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The Guidance of Choreographers to Dancers - A Dance In Itselt

The guidance of choreographers to student dancers… some might argue that that guidance is a dance of in and of itself.

How does the choreographer convey his or her vision to the dancers? To what degree is that vision accomplished by way of collaboration? What does that collaboration actually look like? And what impact does it have on the development of the dancers?

Back in 2014, during the Dance Concerts season at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, choreographers Ming-Lung Yang and Kimberly Bartosik met with David Ford between rehearsals. Kimberly, based out of New York City and a graduate of UNCSA, is a Bessie Award-winning performer and longtime member of the legendary Merce Cunningham Dance Company. She has traveled extensively around the world as a dancer. Her work is deeply informed by literature and cinema, and it involves a complex play on space, time, and audience perspective… as a way to shed light on the fleeting nature of performance. Ming-Lung Yang earned degrees in dancing (a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Fine Arts) both from his native island of Taiwan and from the US. He currently teaches contemporary dance at UNCSA, and in his role as a dance professor, Ming stresses the importance of recognizing that a student's learning process is a personal journey.

Before his arrival in the Triad, David had already established himself as a fixture in the Austin, Texas arts scene as a radio host for Classical 89.5 KMFA. During his tenure there, he produced and hosted hundreds of programs including Mind Your Music, The Basics and T.G.I.F. Thank Goodness, It's Familiar, which each won international awards in the Fine Arts Radio Competition. As a radio journalist with 88.5 WFDD, his features have been recognized by the Associated Press, Public Radio News Directors Inc., Catholic Academy of Communication Professionals, and Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas. David has written and produced national stories for NPR, KUSC and CPRN in Los Angeles and conducted interviews for Minnesota Public Radio's Weekend America.
The path that led Quique to WFDD is anything but linear. After moving from Peru to the U.S. at age 11, Quique picked up the guitar and an old boom box (complete with a tiny built-in microphone) and began recording music on cassette tapes. Though the lifelong plan was to pursue a career in something different altogether (visual arts), Quique switched gears last minute and attended Davidson College instead, majoring in Sociology. Afterward, he took another turn and earned a Master's degree in Counseling at Wake Forest University. Quique went on to work in community outreach with Latino families in the Old Town area of Winston-Salem. In 2012, Quique left the non-profit sector to devote himself to his passion in music composition, recording and performance; he also began to explore the craft of videography.One year prior to joining WFDD, the idea of working in radio crossed Quique's mind perhaps only in dreams. But in 2014, he found himself at WFDD's station for a Triad Arts interview about his album release. After asking Quique what the heck he was doing with his life and learning about his recent exploration with videography, Triad Arts' Executive Producer David Ford proposed a freelance pilot project: producing “Backstage with Triad Arts”, a video program that offers listeners the opportunity to visit the WFDD's website and take behind-the-scenes looks at arts events in the region (like the Eastern Music Festival, Phuzz Phest, Becca Stevens' studio album recording, SECCA collaborations with UNCSA, Merlefest, etc.).In 2015, Quique officially (and much to his happiness) joined the WFDD team. In addition to producing videos, you can hear Quique throughout the day announcing events happening in the Triad. He's also Contributing Editor for Triad Arts, where he puts his recording/editing skills to work.

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