Ellen Sinopoli Comments on the Influence of Technology on the Arts and Religion
Sheer Modern Dance Strong, Cohesive
Sinopoli Brilliance Shines
Capital Region Achievers: Ellen Sinopoli
Company Announces it Jazz and More Gala and Performance
Company Slates Activities for Second Half of Season
Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company: Engaging children through modern dance
'Jewels of the Dance' Times Union Review
Company Slates Activities for the First Half of 2008-09 Season
The Artful Mind - Cover Story - May 2008
Ellen Sinopoli to Appear in From the Horse's Mouth at Proctor's Theatre
Year in review 2006 - Dance: Sinopoli provided most striking work
Work sets new bar - Sinopoli dancers brilliant in debut of original piece
'Spill Out!' is rich with visual delights

Ellen Sinopoli comments on the Influence of Technology on the Arts and Religion

A lecture program commissioned by The Society for the Arts, Religion & Contemporary Culture.

Statement: How do technologies shape the human soul?

October 30, 2009 / Barnard College / New York, NY
Participant: Ellen Sinopoli, choreographer

Questions:

What are the schisms that separate technology, the arts and religion?
What are their commonalities?

One of the primary purposes of religion and the arts is to allow insight into primal questions about our humanity, who we are as humans and where we fit into the larger spectrum of all life. Humans are innate questioners. Science has explained many aspects of the world that surrounds us, however the arts and spirituality often allow for a more unorthodox, mystical, insightful and alluringly fantastical journey into this exploration.

The creative process needs time to brew and to steep. The artist must understand the necessity for consistent examination and critiquing; possess a willingness to toss components into the air and reconfigure; be aware of the unexpected ideas and possibilities that sweep in and around the physical and mental process; maintain a respect for the collaborative nature of all the aesthetic elements of the art form. These multiple entities will reveal themselves in a circular as well as linear fashion.

We now possess technological possibilities that allow intricate exploration into very specific and finite elements and concepts, especially within an art form. These “studies” can afford the artist with infinite options. It is up to the artist to take this information and make the transformation into a work of art. Any type of exploration that exists purely for the sake of exploration does not necessarily enhance or produce art. If the use of technology allows deeper insight, a layering, a revelation, as the artist moves forward in the creative process, that can be exciting, that can be arresting, that can be stunning. However, it is important to keep sight of the art form being created. It is dance, music, theater, visual art, or a collaborative combination? Is the art, the technology? This must be clear in the artist’s mind and purpose. One of the most critical elements of art is the ability to communicate with the viewer both mentally and viscerally. We want to be shown a portal through which the viewer enters a spectrum that is completely enveloped by the art.

One of the things I have noticed, particularly with visual art, is how the human form has gradually disappeared. If you follow an historic perspective of this art form from the late 1800’s through to today, we see and experience the human less and less. There is abstraction, dissection and even a complete vanishing. Why is that? Has technology affected this in any way?

The mixture of spirituality, art and technology can be viewed as a collaboration. A truly successful collaboration maintains the integrity of each modality while holding on to a common goal towards the creation of a unique and revealing entity. Each cannot be there for the pure sake of itself. They are facilitators towards an end point of discovery and vision. Both spirituality and art are concerned with and affect the human spirit or soul. Can technology be part of this experience? Only if it does not lose sight of its role towards this end point. Perhaps as many questions will arise as answers, but as always, we are searching for a new portal, a new entryway into “ah ha” moments.

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Sheer modern dance strong, cohesive

Author: TRESCA WEINSTEIN, Special to the Times Union
Date: May 11, 2009

ALBANY — In its 17th annual spring concert at The Egg on Saturday, the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company presented three new works that showcased some of Sinopoli's most sophisticated, complex and varied choreography to date.

In recent years, the company has made its biggest splashes with site-specific pieces like 2006's "Spill Out!," performed on a giant scaffolding wrapped in spandex, and offbeat collaborations with visual artists, poets and musicians. By contrast, Saturday's program eschewed set, props, narrative, text – and even music with words - in favor of sheer, unadulterated modern dance, choreographed on and performed by a particularly strong and cohesive group of dancers, one of the best incarnations of the company ever seen on the Egg stage.

