ES
Emma Starace
  • Dance
  • Class of 2018
  • Staten Island, NY

SUNY Potsdam Dance Student Emma Starace Selected for American Dance Festival

2017 Jun 14

For modern dance students, there's really no better place to be this summer than the American Dance Festival, held from June 15 to July 29 at Duke University in Durham, N.C.

What's particularly special this year is that five SUNY Potsdam students went through the audition process and were accepted to attend the prestigious dance school at the American Dance Festival. That's the highest number of SUNY Potsdam dance students who have ever been accepted to attend.

The students include Stephon Williams of the Bronx, N.Y., Alonicha Triana of Brooklyn, N.Y.; Laura Kelly of Buffalo, Wyo.; Emma Starace of Staten Island, N.Y., and Creszenz Bergmeier of South Glens Falls, N.Y.

The six-and-a-half-week American Dance Festival attracts students from around the world. Dancers take courses in modern dance technique, Gaga, improvisation, composition, ballet, partnering and hip hop. The SUNY Potsdam students will join more than 500 other dancers and artists from around the world to create dances with their peers, attend masterclasses and witness performances by 30 different companies and choreographers.

Donald Borsh, chair of SUNY Potsdam's Department of Theatre and Dance, is particularly excited for the five students headed to the intensive dance school.

"Attending a summer dance intensive back in the '70s was the catalyst that launched me into the richly rewarding experiences I've had over 40 years as a dancer. I know for our students this experience will be pivotal in their growth as dancers. That all five have received substantial support from the festival says a great deal about their talents and abilities, and about training and support that the theatre and dance department has been able to offer," Borsh said.

The American Dance Festival has been educating and serving the needs of dancers, choreographers and professionals in dance-related fields since it started in 1934. The New York Times calls it "one of the nation's most important institutions," and the New York Post refers to it as "the world's greatest dance festival." For more information about the festival, visit http://www.americandancefestival.org.

From directing, choreographing, acting and dancing, to designing and technical work, theatre and dance are highly collaborative art forms at SUNY Potsdam. Students and professionals engage in creative problem solving, requiring the setting and meeting of long-term goals, and the analysis and understanding of movement and dramatic literature. For more information about SUNY Potsdam's Department of Theatre and Dance, visit http://www.potsdam.edu/theatre.