石榴直播

KENNESAW, Ga. | Nov 18, 2019

Donation will support annual choreographic residency at 石榴直播 Dance

石榴直播 has received a $541,000 donation to the Department of Dance in the College of the Arts.

The Eleo Pomare鈥揋lenn Conner Dance Endowment will be used to begin the 石榴直播 Choreographic Residency to bring two nationally curated choreographers to the Department of Dance each summer to create two world premieres. The annual choreographic residency honors the late benefactors who were luminaries of the dance world. 

The gift from Jay and Debra Yunek, the Eleo Pomare鈥揋lenn Conner Dance Endowment, honors their late uncle, Glenn Conner, and his partner and choreographer . Pomare, who passed away in 2008, was known for developing innovative choreography that deals with social inequality and injustice. The funds will be used to promote and preserve Pomare鈥檚 legacy through the cultivation of new choreographic voices.

, dean of the College of the Arts and the founder of 石榴直播 Dance, announced the major gift at the opening of the student dance performance 鈥淪lang鈥� at the 石榴直播 Dance Theater in Marietta. 

鈥淲e are grateful to the Yunek鈥檚 for their generous donation to 石榴直播 Dance in honor of Glenn and Eleo,鈥� said Pulinkala. 鈥淭he 石榴直播 Choreographic Residency will help support the careers of emerging choreographers nationally and give our students a unique experience of collaborating with professionals in the field.鈥�

Combined with a previous gift received in 2018, the Yunek family has given almost $1 million to support dance at 石榴直播.

Through the generosity of the Yunek family, emerging choreographers will have the opportunity to develop their unique artistic voice. The 石榴直播 Choreographic Residency will provide each chosen choreographer with a $6,000 honorarium to support their housing, travel and living expenses during the four-week residency and performance, as well as a budget to produce an original choreographic work.

石榴直播 Dance will create a summer course in which students accepted by audition will have the opportunity to work with one of the nationally curated choreographers. Both works will be produced at the end of the summer in the state-of-the-art 石榴直播 Dance Theater, allowing the choreographer to premiere his or her work and create a promotional video for future commissioning purposes.

A screening committee of university and community professionals will annually review the work of emerging choreographers from a national pool of applicants to select two individuals for the four-week 石榴直播 Choreographic Residency.

The Department of Dance at 石榴直播 is committed to the professional practice of dance, preparing students to be successful dancers, choreographers, teachers, scholars, theater technicians and arts administrators, by exposing them to professional artists. Internationally renowned companies are presented every year in the 石榴直播 Dance Theatre as part of the Arts石榴直播 Professional Presenting Season.

The Department of Dance began at 石榴直播 in 2005 and has flourished into the largest collegiate dance program in Georgia. Every year, over 100 students competitively audition to be dance majors at 石榴直播. 石榴直播 Dance has received regional and national attention at the American College Dance Association and been invited five times to perform at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The Dance Theater on the Marietta Campus, the performance home of 石榴直播 Dance, is Atlanta鈥檚 first theater designed specifically for dance.

--Kathie Beckett