Sacred Dance Guild Festival 2012
July 24-29, 2012
Hope College
Holland, Michigan
Dancing a World of Hope - Embracing Hope!
Major Presenters
"Dancing the Landscape - Creative Dialogue brings Hope"
Dianne Eno
Dancers have the opportunity to work on healing the human/ nature split through
environmental dances that seek to create a sense of “dialoguing” between the
dancing body and the dynamic, living landscape. Participants will encounter the
exterior landscapes through a series of exercises and tasks with time designated for
intermittent journal reflections and group sharing. Be prepared to work outdoors, rain
or shine!
Dianne Eno is artistic director, choreographer and principal performer with the
environmental dance company, Dianne Eno/Fusion Danceworks
(www.fusiondanceworks.net) . The company is best known for 25 years of performing at the summit of Mt. Monadnock in Jaffrey, NH. Professional trainig includes Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival (Becket, MA) and Dance Theater Workshop (invitational choreographer's lab with Bessie Schonberg). Much of Ms. Eno's work, both educational and performance-oriented, is fused with Native American Sign Language creating a unique movement style reflecting her own American Indian roots. Her strong orientation in Native American values is evident in her work. See http://www.fusiondanceworks.net/
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"Surrendering to the Soul of Ancient Persia"
Shahrzad Khorsandi
 Persian philosophy, poetry, music and dance all embody the theme of the mind, soul and body
becoming one, and the never-ending, eternally transforming energy, signifying hope. Continuous,
fluid, and circular/curvilinear lines are intrinsic in Persian culture and art. These same aesthetics can
be seen and felt kinetically in the dance style, as well as heard in the music. Come and explore
through movement and music, the depth of the cultural and emotional basis for this theme.
Shahrzad Khorsandi is a contemporary choreographer, who, since 1996 she has directed a non-profit
dance academy, Shahrzad Dance Academy (SDA), and a performing ensemble, Shahrzad Dance
Company (SDC), a dance troupe that performs her choreography. Shahrzad has been involved in
Persian dance since childhood and is passionate about preserving and teaching the beauty of those
ancient traditions. She studied modern dance and performance art at California Institute of the Arts in
Los Angeles, and graduated with honors with a BA in Dance, and an MA in Creative Arts from San
Francisco State University. Her training in dance consists of Modern, Jazz, Ballet, West African, and
Persian dance. She has served on the dance faculty at colleges in California. See http://dancepersian.org/
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Get Your Hopes Up!
Kathryn Mihelick & Andrea Shearer
 Participants will be led through improvisational movement experiences designed to detect their
"hope hang-ups", to consider overcoming external impediments to fulfillment, and discovering
pathways to spiritual growth and enrichment. Four daily themes include moving from pain to
healing, isolation to relationship, turmoil to peace, and faith-less to faithful. The sessions will also
involve experience in choreography, giving you a dance to take home.
Kathryn Mihelick and Andrea Shearer are Director and Associate Director of Leaven Dance
Company. Kathryn holds an MA degree in Theatre and Dance, Kent State University, is Asst.
Professor and former KSU Dance Division Coordinator. Andrea has a Master of Dance degree,
University of Michigan, and is Professor and Dance Division Director at Kent State University. Both
have danced with professional companies, taught extensively at conferences both nationally and
internationally, receiving several grants and honor awards for their work. Their contribution to the
dance community includes serving terms on the Executive Boards of SDG and OhioDance. See http://faculty-l.slis.kent.edu/~tfroehli/leaven/about.html
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Modern Dance for Body and Soul
Denise Damon Wade
 This class will offer a warm-up of breath, core strengthening and centering work that builds to fullbodied
and increasingly complex movement through space. Emphasis on breath, weight, phrasing and
focus allows for recognition and expansion of one’s physical tendencies and stylistic range which will be
used to joyfully embody the music and celebrate the Spirit through dance as we Dance A World of
Hope together.
Denise Damon Wade has performed, choreographed and taught professionally in the United States
and Europe. She has performed with the Telos Tanz Theatre (Germany) Peridance Ensemble (NYC),
Arlington Dance Theatre, Fairfax Ballet and for numerous independent choreographers. Wade received
her MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan and is an Associate Professor and Director of Dance
at the College of William and Mary. Wade choreographs and performs with her contemporary dance
company Gravity Optional and with St. Martin's Liturgical Dance Company. See http://www.wm.edu/as/tsd/dance/faculty/wade_d.php
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"Hope's Journey"
Jason Warley
 Come and explore the journey we take on the heels of HOPE. It is a journey perceived to have tricky
corners, road blocks and impenetrable walls. Using the concept of a maze we will identify obstacles
and how to use them in the presence of hope and what happens when hope and uncertainty collide.
We will discover technical principles, work on and share choreography and produce a dance piece.
Jason Warley is trained in various genres of dance including, Jazz, Modern, Ballet, Liturgical & Theater
Dance. His movement style, often approached from a theatrical perspective, seamlessly blends
pedestrian movement with linear lines, the use of weight, an understanding of space with an
emphasis on technical ease. Jason is a Master Teacher, having shared his gifts with many dancers
throughout the United States & Japan. He has previously served as Dance Clinician for The
Fellowship's National Convocation in St. Louis, MO & Orlando, Florida, the National Conference for
Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century in Dallas, Texas and Music & Liturgical Arts week
at Lake Junaluska, NC. See http://www.jasonwarley.com
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