In accordance with The Egg's jazz theme this season, Sinopoli chose music by Leonard Bernstein, Aaron Copland and trumpeter Dave Douglas (who was in the house Saturday night) and injected the movement with jazz influence and attitude. "Brink," which the company premiered Saturday, begins with a cool, crisp solo by Claire Jacob-Zysman to the first track of Douglas' album "Moonshine," and incorporates swiveling hips, high kicks and a little bit of wiggly "funky chicken" knees.

For the most part, though, "Brink" is Sinopoli to the fourth or fifth power – grounded in her classically modern vocabulary but faster, spunkier and more layered in nuance and composition. Sinopoli uses the dimensions of both space and time deftly, varying the tone and arrangements as the music changes, stretching the shape of the dance down to the floor and then toward the sky.

The fourth of the five very different sections, set to the driving track "Kitten," is a dazzler: the dancers throw themselves across the stage, eating up space as they fly, shirttails fluttering over their tight-fitting black leggings and tops. A series of solos in the last section showcases Melissa George's quick transitions from angles to curves, Audrey Burns' showgirl kicks, Laura Teeter's quirky buoyancy and presence, Jennifer Yackel's breezy, unhurried turns and Jacob-Zysman's perfectly balanced fusion of freedom and control.

Also on the program were two works premiered last fall at a joint concert with the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra. In the flirty, high-energy "Contrapuntal Fling," set to Bernstein's "Prelude, Fugue and Riffs," the dancers are like five sassy pinup posters come to life as they leap and scissor kick, contract and release, and roll onto their backs with legs flicking upside-down in the air.

"Sepia," set to Copland's "Music for the Theatre," fittingly recalls the sculptural, emotional quality of Martha Graham's work (Copland composed the score for Graham's 1944 masterpiece, "Appalachian Spring"). Costumed in abbreviated takes on the draped tunic, the dancers form dramatically lit tableaux and then shift mood to plunge into jagged, playful solos. What fun!

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Sinopoli Brilliance Shines

Author: Wendy Liberatore, Gazette reporter
Date: May 9, 2009

Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company has achieved a new level of artistry. On Saturday night at The Egg, that was clear with the showing of her three newest dances, one of which, “Brink,” had its world premiere. It was a milestone night that marked Sinopoli finally finding her own voice and letting it sing out. It was her best program ever.

Perhaps the change was one of simple logistics. This time around, Artistic Director Sinopoli did not collaborate with another artist, something she is wont to do. Rather, she allowed music, just music, to guide her moves and eye. It was as if all these years, 17 seasons now, she stored up and then released her visions for this very night.

Some of this miraculous change can be credited to her dancers — a cohesive and capable quintet. Sinopoli has never had a chance to work with a more responsive and expressive bunch. Even still, Sinopoli is liberated and thus transformed. The entire evening was an achievement.

Take “Brink,” to the high-strung, layered music of jazz trumpeter and composer Dave Douglas. This is a cool, ultra-hip work that devoured space while expending gobs of energy. Except for the parade of solos, the dancers hardly took a breath as they tore across the stage. At times, the piece felt like an assault — on them — as they exploded like fireworks. At other parts, it looked like a challenge to the audience as they strutted, shrugging their shoulders and snapping their fingers as if daring a glance their way. Each dancer distinguished herself: Claire Jacob-Zysman was super frosty in her attitude, which contrasted with Melissa George, who exuded sensuality. Audrey Burns, Laura Teeter and Jennifer Yackel were simply bubbly and joys to witness.

“Brink” was a perfect complement to the night’s other selections, both of which premiered last November. “Contrapunctual Fling,” to music by Leonard Bernstein, was a boisterous and bright opener. Dressed in vivid colors, the dancers bopped like urbane sophisticates as the Bernstein score discharged a large, textured sound that swung from brash to foreboding. Of course, one couldn’t help but compare this Bernstein work with those of Jerome Robbins, a master choreographer of the 20th century. And Sinopoli and her dancers held their own, skating along its sounds with style. Even more terrific was “Sepia,” to the atmospheric music of Aaron Copeland. The piece opened as a prayer, with the dancers surveying the sky to the sound of a horn. The music grew and they stretched, awakening to a playful jaunt. They leapt over each other’s prone bodies and let their legs hang in the air like graceful sculptures. The lighting, by Sinopoli’s son Jason Sinopoli, was especially lovely here. Looking like the yellow dusky rays of sun, the dancers, in their silky costumes, glowed. Finishing the look was costume designer Kim Vanyo, who dressed every dance beautifully.

