(Schenectady & Albany, NY) -- Union College and The Egg are pleased to announce additional details regarding the four-day residency by Eisenhower Dance Detroit from October 15-18, 2024.  The residency includes community outreach, a professional experience for local dancers and a public performance at The Egg. The residency is made possible by the partnership of the venue and college as well as a major gift from Gus (Union class of ’59) and Sue Davis (Sage class of ’60) in memory of their daughter Stephanie.

A mini-residency in mid-September included an audition for local college dancers and a rigorous weekend rehearsal process for those selected. Jolita Brettler, Melanie De La Cruz, Ava DuBoff, Hailey Dunn, Livi Gwinnett, Grace Newcombe, Emily Tobar and Abby Wilder, all Union College dancers, will perform “State of Mind” by Eisenhower Dance Detroit (EDD) Executive Director Stephanie Pizzo alongside members of EDD at The Egg on Friday, October 18, 2024.

About working with the Union students, EDD dancer Lillie Hamilton said, “We admired their eagerness, dedication, maturity and focus.”  About the experience of learning and rehearsing the work in a brief period of time, De La Cruz claimed, “Honestly, I feel stronger, both physically and mentally.” Dunn added that the intensity of the process was “challenging emotionally, physically and socially but I feel as though I have grown both as a dancer and as a human being.”

Returning to the Capital Region in mid-October, the company will conduct three lecture/demonstrations, three movement workshops and eleven master classes at Union College and seven other locations in the local area. The activities will reach participants from elementary age to senior citizens.  The schedule of activities is as follows:

Tuesday, October 15

·       Two movement workshops at Mont Pleasant Middle School from 1:09pm to 2:42pm

·       Two dance technique classes at Schenectady High School from 1:08pm to 2:41pm

·       An advanced modern dance class at Skidmore College from 3:40pm to 5:30pm

·       An intermediate ballet class in Union’s Henle Dance Studio from 5pm to 6:30pm

Wednesday, October 16

·       An intermediate modern dance class at Skidmore College from 10:10am to 12pm

·       An intermediate ballet class at Emma Willard School from 3:45pm to 5:15pm

·       A movement workshop for Proctors' Acting Academy from 4:15pm to 5:15pm

·       An intermediate modern class in Union’s Henle Dance Studio from 5pm to 6:30pm

Thursday, October 17

·       An introductory modern class at UAlbany from 10:30am to 11:50am

·       An adult/senior class in Union’s Henle Dance Studio from 11:15am to 12:30pm

·       Two lec/dems at the Albany Academies between 11:30am and 12:30pm

·       A mixed genre exploratory class for adults & seniors at SPAC's School of the Arts from 12:45pm to 2pm*

·       An open master class in Union’s Henle Dance Studio from 6pm to 7:15pm*

·       A lec/dem in Union’s Henle Dance Studio from 7:30pm to 8:30pm*

Note: Activities with an asterisk are free and open to the public

The residency culminates at The Egg on Friday, October 18. From 7:15pm to 7:45pm, Laurie Zabele Cawley, Interim Dance Director at Union College, will partake in a pre-show talk with EDD’s Pizzo conversing about the company and the evening’s program.  The 8pm performance will feature “Legacy Island” by Filipino Norbert De La Cruz III; “En-code” by Australian, disabled choreographer Marc Brew; “Hyper” by hip-hop ballerina Micaela Taylor and “See Me” by the athletic Christian Denice. The aforementioned “State of Mind” will close out the evening.

Tickets for the performance are $35 and $45 and may be purchased in person at The Egg box office at the Empire State Plaza, by calling 518-473-1845 or on-line at https://www.theegg.org/events/event/eisenhower-dance-detroit.