Mission:
Zoé Dance nurtures the art of dance, dance theatre and performance through accessible performance venues, educates the public and creates social awareness through themes explored in repertory.
About Us:
Founded in 2002, Zoé Dance has presented works by Callie Chapman Korn, Ivan Korn, Emily Beattie and Meghan Ballog.
Zoé Dance continues to perform in publicly accessible venues in order to make the art of dance an approachable art form for all and to heighten the awareness of dance in the Boston area and beyond.
History:
Zoé Dance has presented its work since 2002 in various venues and performance opportunities around Boston and internationally such as: World Music/CRASH Arts’ “Ten’s the Limit” (2005 and 2007), ArtBeat 2004 and 2009, “Virgin”, produced by the Dance Renewal Project, Harvard Square’s “May Fair” 2004, with the Choreographers Group 2004, Earth Dance’s Outdoor Performance Festival 2003, Corporación Cultural de Las Condes (Santiago, Chile) 2007, Boston Center for the Arts’ Mils Gallery as a featured artist of the Movement at the Mills residency. Zoe has also presented its work in self produced concerts: at the Dance Complex, Cambridge Multicultural Arts Center and Tower Auditorium at Massachuestts College of Art, the Boston Common, Union Square Plaza, and Green Street Studios. Zoé Dance was awarded a project grant from the Somerville Arts Council (2010) and was a finalist for the Boston Dance Alliance’s Rehearsal and Retreat Fellowship (2009).
Behind the Name:
Zoé, (life in Greek) came about when having a conversation with a man who was reading Kafenion cups at a Greek Festival in 2002. As he was reading our fortunes he spoke about how dance is the source of life and it was wonderful that we were dancers because of its expression. He used the word Zoé several times to describe what he meant by life. After several weeks of contemplation, the name stuck. Zoé Dance was born.
Since then Zoé has produced many works that had to be communicated through dance. The ideas for these works could not be expressed on paper, in words, on canvas or through any other art form. It had to be through the medium of dance.
Bios
Callie Chapman Korn (artistic director): Callie holds a B.F.A. from the Boston Conservatory. With Zoe, Callie has presented her work in venues such as CrashArts‘ “Ten’s the Limit” at the ICA and Green Street Studios, Corporacion Cultural de Las Condes (Santiago, Chile), multiple self-produced concerts, festivals, part of the Dance Renewal Project’s “Virgin”, Dance Complex’s Shared Choreographers Concert, among others. She currently dances for Prometheus Dance and has worked with artists such as: Nicola Hawkins, Karen Murphy and Emily Beattie (among others). She has collaborated with video artists Greg Shea and Ken Kinna, composer Ivan Korn, and composers/musicians Pancho Molina and Billy Herron. Callie also helped develop the Dance Renewal Project and is currently the Marketing and Design Associate for the Boston Dance Alliance. She is also a freelance graphic designer (web + print). In 2009 she was a recipient of the Somerville Arts Council’s Artist Fellowship and in 2010 received a project grant to produce “Depart”, an evening-length performance in the center of Union Sq. that was free and open to the public. Her work has also received recognition as a finalist for the Boston Dance Alliance’s Rehearsal Residency Fellowship in 2009.
Ivan Korn (dancer/choreographer): Ivan Korn is a dancer, choreographer, composer and musician from Santiago, Chile. He graduated with a M.F.A. from the Boston Conservatory in 2000 and has presented his work in multiple self-produced and shared concerts. As a composer, Ivan has created works that range from contemporary classical to progressive rock. Currently he runs Reality Cocktail, a group dedicated to performing his music repertory, and the Mirrors Neurons, which focuses on rock originals and covers. Ivan currently teaches private piano and is on faculty at the Marblehead School of Ballet where he teaches modern dance. You can check www.ivankorn.com
Sarah Ackley (dancer): Sarah began her dance training at the age of three. In high school she danced with Roanoke Ballet Theatre where she had the opportunity to work with the Moscow State Ballet, Jaques D’Amboise, and other visiting artists. She graduated magna cum laude with her B.F.A. in Dance and Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University in May 2004. While at VCU Dance, Sarah was a member of D’Feet Tap Ensemble, attended ACDFA, and performed in repertory pieces with Starrene Foster and Clay Taliaferro. She also studied with many guest artists including David Dorfman, Bebe Miller, Donald McKayle, and Gerri Houlihan. Sarah attended Bates Dance Festival during the summer of 2003 where she worked/ performed with Doug Varone. After performing Jose Limon’s Choreographic Offering at the Kennedy Center in June 2004, Sarah relocated to Saratoga Springs, New York where she received a scholarship to attend the Doug Varone and Dancers Summer Workshop. Since moving to Boston in February 2005, Sarah has danced with Boston Dance Collective, Kelley Donovan and Dancers, and Emily Beattie. Sarah currently teaches Tap and Ballet at The Dancing School in North Reading
Kate Neal (dancer): Kate Neal began ballet at the age of three in her hometown of Casper, Wyoming and continued to dance throughout her childhood, adding tap, jazz, modern, lyrical, and pointe to her repetoire. She attended Walnut Hill School for high school, and continued her training at the Boston Conservatory for two years. She then transferred to Mount Holyoke from which she received a B.A. in dance with a minor in Biology in 2009. She then returned to Casper, Wyoming where she taught various styles of dance. Kate returned to Boston last year, where she is teaching dance at The Brookline Ballet School and working with both Prometheus Dance and Zoe Dance. Her performance credits include choreography by Diane Arvanites & Tommy Neblett, Mark Morris, Anna Sokolow, Sean Curran, and Jose Limon.
