Two dance grads to be honored
Jan. 22, 2002
KALAMAZOO -- Two graduates of Western Michigan University's Department of Dance will be honored for their achievements and will take part in several special activities while on campus.
Anastasia Wozniak McGlothlin, who graduated in 1988, and Derrick Alphonso Evans, a 2000 graduate, will be inducted into the department's Alumni Academy during ceremonies Friday, Jan. 25, in the Gilmore Theatre Complex atrium. Students who have been working with the two honorees, along with faculty and College of Fine Arts administrators, will take part in the ceremony.
McGlothlin, who earned a master's in dance from Smith College in 1991, is one of the founding artistic directors of Art! Art! Barking Dog Dance Company, a professional modern dance company in Louisville, Ky. She is a 1999 recipient of the Al Smith Fellowship in Choreography awarded by the Kentucky Arts Council. She has performed with Dance Gallery, Barbara Neri and Dancers and the Detroit Dance Collective, while her choreographic work has been commissioned by dance companies in Michigan and Kentucky.
One of McGlothlin's dances, "Letting Go," will be performed during the dance department's Winter Concert of Dance Friday and Saturday, Jan. 25-26, at Chenery Auditorium. "Letting Go" explores the tumultuous period in a young female adolescent's development when struggling to differentiate from her mother and deal with the pressures of her peer group. McGlothlin and her dance company performed the dance during a September visit to WMU.
Evans has performed with Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, River North Dance Company, James Kelly Choreography Project and the Ballet Theatre of the Virgin Islands, among others. His television credits include work with pop star Michael Jackson and on the Emmy Award-winning PBS special documentary "Reality of a Dreamer." He has choreographed for Gloria Estafan/SPC, Giselle Le Dole and for jazz companies Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago and River North Jazz Dance Chicago. He has also appeared in numerous commercials, including the highly successful Gap commercials.
Evans has been on the faculties of New York's Broadway Dance Center and the Dance Academy of the Virgin Islands. He has been a frequent guest artist at WMU and will be in residence Jan. 28-Feb. 1. Evans will conduct master classes for dance students enrolled in technique level courses designated for dance majors, dance minors and music theatre majors.
Media contact: Mark Schwerin, 269 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu