and sorceress gets lost. The invitation is never delivered. Angry and vengeful, she puts a curse on the King.

The curse plagues the King with four demons: Guilt, Fear, Blame and Grudge. Over the hour-long concert, the King must learn to deal with these demons, and win back the friends and family he alienates.

“The King’s Curse” features local theatre stalwarts Reuben Albaugh and Gloria Minnich as the King and Queen, and local artist Cheryl Spieth-Gardiner as Madame Thorndye. A whole host of other dancers play parts in the story as well, including local belly dancers led by Jordana bint Zweena, and students in FWDC’s adult modern and ballet classes. The biggest hit of the concert is always the 3-year old Creative Movement students, who play the Teardrops. There will be a unique dance adapted from the ancient Chinese movement form T’ai Chi, created and choreographed by FWDC Artistic Director Liz Monnier, as well as a special appearance by the FWDC adult creative movement class at Bi-County Services, as they play the Council of the Wicked.

For photograph and video opportunities, FWDC will be holding dress rehearsals Saturday, June 5 from 8:45-11:30 AM at the FWDC studios, Saturday, June 12 from 8:30-11 AM at the FWDC studios, Wednesday, June 16 from 6-8:30 PM at the Arts United Center, and Thursday, June 17 from 6-8:30 PM at the Arts United Center. Please contact Andy Welfle to schedule a time to capture video and photos.