2 acclaimed young dance companies on campus this summer

Skidmore welcomes two renowned young contemporary dance companies to campus for a three-week dance residency this summer. From May 30 to June 19, the New York City-based Gallim Dance and TAKE Dance companies will conduct an intensive workshop for pre-professional and professional dancers, led by the companies' cutting-edge choreographers. The shared residency will also present seven dance events open to the public. 

Both companies are acclaimed for their distinctive and expressive styles. TAKE Dance, which will be on campusMay 30-June 9, uses dance to explore the integration of expressive and physical movement under the direction of founder and choreographer Takehiro Ueyama, nicknamed Take ("ta-kay"). A native of Japan, a Juilliard graduate, and a former Paul Taylor company dancer, Ueyama founded his troupe in 2004, and forged a distinctive style that blends eastern and western sensibilities. New York Times critic Jennifer Dunning says Ueyama has "an unusual gift for putting together big, bold movement" and his "dances are freshly and distinctly his own." The Village Voice calls him "charismatic."

Gallim Dance(June 9?19) debuted in 2007, showcasing a style of dance movement that reflects the Spanish and Jewish-American background of company founder/artistic director Andrea Miller. A Juilliard School graduate, Miller performed with the Limon Dance Company, Buglisi Dance Theatre, and Ensemble Batsheva, where she performed works by Ohad Naharin and Sharon Eyal in Israel, Europe, and New York. Miller's focus, she said, is to "play inside the imagination, and find juxtapositions of the mind and body that resonate in the soul." Her work has been described as "kinetic and intimate expressions of the self and its inner mosaic of weakness, desires, and struggles" and praised for its "technical virtuosity, physical exhaustion, and the anatomy of fantasy and reality."

Free and open to the public except where otherwise noted, the dual residency's events are as follows:

June 3, at 7:30 p.m. - A Year with TAKE Dance, a feature-length documentary from filmmaker Damian Eckstein, will be screened, followed by a discussion. Skidmore Dance Theater

June 7, at 6:30 p.m. - Open rehearsal with TAKE Dance. Skidmore Dance Center Studio

June 9, at 2 p.m. - Dance student showing, with workshop participants showcasing work learned during the TAKE Dance residency. Dance Theater

June 10 and 11?Both companies will present dance performances in the Skidmore Dance Theater as part of SaratogaArtsFest, the annual city-wide celebration of the arts June 10-13 in Saratoga Springs. TAKE Dance will perform at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 10, with a program featuring Ueyama's short works Footsteps in the Snow, Love Stories, and LINKED. Gallim Dance will take the stage at 7 p.m.Friday, June11,in a performance of I Can See Myself in Your Pupil, a seven-vignette suite of dances set to an eclectic score of music from Israel, Mexico, Australia, Italy, and Denmark. The seven dancers, wearing a rotation of colorful costumes, develop a non-linear narrative that weaves together moments of intimacy and the sheer pleasure of dancing. For ticket prices and information, please click here. 

June 16, at 6:30 p.m - Open rehearsal with Gallim Dance. Skidmore Dance Center Studio.

June 18, at 2 p.m. - Dance student showing, with workshop participants showcasing work learned during the Gallim Danceresidency. Dance Theater

Click here for more information on TAKE Danceor here for further details about Gallim Dance.