Collaboration & Music Director: Dartmouth Dance Ensemble

The Dartmouth Dance Ensemble's Rebecca Stenn (choreographer), kindly invited me earlier this Spring to form and lead a chamber choir of students to perform Byrd's "Ave Verum Corpus" on-stage alongside dancers for a full concert of live music and live contemporary dance. What a treat - and what a wonderful project idea on their part: one that brings together performers of different styles and abilities.

As written by Rebecca Bailey for the Hopkins Center for the Arts: "Dartmouth Dance Ensemble (DDE)'s concert takes place on Friday and Saturday, May 26 and 27, 8 pm, in The Moore Theater of The Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth College. It features:

- FOUR choreographers (including one Beyoncé collaborator);

- FIVE ensembles playing live music for the dancers, including 31 members of the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble;

- NINETEEN dancers, a historic number for the Dance Ensemble!

The dancers include undergraduates from all disciplines, graduate students and Dartmouth staff members. Dancers come with backgrounds in ballet, modern dance, hip hop, folk dance and more."

I had so much fun choosing and directing the students - and Rebecca's choreography made for interesting contrast alongside Byrd's Renaissance motet. Thankful for this spirit of collaboration!