Naoko Brown (dancer): Naoko was born in Nagoya, Japan. There, at the age of six, she was introduced to the world of dance by Michko Matsumoto. Seven years later, she moved with her family to Lansing, Michigan, where she trained under Barbara Smith. While training there she was able to perform at the National Ballet School of Gdansk Dance Theater in Poland and with dancers from Vaganova Ballet School in St. Petersburg, Russia. Naoko received her B.F.A. in Dance from The Boston Conservatory where she performed works by Daniel Pelzig, Sean Curren, Lar Lubovitch and Jose Limon. Naoko is currently dancing with Promethus Dance and happy to be a part of Zoe Dance Company. Naoko is also a faculty member of The School of Ballet Arts in Concord, MA.
Lonnie Stanton (dancer): Lonnie Stanton was born and raised in Paradise, California. While there, she began dancing with the Northern California Ballet and enjoyed summers at the Joffrey and Boston Ballet training programs. Lonnie graduated from the Boston Conservatory Magna Cum Laude in May 2009 with a BFA in Dance. She was the recipient of the Jan Veen Scholarship and Dance Department Merit Scholarship. Miss Stanton is in here fourth season performing with Prometheus Dance and was blessed to tour with them to Quito, Ecuador in 2010. Lonnie also performs with Boston based Angie Moon Dance Theatre and is blessed to be joining Zoe Dance. Her most recent piece of finished choreography was produced in the Dance Complex’s Fall 2011 Shared Choreographers’ Concert. Lonnie is a guest dancer working with choreographers through the N.A.D.I.N.E. project (New Artists Dance in New England). Miss Stanton enjoys working in the preschool program at Brookline Ballet and is on faculty at The Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts. She also has a growing interest in yoga, and completed her 200 hour certification with Yogaworks in August 2011. Lonnie is pleased to continue her performance career and grow further as an instructor and choreographer in the Boston area.
Joe Gonzalez (guest artist): Joe Gonzalez Born and raised in Boston Massachusetts. Joe Gonzalez Started his dance at the age of 13 at the Roxbury Center for the Performing Arts then became an honorable academics dance major at the Boston Arts Academy, attending the National and Regional High School Dance Festival. Joe’s diverse discovery in many styles from Funk to Contemporary has established him as a thinker through the arts and academics thus becoming a choreographer. Joe has participated in distinguished programs such as the Boston Conservatory summer intensive program, American Dance Festival, SpringBroad Montreal and Bates Dance Festival. In addition, he has performed master works from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Anna Sokolow, Ronald K. Brown, Paul Taylor, Sean Curran, Nathan Trice, Pedro Ruiz Jr., Jose Limon, RubberBand Dance Group, Alwin Nikolas, Cas Public and more. Gonzalez has Co-Choreographed on the Boston Conservatory dancers with Anna Myer and Rode Island College Dancer with Adrianne Hawkins. Joe Gonzalez has received his BFA from The Boston Conservatory and has attended many of the Conservatory students and faculty’s performances. He has traveled USA, Canada, Scotland, UK, Denmark, and India to perform. He has choreographed more then 15 original works that have been performed on national stages. Joe has also performed with the ‘A” Major Dance Company, Anna Myer and Dancers, Prometheus Dance, BalletRox and is Co-Director of Jo-Mé Dance Inc.
Yuka Takahashi (dancer): is a dancer, performer, improviser, choreographer certified Pilates instructor born and raised in Japan.
After graduating from high school she moved to NYC to attend Joffrey Ballet School. While she was in NY she explored her interest in Modern/ Contemporary Dance and performing arts. While she was in NY Yuka has performed under the direction of Ori Flomin, Kriota Willberg, and Rachel List among others.
In 2006 she moved to Vienna, Austria. There, she regularly presented dance, installations and performing arts. She received a two-year residency at LABfactory and a short residency at D.ID. During the residencies at LABfactory she created inter- disciplinary pieces with full professional support under the direction of Thomas J. Jelinek and Kazuko Kurosaki. While she was in Vienna, she was strongly engaged with artists of other disciplines. One of her collaborative works, with Ursula Endlicher, was performed at the art exhibition of SIGGRAPH ASIA2009 in Yokohama, Japan.
Since she moved to Boston in May 2011, she has presented her own work at Mobius, Boston Center for the Art, and Boston University, performed Trisha Brown’s work Floor of the Forest at The Institute Of Contemporary Art, and has performed as an improviser at the BCA , Greenway, Mobius as well as other local institutions.
www.highbrideproject.com
Catherine Murcek (guest artist): Catherine Murcek, a.k.a. Cat, received her early training at a small ballet school near her hometown of Lewisburg, PA. She was introduced to modern dance in 1999 at the Northfield Mount Hermon School when she joined the dance company there directed by Gretel Schatz. In December 2004, she graduated from Franklin College of Switzerland with a B.A. in International Economics. Since then, she has been concentrating on getting dance back to being a major part of her life. She moved to the Boston area last summer, and has since performed in works by Alisia Waller of Mobius International, Emily Beattie, Nicole Dagesse, and Heather Bryce, in addition to Zoé Dance.
