Elyse Tussey

Elyse Tussey (BFA '08 Theatre Education) is now serving as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English and AIDS education in Cameroon, Africa. During her time at the School of Theatre Arts, the honors student and Medici scholar helped co-chair a Southern Arizona Acting Festival for high school students, and directed plays and acted as technical director/teaching artist and stage manager/sound engineer during an internship at the Lexington Children’s Theatre in Kentucky. She was also able to study abroad in England, where she organized and taught improvisation classes. As a student, Tussey expressed a desire to "use my teaching skills in a part of the world that needs the energy and enthusiasm I am willing to provide as an educator." Elyse's new role as a Peace Corps education volunteer provides the opportunity to realize that desire.

Smith Artpiece

Dana Smith (BFA '06 Studio Art 3-D) has an exhibition of her sculptures at the Obsidian Gallery in Tucson. She has also had an article on her work published in a German magazine, with numerous images of her work. This is truly prestigious and terrific for a student who has only been out of the undergraduate program for three years. Since she graduated in 2006, Smith has exhibited in both national and international juried shows. Her awards have included major purchase awards and jurors awards in exhibitions in California and Arizona. In September 2008, her works were displayed at the Tucson International Airport and can now be viewed at the Obsidian Gallery in Tucson through May 2009. Her sculptures will be on display at the Pravus Gallery in 2009 during the 43rd annual NCECA conference in Phoenix, Arizona.

UA alumnus John Kilkenny, an Executive Vice President at Twentieth Century Fox who heads the studio’s visual effects department, will receive an Honorary Doctorate from the College of Fine Arts this May and will deliver the commencement remarks. Kilkenny, who grew up in Tempe, is responsible for the production, budgeting, and management of all visual effects for films released by Twentieth Century Fox. He oversaw the effects on Night at the Museum; X-Men: The Last Stand; Australia; Alvin and the Chipmunks; The Day the Earth Stood Still, and many other Fox “event” movies. John and his team are hard at work on the upcoming epic action-thriller Avatar, written and directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker James Cameron (Titanic) and Wolverine, a summer release from the X-Men franchise. Prior to joining Fox’s senior executive ranks, John was an associate producer/visual effects producer on the box-office hits Garfield and I, Robot, which earned an Academy Award® nomination for best achievement in visual effects.

Greg Grande

Primetime Emmy Award nominated UA alumnus, Greg Grande, visited campus in March to talk to Media Arts students about his work as a production designer for film and television. Greg’s credits as a Set Decorator include the hit show Friends and the popular action/horror/thriller movie Blade. His credits as a Production Designer include the cable TV show Dirt; the John Lithgow starring comedy Twenty Good Years; and the TV comedy Little Britain, for which Greg won an Excellence in Production Design Award from the Art Directors Guild. Greg’s presentation to students included numerous drawings, models, and plans for set designs, and he talked about the process and work of film and television production designer in Los Angeles. Greg plans to return to the UA to offer a workshop in Production Design for Media Arts, Theatre Arts, and Architecture students through the College of Fine Arts Hanson Film Institute.

UA Dancers featured in Forgotten Lives produced by PBS

"Forgotten Lives," produced by PBS, focuses on various dancers throughout history, whose style of moving falls into the category of "eccentric dance." One well known example is the Scarecrow's solo in the Wizard of Oz. In "Forgotten Lives" UA dance sophomore Corey Campbell performed this solo. A number of the dance scenes were filmed at the UA School of Dance in Studio 301 at the beginning of the fall 2008 semester. "Forgotten Lives" premiered on Monday, April 13th.

Joshua Blake Carter

Joshua Blake Carter (BFA '09 - pictured) and Jon Sloven (MFA '08 - not pictured) are both finalists in The 21st Century Choreography Competition sponsored by Ballet Nouveau Colorado. All finalists (chosen through voting on Youtube.com) will travel to Colorado this spring to set their choreography on the company. The pieces will be performed during the Ballet Nouveau season and the first place winner’s choreography will be added to the company’s repertoire. Two recent graduates from UA School of Dance, Liz Towles and Colby Foss, are dancers with Ballet Nouveau.

Denai Vogel

Choreographer Denai Vogel's solo "Limitations Resolved" was accepted by the World Dance Alliance-America's (WDAA) General Assembly. The solo was created for and will be performed by Ellie Hausman. "I was inspired to create this work by a fellow dancer who had an ankle surgery and couldn't perform this past semester. My goal was to create a movement vocabulary that was as intricate and beautiful as all other dance, without the use of feet, legs, or locomotion. The movement is abstract and modern, invoking a feeling of ritual and femininity and focuses on what the upper body can do when separate from the lower body. As a study in injury and limitations, it falls under the category of standards of movement in which the inspiration came from an unconventional source."

