The Department of Dance hosts three guest artists in one month

Three guest artists are visiting the Department of Dance this September. Returning to campus Sept. 5-7 are Wesley Williams, Jr. and Atiba Rorie. Rachel Oliver is here on Sept. 16.

Williams and Rorie were guest artists in spring 2014. Williams plans to revisit his work "Face to Face" that he created with RU dancers last semester.  He will be teaching a Contemporary African Dance Class on Sept. 5 from 2-3:30 p.m. in Peters Hall B112.  

Oliver offers master classes in Modern Dance technique on Sept. 16 at 9:30-11 a.m. for low intermediate students. For high intermediate students, there is a class from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in Peters Hall B112.  

Former member of the Chuck Davis and the African-American Dance Ensemble, Williams is now the Artistic Director of Suah African Dance Theatre in Greensboro, North Carolina. He conducts residencies in Traditional West African Dance and Contemporary African Dance throughout the country.

Atiba Rorie is a percussionist trained in classical music as well as the music and culture of West Africa and Afro-Latin music. He is an adjunct professor at Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina and is an accompanist for the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina, and at UNC Greensboro.

Oliver is a freelance dancer, choreographer and movement instructor from Boulder, Colorado.  She is currently the assistant director of CU Moving, an undergraduate dance touring company from Colorado University, which prepares informal performances, assemblies and movement classes for K-12 schools, community centers, and other interested venues. She is also the director of CU Contemporary Dance Works, a touring group comprised of graduate students that travels on weeklong residencies in underserved Colorado areas, providing informal and formal performances, as well as movement classes in a range of styles.

For more information, please contact the Department of Dance at (540) 831-6850.