Dance Company

Dance Company, originally the Williams College Dance Society, is the oldest of the five performing ensembles. The Dance Company, chosen by audition and invitation from the student body and community, focuses on modern dance technique and improvisation. Student choreography (see Choreography Policy) is a major component of the program. Consequently, many of the pieces in the concerts are student works. Every dance reflects the choreographer’s personal expression, and movement that may draw upon a wealth of dance forms including modern, jazz, ballet, African, popular social dance, Chinese martial arts and Irish folk dancing. Some of the dances in the repertoire were choreographed by guest artists in residence with Dance Company. Previous guest artists include:

• New York City Ballet
• Chen & Dancers
• Ronald K. Brown/Evidence
• Marlies Yearby
• Mickey Davidson
• Christalyn Wright
• Erika Dankmeyer
• Terry Creach
• Diane Walker
• Blondell Cummings
• Marta Renzi
• Liz Lerman Dance Exchange
• Delfos Contemporary Dance

The company also takes advantage of the many resources available to us in the Berkshires. Dance Company recently produced choreography in response to the art installations in the museum galleries of Mass MoCA, and continues to push the boundaries of conventional performance. "Modern Dance" appeared in America during the twentieth century, and was to have a profound effect on dance performance and education. Developed as an alternative voice to ballet, Modern Dance’s founding choreographers were looking to provide work that spoke to the human and scientific condition of the modern world. Thus, early dancers such as Martha Graham, Isadora Duncan and Ted Shawn dealt with thematic material and used choreographic approaches that were completely unlike those typical of classical ballet.

This freshness of Dance Company - with its contemporary issues and ability to say things that are personal and meaningful to all people - continues to capture new audiences. Here, at Williams College, Dance Company continues to thrive as a part of the legacy of dancing within the American liberal arts tradition.

Artistic Direction, Holly Silva