The night was flawless. Sinopoli and all involved should be proud.

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Capital Region Achievers: Ellen Sinopoli

Author: Mary Beth Galarneau, Capital Region Living Magazine,

Date: March 2009

Ellen Sinopoli is proof that you can successfully pursue a career in the arts. For 17 years the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company has been performing cutting edge, modern dance performances for audiences in the Capital Region. And, she has the prestigious honor of being the resident dance company at The Egg in downtown Albany.

Like many artists, the talent is innate.

“Dance was not something I chose. It chose me,” said Sinopoli, 65, who credits her parents with her passion for dance and art. Both were artists – her father a violinist, her mother a dancer.
Regardless of the type of business, Sinopoli believes passion is a must to running a successful business. In the art world, determination and relentlessness can’t hurt either. “Whatever you decide, get the very best training, advice and mentoring you can.”

Sinopoli grew up in Hartford, CT, where she was exposed to various forms of dance, such as ballet and tap, from the time she could walk. As a teen she was exposed to modern dance and found she really enjoyed it, but it wasn’t until she was an adult that she really fell in love with it.
“I felt it was more exciting and I liked the approach to movement.”

She enrolled at Adelphi University on Long Island, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance and was fortunate enough to work with the Paul Taylor Company, the resident company at the college for two years. “The experience was amazingly inspiring,” said the 65-year old.

During college, she met her husband, Tom. His three-year stint in the military took them down south – North Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia. In each new state, Sinopoli taught dance at local schools. In 1969, they were back in New York and she entered the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance as a scholarship student.

She also became pregnant with her son and realized it was too difficult to continue dancing.
“I was a good dancer, but not professional. I couldn’t put the time in that I needed to start performing.” During her seven-year absence from dance, she enjoyed the early years of her son’s life and managed to earn a Master’s degree in Library Science.

Her husband’s new job relocated the family to the Boston area. Now in her early thirties, Sinopoli was ready to dance again. Through local studios she became involved with choreographers, and within a year formed a small modern dance company with another woman.

She also began teaching modern dance at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, a private performing arts school in Natick, MA where she remained for 11 years. With a strong group of talented students, Sinopoli started thinking more of choreography with professional dancers.

When her son, now grown up, enrolled at NYU, the couple decided to follow suit to be closer to him. But, they didn’t stay there too long. After a year, her husband’s job relocated them in 1990, this time to the Capital Region.

And with the move, she decided that if she was going to stay within her field, she wanted to create a professional modern dance company that would allow her to work with highly trained dancers while continuing to develop her skill as a choreographer.

“I didn’t know anyone,” she said, but quickly discovered the dance community. A year later she formed The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company. “With every major move, I have been able to reform myself and regroup and figure out what I wanted to do.”

As a choreographer, she is not one who demands the dancers learn a movement in a specific way. Rather, she prefers to utilize their ideas.

“I feel it’s a creative process and I enjoy taking ideas from them. They bring artistry to it. It is essential we work as a team.”

She currently has a group of five part-time dancers, all women in their mid-twenties. They typically come from across the country, but she has also worked with dancers from as far away as Japan. “Each year, the dancers who come to work for me bring increased artistry, training, and professionalism. They inspire me and they expand my vision.”

Her performances are known for being different and “outside of the box” and her knack for creating unique choreography was what landed her the gig at The Egg, where every year her company puts on one to two performances.

In her early years of the company, collaborations were far from her mind. But she quickly realized that working with the many other artists in area could be beneficial.

“I find that collaborations, if worked and developed intelligently and with respect for each artist’s genre, can be extraordinarily invigorating, rewarding and successful.”

Presenting concerts at the Egg is only a small part of her daily job. Sinopoli has taught dance at Russell Sage College for the past 15 years and, more recently, she began teaching at Siena. She formed a partnership with the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy where she teaches workshops, and works with between 30 to 50 local public schools by bringing creative movement workshops to them. In turn, this helps them meet their New York State Learning Standards.

“Most schools are not in a position to have a full-time dance teacher,” she said. Many times she works with the art teacher, gym teacher, or even the principal, to develop programs they’re interested in. She averages between 250-300 movement workshops a year and 8-12 concerts.
“We might do a workshop for a day and leave, or it might take several weeks.”

In her experience, Sinopoli has found that many of her students come in with a preconceived idea of what dance is about. “If one or two go on to become dancers, that’s wonderful. If the majority go on to become audience members, that’s even better.”

Her concert work also takes her up north and down south and she hopes touring nationally is in her future. Other future ambitions include expanding the company to allow for full-time dancers and allowing students to apprentice.

Finally having planted down roots, Sinopoli relishes her time spent in the Capital Region, “I have always felt that the Capital Region easily and openly embraces its artists.”

She remembers her mother once telling her how fortunate she and her father were to make a living doing what they loved. “Not everyone can make that happen,” she said. “It was not until my adult years that I truly realized how much dance defined me as a human being.”

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Company Announces its Jazz and More Gala and Performance

(Troy, NY): The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company (ESDC) announces it Jazz and More Gala and Performance on Saturday, May 9, 2009.

The Gala will be held at the NYS Museum with a performance following at The Egg.

5:00 pm at the NYS Museum
4th Floor Terrace Gallery

-Cajun Jazz fare by Hattie's Restaurant
-Wine by Spirits of Troy
-Silent auction of Jazz-themed items and more!

7:15 pm at The Egg
Pre-performance talk with Ellen Sinopoli

8:00 pm at The Egg
Performance

9:30 - 10:30 pm at The Egg
Dessert reception

Performance Includes:
-Brink-Company premiere to the music of two-time
Grammy nominee and jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas

-Reprise of two fall 2008 premieres-Sepia, to the
music of Aaron Copland, and Contrapuntal Fling, to
the music of Leonard Bernstein.

-ESDC honors Gary Weitzman and Jan Reiss-Weitzman
of artforms, for their many years of support.

For ticket information please call: 518-408-1341 or email at info@sinopolidances.org

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Company Slates Activities for Second Half of Season

(Troy, NY): The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company (ESDC), resident company of The Egg, is pleased to announce its schedule of activities for the winter/spring. Multiple area concerts, the premiere of new works, a number of arts-in-education projects, a series of classes and an annual fundraising event are on tap for the company as it continues its 18 th season.

AREA CONCERTS- Major performances at the Wood Theater in Glens Falls, the Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy and The Egg in Albany highlight the winter/spring calendar. Outside the Capital Region, the company will also perform at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts and Norwood Village Green.

First off is a Saturday, January 17 performance at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts at 7:30pm. Marking the second performance for ESDC at this year-round performing and visual arts facility located in Adirondack Park, ESDC will present an electrifying evening of dance that features the lush and vibrant choreography of its artistic director. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. Information and reservations can be obtained by calling (518) 523-2512 .

The following week, ESDC will make another north country appearance when it performs at the Charles R. Wood Theater in Glens Falls. These two January performances are part of Northern Exposure, the company’s upstate New York tour that also included performances in the first half of the season at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, Indian Lake Theater in Indian Lake and Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek. Tickets for the 8pm performance at the Wood Theater are $20 for adults, $18 for seniors and $12 for children and are available by calling (518) 798-2663 x 30.

Next up is a 2pm matinee performance at The Arts Center of the Capital Region on Sunday, February 15. Leading up to this show, the company will offer several activities at the Arts Center – a workshop for children on Sunday, January 25 from 1 to 2:30pm, an open rehearsal on Friday, January 30 from 6 to 9pm and a presentation/lecture on the making of a dance company on Wednesday, February 11 at 7pm. T ickets for the performance are $15 for the general public and $12 for Arts Center members. Other events are free or have a nominal fee. Information and reservations can be obtained by calling (518) 273-0552 .

On its home stage at The Egg, the company will perform on Saturday, May 9 as part of the venue’s Jazz Dance series. ESDC will explore the world of jazz and improvisation in a program featuring premieres as well as works from its repertory. Information and reservations can be obtained by calling (518) 473-1845 .

Culminating its public performance season as well as its Northern Exposure tour, the company will travel north near Potsdam to the Norwood Village Green to perform on Thursday, June 11 as part of its concert series. Information can be obtained by calling ( 315) 353-2437.

ARTS-IN-EDUCATION PROGRAMS- ESDC will also offer a performance open to school groups this winter. On Wednesday, February 11 at Scotia-Glenville Middle School, ESDC will present Dance by Chance at 10am for students in grades 3 through 6. This popular program mixes math with movement giving students an appreciation for an exciting art form while exploring grade-appropriate mathematical principles. Admission to this performance is $4 per student for school groups with chaperones free. Reservations and information may be obtained by contacting Kim Engel, ESDC’s Education Coordinator, at (518) 442-5738.

The second half of the school year will also find ESDC in residency programs and performances at the following area schools: Abram Lansing Elementary (Cohoes), Boulevard Elementary (Gloversville), Charlton Heights Elementary (Ballston Lake), Galway Elementary (Galway), Glendaal Elementary (Scotia), Glen-Worden Elementary (Scotia), Greenfield Elementary (Greenfield Center), Ichabod Crane High School (Valatie), Lincoln Elementary (Scotia), Pashley Elementary (Glenville), Sacandaga Elementary (Scotia) and Stevens Elementary (Ballston Lake).

As part of the company’s community outreach, Ellen Sinopoli will offer a Story Hour program at the Troy Public Library’s main branch on Wednesday, January 28 at 10:30pm. ESDC is also partaking in an after school program at The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy.

CLASSES- ESDC will teach classes this winter/spring at the Arts Center of the Capital Region. For teens and adults, offerings will include jazz on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 6:45pm (3/4/09 - 3/25/09) and modern (3/30/09 - 4/20/09) and ballet (4/27/09 - 5/18/09) on Mondays from 6 to 7:15pm. Designed for pre-school-aged children with their parents and/or caregivers, a movement and music class for Mommy & Me will also be offered on Saturdays in February. Classes will be taught by company members Audrey Burns, Jennifer Yackel and Laura Teeter. More information and registration can be obtained by calling (518) 273-0552.

ANNUAL FUNDRAISING EVENT- ESDC will hold its annual gala on the evening of Saturday, May 9. Like last year’s event, this one will be held at the NYS Museum prior to the performance at The Egg. Invitations and more information may be received by calling ESDC at (518) 408-1341.

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Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company: Engaging children through modern dance

Author: Karen Knowles, Parent & Grandparent, by the publishers of Capital Region Living Magazine, Date: Winter 2008

What do sapphire elephants, graceful gazelles, and karate kicks have in common with modern dance? They’re the inspiration behind Ellen Sinopoli’s energetic dance choreography for children and their families. As Artistic Director of the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company, Sinopoli and her ensemble of five dancers engage children through their lively, interactive performances and workshops in area theatres, schools and libraries.

“Modern dance,” says Sinopoli, “is about being energized and very active. It’s filled with surprises that add depth or new ways of looking at things.” Sinopoli surprises her young audience by partnering her dancers in unexpected ways: a dancer suddenly jumps into another dancer’s arms to make a shape that is unusual, inspiring children to “think outside the box” about the possibilities of the dance and their own physical abilities.

During story time with young children at libraries, Sinopoli often uses language as a tool to teach them about dance. She shares with them the book The Human Alphabet, by Pilobolus, which illustrates dancers using their bodies to form the letters of the alphabet. She then asks the children to take the letter of their first name and see if they can make that shape with their body. By engaging them physically, Sinopoli “gives them an alternative way of learning.”

Sinopoli encourages children to think creatively and imagine ideas that are surprising, like sapphire elephants. During a workshop, Sinopoli might say to them: “close your eyes and imagine the most fantastical, amazing shape you can put your body into” without worrying if it’s possible. They then jump into the air and try to get into the shape as closely as they can by using their imagination and their bodies in unique, creative ways.

Exciting an audience about dance has been Sinopoli’s mission since she began the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company in 1991. They have been the resident company of The Egg Center for the Performing Arts for 17 seasons. In addition to local theatres, they perform in over 25 area school districts, as well as many local libraries and art centers through their Arts-in-Education program. This year the company is presenting their Northern Exposure tour in upstate New York.

