(Above)With funds received from the Duke University Arts Council, Assistant Professor of Dance, Andrea E. Woods Valdés was awarded a Collaboration Development grant with which she organized three Rueda de Casino dance workshops with guest percussionist/choreographer, Vladimir Espinosa. With additional Dance Program funds from Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, the final workshop featured live salsa music by members of Western Mambo, directed by César Oviedo. Woods Valdés will also collaborate with Espinosa to create new choreography for repertory students to perform on the Duke Dance Program spring concert, Choreolab, April 21@8PM, and April 22@3PM, in Reynolds Industries Theater, Duke West Campus
(Above) An open rehearsal of Andrea E. Woods' Modern Dance Repertory class at Duke University on Oct. 20, 2011, with special guest Randy Weston. The student dancers are preparing Woods' new piece "This Is What I Heard...," choreographed to Weston's music. It will premier on Nov. 11, 2011 as part of the Duke Dance Program's November Dances.
Anna Lipkin (above), of the Duke University Dance Program, performs an original dance to Philip Boulding's song "Nightside." The dance was part of the National Public Gardens Day celebration at Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, N.C. Anna developed her piece as part of her course work in Dance 135S, Dance Composition, taught by Prof. Andrea Woods Valdés.
(Above) The Resurrection Dance Theater of Haiti taught a Master Class to Duke University students and members of the community on September 18, 2010. The dance troupe is part of the St. Joseph Family, which runs three homes for former street children, child slaves and disabled children. They were on a US tour to raise funds to rebuild two of their homes which were destroyed in the recent earthquake.
This is Andrea Woods’ description of her piece, The Water Brings Us Here. The video (below) is from one of the first rehearsals, in late February.