Double-Edge Dance

GUEST ARTIST BIOS

GUEST PERFORMER:
KIRSTIE SIMSON (UK) has been a continuous explosion in the contemporary dance scene, bringing audiences into contact with the vitality of pure creation in moment after moment of virtuoso improvisation. Called “a force of nature” by the New York Times, she is an award-winning dancer and teacher who has “immeasurably enriched and expanded the boundaries of New Dance” according to Time Out Magazine, London. Simson’s eternal subject is freedom, as she dares to go beyond the boundaries of form and structure to create movement out of the rhythm of life itself. For the past thirty years Kirstie has collaborated with many dancers and musicians who share a common interest in Improvisation, including Julyen Hamilton, Steve Paxton, Nancy Stark Smith, Simone Forti, Andrew Harwood, Chris Aiken, Russell Malliphant, Le Quan Ninh and Christian Burns. She was awarded a London Time Out  ‘Dance and Performance Award’ as “a unique figure in the dance world” and Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times said of her dancing “Kirstie Simson is justly celebrated in Britain for exquisite, sensuous dancing that seems to come from some simple force of nature”. She is renowned today as an excellent teacher and captivating performer who is a leading light in the field of dance improvisation and she is currently involved in making a film about Dance Improvisation with filmmaker Katrina McPherson. In January 2008 Kirstie joined the faculty of the Dance Department at the University of Illinois in Urbana Champaign.
 

GUEST PERFORMER AND CHOREOGRAPHER:
JULIE BRODIE is an Associate Professor of Dance at Kenyon College, where she teaches modern and ballet technique, composition, kinesiology, and Labanotation.  Brodie received her B.F.A. and M.F.A. in Dance at the University of Illinois and completed her Labanotation studies at The Ohio State University. Brodie performed, taught, and choreographed professionally in the Chicago area and then taught at Franklin & Marshall College before moving to Ohio. Brodie is an active choreographer and performer, and her research explores ways of integrating dance science and Labanotation principles into the dance curriculum. Brodie has presented at national and international conferences and has published in The Journal of Dance Education. Since moving to Ohio, Brodie has worked with High Jinks Dance Company and Double Edge Dance in addition to producing her work independently. The Northeast Region American College Dance Festival has recognized Brodie’s choreography with an award for Outstanding Artistic Achievement, and her work has been supported by grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts.  She enjoys living on a small farm with her husband and two sons.

GUEST CHOREOGRAPHER:
BALINDA CRAIG-QUIJADA, a Kenyon faculty member since 2000, teaches modern dance and ballet technique classes as well as courses in dance composition and history. She directs and choreographs Kenyon's spring and fall dance concerts, and has choreographed productions such as Metamorphosis and Conference of the Birds for the Kenyon College Dramatic Club. Craig-Quijada remains an active professional dancer and choreographer. Her company, BCQ Dance, has performed in San Francisco, Chicago, Seattle, Columbus, and Beijing, China. Craig-Quijada has created a CD-ROM on Les Ballet Russes as a teaching tool for dance history, and recently published Dance for Fun! (Compass Point Books), a dance primer for children. Before coming to Kenyon, Craig-Quijada taught at Ohio State University.
 

Kirstie Simson with violinist Dorothy Martirano and bassist Armand Beaudion