“We want to incorporate everyone,” Sinopoli comments. “The responsibility of an artistic group, aside from developing their art, is to build audiences. You need to get children into these kinds of environments so they’ll have a certain kind of affinity for it, they’ll be drawn to it and be excited by it.” Sinopoli believes that it’s important to “open their eyes that these things exist and that experiencing them can be very enriching.”

In her Arts-in-Education workshops and Family Shows, Sinopoli talks with the children about where her ideas come from and invites them to participate in creating dance moves that mimic the dancer’s moves. “Animal Rhythms,” with music by percussionist Brian Melick, tells a fun story of giraffes, gibbons, and gazelles moving across the veldt. “We talk about what makes a giraffe unique—its very elegant, long graceful neck. Monkeys are like Dennis the Menace, all over the place. So I suggest things for them to look for while they’re watching the dance. But then afterwards, I say come on down, and we try some of these things. I guide them, and that way the children actually get to experience a little bit of what it feels like to be in front of an audience, to be creative with some of the moves they’re doing.”

The colorful costumes and energetic programs encourage children to respond imaginatively. “In “Relay,” we slide from one side of the room to the other, we gallop, we prance, we do something called the karate kick,” Sinopoli explains. As the dancers perform, Sinopoli uses a mike to cue the children, encouraging them to call out when they see the dancers make the same moves they’ve practiced.

Some of Sinopoli’s dances are based on folk tales from other cultures. “Dance Granny Dance,” tells the Central American story of a trickster spider through dance, music, and spoken word. The audience learns a chant, and as the dancers are performing and the spider comes on stage, the children call out the chant on Sinopoli’s cue.

At the close of a performance, Sinopoli thinks children might leave “remembering the music, or the costumes, or the monkeys, but they’re going to walk away remembering something. They didn’t have to sit for the whole performance. They were able to get up and participate. I find that that really engages them.” And they take what they’ve learned and use it in their own lives. Sometimes, after Sinopoli and her dancers have performed at a school and are leaving, they’ll see some of the children outside at recess practicing the same moves they’ve been taught.

One of her favorite memories is of a kindergartner who said after a workshop: “I’m never going to forget this day!” And that’s what art is about, says Sinopoli – “having an exciting experience that resonates with you, that helps you see things differently.”

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‘Jewels of the Dance’ a celebration

SSO makes sounds right in beat with Sinopoli movements

Author: TRESCA WEINSTEIN, special to the Times Union
Date: November 27, 2008

SCHENECTADY – The impulse to move to music is as involuntary as a heartbeat, and different melodies and rhythms seems to speak directly to different parts of our bodies. The sound of drums inspires us to move our hips, string instruments evoke gliding, dipping motions and you can’t help but bob your head to the Grateful Dead.

Choreographers and composers throughout the ages have taken advantage of that hard-wired connection to create music for dance – and dance for music – that makes a kind of inevitable, visceral sense. Sunday afternoon’s concert by the Schenectady Symphony Orchestra and the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company focused on some of these musical masterpieces in a program called “Jewels of the Dance,” which included music by Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky, Aaron Copland and Leonard Bernstein, among others, composed specifically for dance. The second half of the concert, featuring three Sinopoli pieces, offered audiences a first-hand experience of how movement complements music and vice versa.

Close you eyes to the strains of Tchaikovsky’s waltzes from “Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty” and images of tutu-ed ballerinas dance in you head - long legs and arms sweeping to the lacy, delicate strands of melody. Bernstein’s score for “West Side Story” moves from romantic interludes to almost cacophonous sections as the plot unfolds. Whether or nor you’re familiar with the dances associated with the music, you’re lifted up by the emotion and the changes of mood, and reminded again of the everyday miracle of music: the way a certain combination of notes can effortlessly evoke a spring day, a passionate embrace or a monster lurking under the bed.

Fittingly, the dances performed for the concert by Sinopoli’s five-member troupe (Audrey Burns, Melissa George, Claire Jacob-Zysman, Laura Teeter and Jennifer Yackel) were essentially embodiments of the sounds to which they were danced. With sensitivity and nuance, these three works – including two premieres - surrender to the innate desires of the body to follow the impulses called up by the music.

