Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers photo credit: Maggie Zhao
by Gregory King, Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Swarthmore College for The Dance Journal
In 1957, the Organization of College and University Managers (OCUM) was formed to address the educational roles of the arts on College campuses. As the membership expanded to a variety of other organization, there was an inevitable name change to the Association of College and University and Community Arts Administrators (ACUCAA) in 1973. By the mid 80s, colleges and universities no longer had dominant memberships, prompting another name change to Association of Performing Arts Presenters (APAP) in 1988.
Today, APAP continues to provide a wide range of services to industry professionals by offering resources and presenting individual artists and professionals in the field, at national venues.
On Friday January 15th, members of Koresh Dance Company and Kun-Yang Lin/Dancers (KYL), performed in a APAP showing, demonstrating the on going jostle for dance to be sponsored, supported and presented – even if the company is 25years old.
photo credit: Frank Bicking
The dancers of Koresh performed excerpts from the company’s repertoire but also whet the appetite of potential presenters with a preview of their new work 23:Deconstructing Mozart set to premiere on March 10th, at The Suzanne Roberts Theatre. The company showed why they are one of Philadelphia’s best by giving life to the pulsating rhythms of the music, allowing that earthiness to seamlessly combine with the ballet based vocabulary of Koresh’s choreography. The seasoned dancers energized the space and new member Vanessa Guinto, held her own next to company veterans Melissa Rector and Robert Tyler.
While Koresh’s choreography was intensely physical, Lin’s works were deeply inspired by the traditions and aesthetic of Eastern Asia and had a more tranquil appeal. As an ensemble, the dancers of KYL were hyper aware as they moved with ease and precision, working as a unit to maintain the integrity of the work. They too also previewed a new work Dreamscape, one of a trilogy of new works commissioned by Grand Valley State University and set to premiere in Philadelphia at The Prince Theater on April 14th.
What struck me as I watched these two companies, was how their cultural identities (Koresh from Israel and Lin from Taiwan) shaped the content of their work. This reinforced my belief that dance is a language that connects by breaking down barriers.
Although aesthetically contrasting and stylistically different, the two companies had things in common; gifted dancers, engaging repertory, and choreographers who continue to strengthen the field by offering relevant, attention-grabbing, and sometimes controversial work that should be seen nationally.
While a respected platform, I’ve often wondered if APAP serves its purpose of providing support and exposure– especially to companies that refuse to adhere to popular aesthetics and lack commercial appeal. I continue to wrestle with the possibility that presenters may be seduced by companies that align themselves with the mainstream and in so doing overlook those that encourage ingenuity and fuel discourse that promotes dance as a vehicle that can be used to tackle issues of race, class, and gender.
As a choreographer, his works have been commissioned by Transformer Station (Cleveland, OH), Georgian Court University (Lakewood, NY), Texas Ballet Theatre School (Dallas, TX), Indiana University (Bloomington, IN), The Ammerman Center for Arts and Technology 16th Biennial Symposium (New London, CT), Current Sessions (New York, NY), and SPACES Gallery (Cleveland, OH), and presented at Dixon Place (New York, NY), The Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), and Playhouse Square (Cleveland, OH).
He has taught master classes, lectures, and workshops nationally and internationally. He has served as dance faculty for Texas Ballet Theatre and Boston Ballet, as well as visiting assistant professor of dance at Temple University, and Swarthmore College.
King is a dance writer for The Dance Enthusiast, ThINKingDANCE, The Philadelphia Dance Journal, CHOICE Review, and Broad Street Review. Mr. King’s response to the Dancing for Justice Philadelphia event, was published in Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies and cited in the U. S. Department of Arts and Culture’s 2016 resource guide, Art Became the Oxygen. In 2020 King was awarded a See Chicago Dance Critical Writing Fellowship and was invited to present his research at The University of Auckland, New Zealand.
In addition to having served on the dance review board for the National Endowment for the Arts, King was nominated for a Governor’s Award for the Arts in Ohio and was recently appointed to the Board of OhioDance. He was the 2018 recipient of the Outstanding Creative Contribution award from the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Kent State University, and served as Provost Faculty Associate for the academic year 2019- 2020. Mr. King is a tenure track professor of dance at Kent State where he serves as the artistic director of the Kent Dance Ensemble.
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I enjoyed your writing very much.I am a fan of Koresh Dance and Roni and I were in a company together decades ago.
I agree that dance can, should and does tackle issues that seem difficult to discuss. I appreciate you bringing to light how important it is to recognize those artists who are. Thank you.
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