20 Years: A Brief History from the founding artistic director 1989 Faculty This year marks the 20th season of the NYSSSA School of Dance. In reflecting on the significance of this landmark, Julie (Adams Strandberg, co-director and my sister) and I were drawn to remembrances of each summer, who was here, and which dances were performed. Advances in technology became apparent as we looked at old video formats and printed materials. Photographs reminded us that several students returned as counselors or faculty, others as administrative interns or guest choreographers. A flood of memories and anecdotes ensued: funny stories and not-so funny stories. In poring over old programs and photos of performances, we were reminded of last-minute frantic costume gathering trips to Jamesway, now the site of Home Depot; and to Woolworth's on Broadway, now the site of Kinko's. Early Years Back in 1989 all of our activities were housed at Skidmore College. Julie and I remember our warm welcome, and first meeting Mary DiSanto-Rose, chair of dance at Skidmore, when she appeared in Studio 2 the first week of classes to say, "Do you need anything? Just let me know." Thanks to Dave Yergan, theater manager and technical director, all of our performances over the past 20 years at the Skidmore Dance Theater have had extraordinary production value. 1989 Students after final showing at Falstaff's Class in the Rotunda Early on, we decided to reach into the community so, in 1990, we began to offer a master class, open to the public, on a temporary floor in the rotunda of the National Museum of Dance. The following year, we furthered our outreach activities by including local children in a production of my work, Tsunami, which they performed with our students in the final concert. These early years also featured a series of lecture demonstrations, led by Ruth Andrien, exploring and promoting the philosophy and concepts we were developing for the program. In 1991, The National Museum of Dance announced that it would build studios behind the Museum. The studios would house the NYSSSA School of Ballet and the School of Dance. On a wintry day that same year, Heather Watts and I participated in the ground-breaking ceremony at the construction site of the new studios which were built within the year. Since then, our program has had the benefit of three state-of-the-art studios and unlimited access to the Museum exhibits, enhancing our educational mission. Class in the Swyer Studios Artists-in-Residence: A Key Element of the Program NYSSSA Students in Danny Grossman's Ecce Homo The purpose of the artists-in-residence component is to give students access to both new and historic repertory. Since 1993, NYSSSA students have benefited from intimate interaction with resident companies and guest artists. In that year, the Danny Grossman Company became our first teaching and performing company in residence. In residence as well was Paul Taylor's brand new second company, Taylor 2, learning his classic Aureole under the direction of Linda Hodes, with coaching by Taylor alums Ruth Andrien, Danny Grossman, Robert Kahn, and myself. It became increasingly clear that one-time access to repertory was not sufficient. Dance needed to come to parity with the other art forms by providing ongoing access to exemplary research, data, and seminal works. Yet, until quite recently, access to dance resources was extremely limited. That all changed with the creation of the Repertory EtudesTM Dance Instructional Collection, which I conceived and curate and direct with Julie. Students and teachers can now have ongoing access to existing and historical repertory. Partnership with the American Dance Legacy Institute In 1994, Julie and I established the American Dance Legacy Institute (ADLI) at Brown University, where she directs the dance program. ADLI is dedicated to enabling all individuals to participate, as primary collaborators, in the creation and perpetuation of America's dance heritage. In support of this mission, ADLI develops and disseminates the Repertory EtudesTM along with other interactive materials, and conducts a range of programs that emphasize experiential learning. NYSSSA developed a partnership with ADLI in 1996. ADLI is in residence at NYSSSA each year providing workshops and exposing our students to great dance works of our cultural lineage, as the faculty nurtures their skills of invention and performance, preparing them to be dance artists of the future. Many Repertory EtudesTM have been developed and produced at NYSSSA and students are featured throughout the video footage that is part of ADLI's instructional material packages. NYSSSA Students in Donald McKayle's "Rainbow Etude" Julie's daughters Laura Bennett and Marie Strandberg Porter as the 1989 Tech Crew In the late 1990s, Laura Bennett, who had been part of NYSSSA from the early years as technical crew, counselor, and guest choreographer, took on the larger role of Program Coordinator in moving the NYSSSA-ADLI partnership forward. Deepening the Residencies Over the 1996-1999 summers, Donald McKayle introduced the "Rainbow Etude" to the students, Sophie Maslow set excerpts from her work, Folksay, and Walter Nicks taught Katherine Dunham technique. NYSSSA students conducted oral histories with founding members of the New Dance Group, Lorry May created "Rooms Etude" on the students, based on Anna Sokolow's classic, Rooms, The Parsons Company was in residence creating the "Parsons Etude," and Peggy Schwartz developed a Repertory EtudeTM based on Pearl Primus' Bushasche. Since 2001, Robert Battle and members of his company, Battleworks, have been in residence, and in 2003 he created the "Battle Etude." Dancing Legacy, the performing and teaching ensemble of the American Dance Legacy Institute, has been in residence since 2003, leading ADLI programs. Robert Battle and Battleworks members at a student showing. My mother, Olive Adams, looks on. Benenson Fund Inaugural Luncheon The Susan Benenson Fund In 1997, June and Ray Benenson, major advocates for integrating dance into academic settings, learned of the educational opportunities for young dancers at the NYSSSA School of Dance. With their daughters Barbara and Joyce, they established the Susan Benenson Fund, in honor of their late daughter, a passionate and devoted dancer. Administered by ADLI, the Susan Benenson Fund has made possible the awarding of scholarships and stipends to NYSSSA students and has also supported the ADLI-NYSSSA partnership's education initiatives. In the coming year, the Fund will support ADLI programming in the Schenectady, New York school system. The program will include past, current, and future NYSSSA students, extending our reach beyond the summer. Opportunities for Increased Outreach From 1999-2004, NYSSSA and ADLI co-hosted professional development workshops for dance educators in and beyond the region. The educators had opportunities to work with and learn from NYSSSA students. The students also had chances to go beyond the program's walls using ADLI materials as the basis for outreach activities. In 2003, NYSSSA students conducted workshops at two Capital District community centers, and many students took ADLI materials back to their hometowns. Community Workshop In 2005, ADLI mounted a major exhibition at the Museum featuring pioneering members of the New Dance Group (1930-1960) and hosted a conference on the Group which brought participants from across the country to share workshops, master classes, seminars, and performances with our students. Judi Fiore, Donald McKayle, Steven Vendola, and Muriel Manings view the New Dance Group exhibit. Mary Anthony at New Dance Group Conference In 2006, the students traveled downstate to offer workshops at camps for children and adults with autism and physical disabilities, as part of my research and development of a dance curriculum for people with autism. This project was sponsored by AHRC. At this 20th year landmark, while we are conceiving the decades to come, we pause to thank all those who have supported our vision and ensured our growth. With countless people to thank, we cannot fail to acknowledge Mary Daley, executive director of NYSSSA, who has earned her wings for helping us to fly. Carolyn