“(Sepia),” set to Copland’s five-movement suite, “Music for the Theater,” is classic Sinopoli choreography, tweaked for each shift in Copland’s tone – sculptural shapes, expressive, lyrical arms, extensive use of the floor and constantly changing arrangements. The dancers are a band of fairies or a Grecian frieze come to life, luxuriant in Copland’s slower, softer sections, wiggly and playful for his “Burlesque” movement.

Sinopoli’s “Into Dark Moods,” and its accompanying composition, Münir Beken’s “Pottery Shards,” are both jagged and introspective works. The dancers exist mostly in separate worlds, reflecting the music, made up of what Beken calls “meaningful and meaningless sound clusters.”

The program closed with the jazzy, buoyant “Contrapuntal Fling,” a spirited, high-kicking accompaniment to Bernstein’s “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs.” The beautifully balanced music highlighted this season’s particularly unified incarnation of Sinopoli’s company: Like notes on the staff, the five dancers, all of similar height and build, appear to be in perfect harmony.

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Company Slates Activities For The First Half Of 2008-09 Season

( Troy, NY): The Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company (ESDC), resident company of The Egg, is pleased to announce its schedule of activities for the first half of the 2008-09 season. Area concerts, the premiere of new works, a multi-week residency, arts-in-education programs and dance classes for the public are on tap for the company. ESDC also welcomes a new dancer and apprentice to the company roster.

AREA CONCERTS -Kicking off the season, the company will perform Branches of Words at the Skidmore Dance Theatre on Friday, September 26 at 8pm. A breathtaking tapestry of live music, dance and spoken word, the program celebrates the Persian poetry of 14 th century Sufi poet Hafez and is performed by a multi-national gathering of artists as ESDC is joined by Iranian actor and director Mahmood Karimi-Hakak, American Jewish composer Zoe B. Zak and Ghanaian musician Zorkie Nelson. The music, dance and recitation of spoken word, whether in Persian or English, explore the sonnets of Khajeh Hafez Shirazi which investigate human relationships and celebrate the universal themes of love, union, freedom and tolerance. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $10 for students and the Skidmore community and are available through the Skidmore box office at (518) 580-5392.

On Saturday, November 1 at 7pm , the company will travel to Indian Lake Theater for a family performance. Hosted by the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts in North Creek, the show will feature selections from the company’s repertory that are chosen specifically to engage and entertain young children and their families. Filled with visual and aural delights, this program includes Artistic Director Ellen Sinopoli who introduces each dance and cues the audience on ideas and images to look for in each work. The program also contains a participatory element whether it is children playing rhythms to accompany the dancers, being encouraged to try certain shapes and movement skills or calling out the names of specific movements every time they occur within a particular dance. Tickets: (518) 352-7715 .

In its annual appearance at Russell Sage College , ESDC will perform in the James L. Meader Little Theater on Friday and Saturday, November 14 & 15 at 8pm . Performing several works from its vibrant and varied repertory, ESDC will be the featured guest artists in a program entitled Dancing Before the Snow Flies VIII. Tickets are $6 for adults and $5 for students and are available at (518) 244-2248 .

On Sunday, November 23 at 3pm , ESDC will join Schenectady Symphony Orchestra at Proctors in a program called Jewels of the Dance. In the first half of the program, the symphony will perform Tchaikowsky’s waltzes from “ Swan Lake” and “Sleeping Beauty,” Bernstein’s Symphonic Dances from “West Side Story” and Leo Delibes’s Festive Dance and Waltz of the Hours from “Coppelia.” ESDC will appear with the orchestra in the second half of the program to perform two commissioned premieres – one to Jacques Ibert’s “Divertissement” and the other to Bernstein’s “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs.” ESDC will also perform its repertory work, Into Dark Moods, as the orchestra accompanies with Munir Beken’s “Pottery Shards.” Tickets are $7.50 for adults, $5 for children ages 8 – 18 and free to children under 8 years old and are available through Proctors Box Office at (518) 346-6204 or www.proctors.org.

Closing out the calendar year, ESDC will travel to North Creek, NY to perform at the Tannery Pond Community Center on Saturday, December 27 at 7:30 pm. In its first ever appearance at the venue, ESDC will perform a program of select works from its repertory. This performance is hosted by Upper Hudson Musical Arts. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students and are available at (518) 251-3751 or www.upperhudsonmusic.org.

