Koresh Dance Company to Offer Workshop at Pitt-Bradford

Koresh Dance Company assistant artistic director Melissa Rector will teach a master class for area dancers prior to the company’s performance at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on Monday, Nov. 2.

The master class will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, in the dance studio at the Pitt-Bradford Sport and Fitness Center. The class is free, but enrollment is limited to 24 students and registration is required. Dancers should have at least a rudimentary knowledge of dance to benefit from this master class. Normal dance studio attire is expected.

“Last season we presented the Russian National Ballet, and their workshop was so popular we had to cut off the number of students who applied,” said Randy L. Mayes, director of arts programming at Pitt-Bradford. Mayes said that he expects to see the same response this year for Rector’s Koresh Dance Company master class.

Rector will be teaching the master class along with some of the Koresh dancers to assist and demonstrate. “The participants will not just get instruction from a single teacher. Rather, they are getting a teacher and some of the Koresh dancers, which is rare and makes for a superior master class,” Mayes said.

After graduating with her certificate of dance from The University of the Arts in 1993, Rector obtained a scholarship to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of Ballet.

Rector has been dancing with the Koresh Dance Company since its inception in 1991 and frequently travels the country to perform and teach master classes. She is also an instructor at the Koresh School of Dance, where she teaches a unique style that blends modern jazz and Luigi jazz dance technique.

“Pitt-Bradford Arts Programming is committed to providing high-quality cultural experiences in all arts disciplines, and dance has been historically underrepresented in this part of western Pennsylvania,” said Mayes. “As long as the demand for dance is strong, we hope to be able to continue booking major dance companies and providing high-quality workshops for regional dancers for many years to come.”

For more information, or to reserve a place in the class, call the Bromeley Family Theater box office at (814)362-5113 or Patty Colosimo, assistant director of arts programming, at (814)362-5155.

For disability-related needs, contact the Office of Disability Resources and Services at 814-362-7609 or arj4@pitt.edu

Tickets also remain for the Koresh Dance Company’s performance at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 2. The group will perform pieces from two of their most popular works, “Looking Back, Music from the 40s and 50s,” and from “Ev-o-lu-tion.” The cost of tickets are $26 and $22 for the public; and $11 and $9 for all students. The show is part of the university’s Prism Series. Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office.

e-mail from Kimberly Weinberg, Pitt-Bradford