The lights come up on five white boxes. A young man climbs up onto the center box so that he stands above the rest of the group. He begins to conduct them through a chorus of angelic ‘la la las’ and, all at once, the show is underway. The Musical Theater Workshop class has combined with the Musical Theater dance class to present a selective production of the musical Nine. The cast includes five main female singers, one male, and a 12-person ensemble of dancers. Shannon Elliott, the director of the dance department and choreographer of the show, acknowledges this year’s switch from previous Musical Theater Workshop performances. “Music Theater Workshop has usually been reviews in a way, songs from different shows. This feels like a more honed, complete production. It’s just a different take on the class,” Elliott says. “I think that they’ve matured and they have to have an extra certain sophistication… It gives the students the opportunity to rise to the occasion.” Alaina Zachary, who teaches the Musical Theater Workshop class, has also seen this tremendous growth in each individual from the beginning of the semester. “People are not only owning their roles, but trying new things. It’s so thrilling because once they take it and run with it, they’re responsible for their own success… I just couldn’t be happier with our results,” Zachary says. Nine opens with a preview at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 11. Shows are at 7 p.m. Dec. 12-13 as well as 2 p.m., Dec. 13. Tickets for the weekend are free, but must still be obtained through the Lensic box office, 211 West San Francisco St.,...

SFUAD’s three writing tutors are available regularly at Fogelson library.

SFUAD students Matthew Villescas, Stefanee Chevalier and Mariah Duncan discuss their inspirations in this audio-visual piece.

Driscoll Fitness Center Director Ron Nunnelly gives the lowdown on working out at the DFC.

SFUAD graduate C Alex Clark discusses ‘soft glitch’ photography in this audio-visual interview.

1. Over the summer, the entire library was repurposed. The main level was transformed into an area of group study spaces for student use. “This is their library and it will only contribute to their own success,” says Margaret Van Dyk, Fogelson Library director. “The goal is to become an academic commons.” 2. There are four librarians in Fogelson who provide reference and access services to students. There are also writing tutors available, and occasional workshops held by career services. The library itself houses an impressive film and music collection, all offered in multiple formats. To support these materials, Fogelson also boasts a movie-viewing room and study rooms complete with turntables. 3. Aside from the Fogelson Gallery, the doors of the library are also opening to departmental events. In the beginning of October, the Contemporary Music Program is hosting an evening of music, in an effort to transform the space and allow students to make it their own. You can visit the Fogelson Library online or in person Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-7 p.m. and Friday 8 a.m.-5...

The dance program at Santa Fe University of Art and Design has spent its existence continuously transforming in order to offer the students a more solid dance education. The newest addition to this burgeoning department is modern and ballet teacher Banu Ogan. After growing up in the ballet world, Ogan was introduced to the philosophies of modern choreographer of Merce Cunningham, with which she fit seamlessly. The Cunningham technique is an approach to modern dance which explores the use of direction and space, and emphasizes the creation of choreography independently from the music. “Physically, it really suited me and my personality. And I loved the daring involved with it,” Ogan says. “The way they worked with chance operations and all of the elements coming together on opening night—he dancers not hearing the music, seeing the sets, wearing the costumes until the premier of the dance—I thought that was the coolest thing that I’d ever heard.” She danced for the New York-based company for seven years before teaching the technique at Juilliard and Marymount Manhattan College. Ogan also has been traveling the world to teach workshops and stage Cunningham pieces for more than a decade. All of this experience coming to SFUAD means the dancers will be receiving pure Cunningham modern technique classes that can be applied to their broader dance curriculum. As for her first two weeks at SFUAD, Ogan speaks about her students with an encouraged and eager tone. “They’re really open and interested in learning and that is all a teacher can ask for. So I feel like there will be a really nice exchange between my teaching and their learning,” Ogan says.   In coming to Santa Fe, Ogan has opened opportunities not only for SFUAD’s dancers, but also for herself. While living in...

The first week of school usually consists of meeting classmates and reading through countless syllabi. In SFUAD’s dance department however, rehearsals are already in full swing. With the dancer’s first performance this weekend as a part of The After Hours Alliance Festival of Progressive Arts, and their second just two weeks later in celebration of Greer Garson’s 110th birthday, all seven dance majors have schedules full of rehearsals and brains full of choreography. Shannon Elliott, the chair of the dance department, described a vibrant, eclectic group of five new students. With three new women and two new men, all with different dance backgrounds, hailing from various parts of the country, the diversity and collective experience of the department only seems to be growing. “It’s nice to have this new energy, and just a new comradery that I see occurring. Them working together not only in class, but also in rehearsals,” Elliott says. There are also two new faculty members contributing to the further growth of the department. Banu Ogan, who will be teaching both ballet and modern classes, taught at Juilliard for almost an entire decade after her career with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. A new ballroom class that will address swing, tango and salsa will be taught by Mike Garcia, a prominent figure in the Santa Fe dance scene. “I think it’s great to actually have them here and to see who the dance majors are,” says Elliott. “And to begin conceptualizing how we can move this group forward together.” Elliott also has plans to bring in guest choreographers not only to make original works, but also to teach master classes and set existing pieces on the dancers. With only a week of the new school year under their belts, this upcoming semester is already...

The Photographic Society’s interactive installation projection at Outdoor Vision Fest 2014 allowed attendees involvement and access to not only the creative process, but also the final product of the projection itself.

On April 29, the Marion Center for Photographic Arts was filled with a group of approximately 20 adults, many of whom had never before seen the inner-workings of SFUAD’s photography department, as the first of three interactive seminars with SFUAD enrollment staff, recruiters and other visitors.

For the next two weekends, the dramatic story of Spring Awakening will grace the Greer Garson Theatre stage. Director Gail Springer has led a cast of more than 20 through months of rehearsals, which will soon culminate in five performances.

Choreographer Jocelyne Danchick discusses the multimedia dance performance she is preparing for this year’s OVF.

SFUAD Contemporary Music Program (CMP) Chair Steve Paxton talks about music, the CMP department and its students in this audio-visual story. Music by Ruder and the Shockwaves.

“A Show About Pizza” is, indeed, an art show about pizza.

From skits to drag to poetry—It’s Pride Week! Here are the events all week on campus.

The MakerBot Replicator 2 sounds like it could be a strange machine straight out of an old science fiction movie. Actually, it is a piece of equipment revolutionizing the way artists are able to make work. And SFUAD’s Art Department has one.

“I don’t wanna be a doctor, I don’t wanna be a teacher. I want to be a dancer. And it’s going to happen,” SFUAD dance major Alexandria Chavez says.