The Joffrey Dance Group, young dancers from the Joffrey Ballet School in New York City, will be Master Artists in residence at Santa Fe College Wed.-Sat., Feb. 5-8. The Joffrey dancers will offer three master classes for SF students and up to two master classes for intermediate and advanced dance students in the community. Class participants will have the opportunity to refine their technique and to learn dances that are part of the Joffrey Dance Group’s repertoire. Dancers in the community who wish to register should call Alora Haynes at 352-395-5296 to reserve a space. There are 35 spaces in each of the community classes and spaces will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Joffrey Dance Group will conclude their Master Artists Series residency with a performance at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8, in the Fine Arts Hall at Santa Fe College’s Northwest Campus, 3000 NW 83 Street, Gainesville. Included in the program is a Dance Theatre of Santa Fe piece choreographed by SF College Dance Department faculty member Sarah Harkness-Sebastian.
Tickets are $25 Orchestra and Mezzanine; Balcony $15; Senior, Children, and UF $12. Tickets for Santa Fe Faculty, staff, and students are $9. For ticket information, call the SF Box Office at 352-395-4181 or Bob Fetterman at 352- 395-4133. Tickets may be purchased on line at:
http://www.sfcollege.edu/finearts/
This is the second year that the Joffrey Dance Group has held a residency at Santa Fe College. The college has had a dance department since 1988 and will this year celebrate the Silver/25th anniversary of its student performance group, Dance Theatre Santa Fe.
“We are looking forward for the Joffrey dancers to partner with our students again after last year’s very successful residency,” said Fine Arts Department Chairperson Alora Haynes. “Last year, the Joffrey and SF College dancers bonded in a very personal way, partly because they are so similar in age. Our students were impressed by the up-close-and-personal example of discipline and skill that’s expected in the dance profession. When our students took the stage with the Joffrey dancers, they rose to a level that they did not expect from themselves.”
The Joffrey Dance Group is composed of young people aged 17-25 who are enrolled in the Joffrey Ballet School. Founded by Robert Joffrey and Gerald Arpino in 1953, the school enables dancers to perfect their form and technique so that dance “flows naturally and passionately from within.” The school remains at the forefront of dance education and includes training in classical and contemporary ballet as well as modern dance, jazz, hip-hop, character, choreography, dance history, music, Pilates and yoga. Graduates have gone on to dance for major classical ballet companies as well as for numerous modern and contemporary companies, both in the United States and abroad.
The Santa Fe College Master Artists Series is co-presented by the Santa Fe College Foundation and the college’s Fine Arts Department. The series is sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and Visit Gainesville, a Tourist Development Tax Grant from the Alachua County Board of County Commissioners in conjunction with the Alachua County Tourist Development Council.
Members of the Joffrey Dance Group are available for interviews and there will be photo opportunities in classes during their residency. For more information about master classes, interviews or photo opportunities, call Fine Arts Department Chairperson Alora Haynes, 352-395-5296.
PHOTOGRAPHY BY LOIOS GREENFIELD