Whether they stayed put, went home or explored the wider world, these SFUAD students enjoyed their Thanksgiving break.
House of Dolls
posted by Maria Costasnovo
Guilherme Spada is back with his second short film. Once more, he captures all the power of a psychological thriller and transmits it to us through House of Dolls. “The story is about three day-dreaming sisters that find out about love and sex. Because of the difficulty they have to express themselves, they end up doing bad crazy things,” says Spada. Marisa Melito, Dani Vondrak and Jess Cornelius play the three protagonists of the movie. Marisa Melito, who stars, was offered the role the night before filming began. “Jess Cornelius found me in the hallway and said her friend really needed another actress for his film. I had no idea who anyone was the next day at filming besides Jess and Dani (who I’ve met before) and I’ve also never done any film work before,” she says. “I’m a dance major, but I’ve done a lot of theatre in high school so it was weird having a camera and lots of people in your face watching you. Despite being a little bit out of my comfort zone, I had a lot of fun making this film and getting to know everyone, and I’m so happy that I got to be a part of it.” Film students know how important is to work as a team, since every project from the film department needs a group of people working together. For film student Claudia Vargas, being part of Spada’s team was very satisfying. “I loved being a part of the production of House of Dolls. Guilherme had a great team; he has very clear what he wants and I really think he is defining a style of his own. I really see him doing big things in the future and I am very proud.” As...
Gotta Dance
posted by Charlotte Martinez
By Charlotte Martinez/ Photos by Amanda Tyler Seven pairs of parallel feet marching in sync is the perfect metaphor for the emerging dance department at the Santa Fe University of Art and Design—fuzzy socks and all! With Senior Maria Weckesser in lead, moving like the chug chugs of a locomotive, the six remaining “train cars” represent the entire population of the newly named Greer Garson Dance Company. Introducing freshmen Marielle Garcia, Brittany Kriechbaumer, Marisa Melito, Stephanie Martinez, returning sophomore Alex Chavez and transfer junior Mikyla Hutwohl. In their first rehearsal, this small but mighty group of young women already share an excitement for the coming year. Events span from site-specific installations to the annual Winter and Spring Recital in Greer Garson Theater. “It’s great because we get to help build everything,” freshman Melito says. Like her dance teacher Shannon Elliot, Melito grew up a military brat, moving from place to place. Beside her, Stephanie Martinez, previous resident of Portland, Ore., nods her head and adds that because the department “doesn’t have their ways set” it becomes more open to them. When as a group they’re asked what they hope to gain in the future, one shouts, “maybe some boys!” At the front of Garson dance studio, Shannon Elliot conducts rehearsal with charismatic poise, giving notes and welcoming ideas. She mimics the stance of a train. The movement is comedically rigid. “It should look like a racket wrench,” Elliot says. Luckily for the seven dance majors, their director Shannon Elliot, also the assistant chair of the Performing Arts Department, comes from a long career of professional dance and performance administration. With Hubbard Street, Canadian Dance Assembly, National Dance Institute of New Mexico and Moving People Dance Santa Fe under her belt, Elliot’s administrative career now includes five years as part time and full time staff at SFAUD. Today, the vibrant Elliot enters Greer Garson with dozens of ideas for her 2013-2014 school year. Working her black leggings, patterned skirt, pink shirt and wicked jazz shoes, Elliot demonstrates the shapes and sounds of her upcoming dance, the first official project of the department. The dance, Elliot explains, is meant for Santa Fe’s upcoming 3rd Annual AHA Festival of Progressive Arts, which she pitched as a perfect location for her students to move within “structures that currently exist.” The dancer’s stage? The inactive train tracks! The Festival, a community-sponsored event featuring local artists, takes place in and around the Railyard this year on Sept. 15. The event is one of many that Elliot, with her co-workers Layla Amis, Jonathan Guise, and John Kloss, hope to utilize in their pursuits of a dance curriculum. Along with scheduled rehearsals, classes this year include ballet three times a week, modern twice a week, and a tap taught by returning rhythm tapper John Kloss. “We’re a small entity now,” Elliot says, reflecting her seven brave majors. “But as we grow I think it will be a really interesting addition to the [artistic] mix.” She adds that because these students are pursuing dance as a career, the level of professionalism is “going to have a very positive impact, not just within the Performing Arts Department but all over campus.” John Weckesser, chair of the Performing Arts Department, says that the opportunity to create the major was “natural” because dance belongs with the performing arts. In the future he hopes to include additional dance space on campus so the program can become “as elevated as the Theater Department.” The staff has additionally booked two guest artists to choreograph for the future Winter and Spring recitals. Choreographer and ballet teacher Kelsey Paschich will set a contemporary dance to classical music and Jamie Duggan will workshop an Afro House Fusion piece, a mix of old school hip hop and African dance. Other events include a performance installation at SFUAD’s Outdoor Vision Fest and a Summer Collaboration Intensive...
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