KENNESAW, Ga. | Mar 26, 2018

Regional winners of national dance competition

Kennesaw State’s Department of Dance was selected from among 44 adjudicated works presented by collegiate dance programs across the Southeast to perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., during the National American College Dance Festival June 6-9. The Festival, regarded as one of the most prestigious venues to present collegiate dance in the country, is held biennially.

The eight Kennesaw State dancers chosen to perform include: sisters Lindsay Duncan and Gabby Duncan of Johns Creek; Brianna Joy Ebunola of Dacula; Jaslyn Harris of Austell; Amber Kirchner of Woodstock; Madeline Moore of Conyers; Stephanie Still of Roswell; and Taylor Wheatley of Lawrenceville.

This regional selection marks the fifth time that the KSU Department of Dance has received this distinction.

Several thousand dancers compete at the regional conferences and National Festivals with more than 300 colleges and universities participating annually. Kennesaw State has been selected to host the Southeast Regional American College Dance Conference next March.

“Most dance majors have been studying dance since a young age,” said Professor and Dance Department Founding Chair Ivan Pulinkala. “Hours of rigorous training and rehearsal prepare students to achieve the technical proficiency needed to perform virtuosic movement.”

The KSU Dance Company will perform “Suspended Vision” by Kennesaw State Assistant Professor of Dance Lisa K. Lock. Lighting and scenic design is by David Tatu with costume design by Jill Peterson.

The choreographic work was one of two selected from among 44 entries this month at the Southeast regional conference held at Coker College in Hartsville, S.C. Both will be staged at the Festival, along with a group of choreographic works selected from across the country.

The judges praised Lock’s creation as having a “refined sense of non-linear drama, daring theatrical design, striking costuming and seamless excellence.”

“The work transports audiences into a surrealist world that evokes the illusion of weightlessness, allowing an escapism from reality,” Lock said.

Prior to joining KSU in 2014, Lock performed with companies such as La Danserie in Los Angeles, the Cleveland Opera and Ohio Dance Theater. Her recent dance film “My Other Self” was presented at the Summe in Switzerland.

– Robert S. Godlewski

A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 47,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The university’s vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.