Denison University will host an interdisciplinary conference titled "Perceiving Gender and Performance" designed to facilitate a set of conversations among faculty and students of live performing arts (especially dance and theater), and women's and gender studies. Directed by Gill Wright Miller, associate professor of dance and women's studies, various programs are scheduled for the weekend beginning on Thursday (Feb. 19) and concluding on Sunday (Feb. 22).

Keynote Speaker Marlene Tromp

Conference presenters include professional performers Chris Aiken, Peter Bingham, Angie Hauser, K.J. Holmes, Sandy Mathern-Smith and David Beadle, musician Andre Gribou, lighting designer Dave Covey, and videographer Peter Richards.

The conference begins at 7 p.m., Thursday (Feb. 19) in the Burton Morgan Welsh Hills Room with keynote speaker Marlene Tromp, director of women's studies at Denison. She will address the participants and show images of performers on the public stage and the representations of gender they embody. On Friday and Saturday (Feb. 20-21), the faculty will host exchanges on gender, perception, and performance while the artists will teach master classes in improvisational performance.

On Friday and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. in Doane Dance Center, the performers will be in concert, performing to a score that is dedicated to same-sex and mixed-sex duets as well as an interactive sextet. These improvisational concerts are open to the community for $5; due to limited seating, please call the dance department (740-587-6712) to reserve a seat. The conference will conclude with a panel discussion at 10 a.m., Sunday (Feb. 22) in the Burton Morgan Welsh Hills Room. The artists will dialogue with the faculty and students to process various gender presentation issues followed by a Contact Jam, or "open dance." For registration information, please visit the conference website at http://www.perceivinggender.com

Aiken is a leading international teacher and performer in the field of dance improvisation and contact improvisation and is an assistant professor of dance at Ursinus College. Beadle is a performer, teacher and choreographer who has been working as an independent movement artist for the past 20 years. His work has been performed throughout the U.S. and around the world. Bingham works with the independent dance collective, EDAM, serving as the company's sole artistic director since 1989.

Hauser combines the influence of contact improvisation, ballet, Butoh, yoga, and compositional improvisation with her own style as she creates her classes at Columbia College in Chicago. Holmes is a dancer, singer and poet based in Brooklyn, N.Y., and has taught contact improvisation throughout the world at festivals and universities.

In addition to being an associate professor of dance at Denison, Mathern-Smith's professional contributions to dance have included contemporary technique, choreography, and production and improvisation as an essential part of contemporary dance training.

The conference and its events are supported by The Great Lakes Colleges Association, Denison's Vail Funds, and Laura C. Harris Funds.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name

Barbara Stambaugh

Position Title

Director, Media Relations

Primary Email

stambaughb@denison.edu

Business Phone

(740) 587-8575