RESIDENCY
For three weeks in the fall, ESDC be in residence at the Kaatsbaan International Dance Center in Tivoli, NY. From September 29 through October 18, the company will live and work at the facility creating new works and offering master classes and arts-in-education programs. The public will also be able to observe the company during open rehearsals and a live photo shoot. The residency will culminate in two performances – a family program in which stories are brought to life through dance on Sunday, October 12 at 3pm and a performance of Branches of Words on Saturday, October 18 at 7:30pm. Tickets for the family program are $10 for adults and $20 for families. In a special arrangement with neighboring libraries, admission is free when a library card from a participating library is presented. Tickets to Branches of Words are $25. Tickets are available at (845) 757-5106. Student rush tickets will be available at the door for $10.

ARTS-IN-EDUCATION PROGRAMS
This fall, the company will continue its work in the field of arts-in-education with master classes for Skidmore students, workshops at Glens Falls Middle School, a five-day residency at Greenfield Elementary School, multi-discipline programs for students from Watervliet Elementary School and a performance of Branches of Words for area middle school students. Information on these and other arts-in-education offerings are available through Kim Engel, ESDC’s Education Coordinator, at (518) 442-5738 or kengel@albany.edu.

CLASSES
This fall, ESDC will offer ballet, modern and jazz technique classes for children, teens and adults at The Arts Center of the Capital Region in Troy, NY. These classes will be taught by company members Audrey Burns, Laura Teeter and Jennifer Yackel. Class schedules, fees and other information can be obtained by contacting the Arts Center at www.artscenteronline.org or calling (518) 273-0552.

As part of its new Family Sundays program, Ellen Sinopoli will host a Movement Story Hour at The Arts Center of the Capital Region on September 21 at 1pm. Admission is $5 per person or $20 for the whole family.

Also, Ellen Sinopoli will teach Stretch & Strengthen classes on Thursday mornings from 8:30 to 9:45 and on Saturday mornings from 9 to 10:15 in Troy. These classes consist of isometric strengthening and passive stretching exercises. No dance experience is needed, all ages are welcome and bringing a floor mat is recommended. Further information for these classes may be obtained at www.sinopolidances.org or by calling 518-408-1341.

ESDC DANCERS
Jennifer Yackel is ESDC’s newest dancer joining company members Audrey Burns, Melissa George, Claire Jacob-Zysman and Laura Teeter. Jennifer is originally from the Eastern Shore of Maryland where she participated in the Kennedy Center Master Class Series for promising young dancers and received a medal at the Youth American Grand Prix.   She trained and performed with the Richmond Ballet and was a company member with Ballet Theatre of Maryland, dancing in many principal roles.  Jennifer has performed with Neville Dance Theatre and Stephanie Harris Dance Collective.

In addition, Anna Warrick Greenberg has joined ESDC as an apprentice. She is a graduate of Hampshire College in western MA.

The performances and programs of the Ellen Sinopoli Dance Company are funded, in part, by the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Performances at Skidmore, Indian Lake Theater and Tannery Pond Community Center are part of a six-venue Northern Exposure Tour, that is sponsored by the Charles R. Wood Foundation and Capital Region Living Magazine. The three week residency at Kaatsbaan International Dance Center is supported in part by the New York State Council on the Arts Dance Program. ESDC receives support from the City of Albany.

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The Artful Mind - Cover Story - May 2008

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Ellen Sinopoli to Appear in From the Horse's Mouth at Proctor's Theatre

On May 10, 2008, From the Horse’s Mouth will be presented at Proctor’s Theater in Schenectady. Ellen Sinopoli has been selected as one of the 34 dancers from the Capital Region to participate in this celebratory dance/theater production that has received rave reviews from critics around the US. Premiered in 1998 at Joyce Soho in NYC, subsequent productions have featured dances of African, Flamenco, East Indian, Irish, Japanese, clogging, hip-hop, tango, jazz, tap, ballet and Broadway styles, to name a few. Join us on May 10th at 7 PM for a very unique and exciting evening! http://www.partnersindance.org

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