University News

WIU to Host Two Artists in Residency March 18-23

March 19, 2019

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MACOMB, IL – The Western Illinois University Department of Theatre and Dance will host two artists in residency from Monday-Saturday, March 18-23.

Work with the artists, Julie Fox and Terrence Karn, will be rehearsals working toward the University Dance Theatre Concert April 25-28.

Fox, a native Texan, holds a BA in theatre/dance with a minor in philosophy from the University of Houston and an MFA in dance from the Ohio State University. Her early movement studies included scholarships to both the Houston Ballet Academy and Hubbard Street, where she studied ballet, modern and contemporary dance. She has held adjunct faculty/visiting professor positions at the University of Houston, Denison University and Ohio University (2002-2011), was an assistant professor of dance and head of the dance minor program at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2011-16) and is currently a visiting assistant professor of dance at Bates College.

Fox has performed with Houston Grand Opera, Ballet Chicago, Karen Stokes Dance, Stephan Koplowitz, Hopestone, Leslie Scates and many independent artists on planet Earth. Her choreographic works have been presented in public and academic venues in Houston, Columbus, OH, and Eau Claire, WI.

Her creative activity/research includes interdisciplinary dance making utilizing set and improvised material presented in traditional and alternative spaces, as well as written scholarship in the areas of Aesthetics, Dance Pedagogy, Curriculum Design and Assessment and Writing Across the Curriculum, with particular interests in the teaching and learning of physical practice and creative process and the cross-disciplinary application of the multi-modal teaching approaches explored in dance studies.

Karn began his career as dance musician in 1971 at The Minnesota Dance Theatre, as a dancer with The Andahazy Ballet and a performer at The Minnesota Renaissance Festival. In 1976, he moved to Houston, TX to work at The Texas Renaissance Festival and began a long-standing career as a world music and dance artist in Houston area schools.

Karn has served as an accompanist and character dance teacher at the Houston Ballet Academy (1988-2007) resident musician in the School of Theatre and Dance at the University of Houston (1999-2007); and resident musician in the Department of Dance at Denison University (2007-2011).

This summer he will return to the Bates Dance Festival for his 16th year as the musical director for the Youth Arts Program and will return to the American Dance Festival for his fifth year as an accompanist.

Currently he is the dance musician for the dance program at Bates College and the co-director of Gypsy Dance Theatre. Karn has composed numerous works for dance companies on planet earth, and has played for over 17,527 dance classes.

While Fox and Karn are visiting WIU, they will work with various artists on rehearsals for the University Dance Theatre concert in April as well as working with other dancers in a variety of styles. The event also includes drum circles, which are open free to the public, from 7-8 p.m. Friday, March 22 and from 9-9:30 a.m. Saturday, March 23.

For more information about the WIU Department of Theatre and Dance, visit wiu.edu/theatre.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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