Henderson to host dance project Sept. 11-15

ARKADELPHIA – The Michelle Gibson Dance Project is coming to Henderson State University in September. Gibson will teach free master classes and work with the Henderson Dance Company in the Arkansas Hall Dance Studio. Dance master classes will be held Sept. 12 and 14 from 3-4:30 p.m. Repertory rehearsals for the Henderson Dance Company are scheduled Sept. 11-14 from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Master classes are open to the public for participation. The repertory rehearsals are open for observation. An “informance” and talkback session showcasing new work with the Henderson Dance Company will be held on Sept. 15 at 3 p.m. As a choreographer, educator and performing artist, Gibson’s teaching practice and choreographic works include genres of the African Diaspora, contemporary/traditional modern, afro funk, jazz, and her own New Orleans Second Line Aesthetic. Cultivating her craft over the past years in an effort to preserve her culture, Gibson has been teaching and creating works that are firmly rooted in New Orleans culture and has defined this idea as her own “Second Line Aesthetics” that involves both technical and improvised movement, brass music and the embrace of communal ritual. Gibson received her B.F.A. in dance from Tulane University and her M.F.A. in Dance from Hollins University/The American Dance Festival at Duke University. She is a member of the faculty with the American Dance Festival. Contact Jennifer Maddox, artist in residence at Henderson State, at maddoxj@hsu.edu for more information and reservations. The project is made possible by the HSU Foundation and HSU Theatre and Dance