The 2009 World Dance Alliance-Americas General Assembly is a conference and festival which brings together an international cohort of dance artists, educators, and students. Individuals and groups from over 15 countries and throughout the United States submit over 160 proposals for performances, paper presentations, master classes, workshops, and choreographic projects during the Assembly.

Brad Miller

Brad Miller, a UA graduate student in choral conducting, competed in the Graduate Division of the National Conducting Competition at the American Choral Directors Association National Convention. Chosen as one of eight semi-finalists from over 150 entrants nationwide, Brad advanced to the finals where he was one of only four conductors representing Yale University, The University of Michigan, Ithaca College and The University of Arizona. This marks the fifth National ACDA Conducting Competition in a row that the University of Arizona has had a finalist in the Graduate Division.

This year's Cats in the Community

This year's Cats in the Community redesign of the school "Project YES" was a huge success! Congratulations to Turqueza Aros, Dana Craft, Inchung Huh, Alex Gurevich, Jessica Guterrez, Kara Kanto, Angel Lopez, Michelle McGory, and the team leader Jessica Gerlach. The work this last semester was an incredible group effort and your strong management skills showed through while working with the volunteers from the University. Thank you for your commitment to this project, The University of Arizona and our community!

Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association

Three first-year Media Arts graduate students presented papers at Southwest/Texas Popular Culture Association (SWTXPCA) in Albuquerque in February. Amanda D. Howard presented on Robert Bresson’s "Cinematic Verse in Lancelot Du Lac." Britni Dutz presented on "James Bond and the Evolution of Gaze Theory through Female Spectatorship." Ashley York presented on "Countermanding Established Aesthetic Conventions: Asian Women Directors Take Back The Voice." Now in its 30th year, the SWTXPCA conference is an annual convergence of scholars and students in a variety of disciplines, among them film history and studies, media narrative and genre theory, film and TV archiving, and new media.

The Arizona Graduate Winds

The Arizona Graduate Winds from the UA School of Music traveled to Atlanta, Georgia in March to compete as a National Finalist in the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Collegiate Chamber Music Competition during the annual conference of the Association. The three-tiered MTNA competitions begin at the state level. Winners of each State Competition advance to the division competition. Division winners then proceed to the National Competition Finals. Winners receive a cash prize and are featured performers during the MTNA Conference.

Arizona Graduate Winds will perform in the 63rd annual Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition Finals on Saturday, April 25, 2009 in Pasadena, California.

Ashley Elaine York

Ashley Elaine York has been named the 2009 William E. Brigman Journal of Popular Culture Awardee for the Best Graduate Student Paper to be presented at the joint 2009 National Popular Culture/American Culture Associations Conference, from April 8-11, 2009 in New Orleans. The editor of the journal selected her paper,
"From Chick Flicks to Millennial Blockbusters: Spinning Female-Driven Narratives into Franchises," and, after Ashley presents it at the conference, the paper will be published in the journal in January 2010. Ashley previously published a journal article, "The Heroines of The Godfather Saga: Kay Adams and Connie Corleone," as well as numerous photo-essays in magazines, newspapers, and webzines in Asia, Europe, and North and South America. Ashley has been an international photojournalist since 2003. In 2006, Ashley took her M.A. in Southeast Asian Studies from the National University of Singapore. She is a current MA Candidate in Media Arts at the University of Arizona, and plans to pursue her doctorate in film and television industries in 2010.

Photo by Larry Hanelin

Modern dance faculty member Amy Ernst will be a guest choreographer and master teacher at the 2009 World Dance Alliance General Assembly (WDAA) this May in Madison, Wisconsin. Ernst's duet, Raft, will be performed as part of the festival. UA Dance Ensemble members Denai Vogel and Ellie Hausman will perform the piece. One of the primary missions of the WDAA is to support and preserve dance by promoting movement-based art and practice, encouraging collaboration, and facilitating international exchange and study. The 2009 Assembly is a conference and festival which will include performances, research papers, master classes, workshops, and choreographic projects by dance artists, educators, and students from over 15 countries world-wide.

"Invisible Wall"

On February 9th, Professor Alfred J. Quiroz, had his photo of an area of Nogales, AZ. just opposite of the Border wall installed by the City of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. It was installed on the Border wall in Nogales Sonora at the exact location that the photo was taken. This was a collaboration with Professor Quiroz and "Grupo Yonke" of Nogales, Sonora. The two artists Alberto Morackis and Guadalupe Serrano formed "Grupo Yonke." Unfortuneately, Alberto Morackis passed away in December. The project was dedicated to him. The entire project was funded by Mexican Cultural funds. Art student, John Paul Olsen, documented the installation. On February 12th, Professor Quiroz attended the inauguration of the "invisible wall" in Nogales, Sonora as a guest of honor.

Jory Hancock

Jory Hancock, director of the School of Dance at The University of Arizona, has been appointed interim dean of the College of Fine Arts.
Hancock, who also holds the Stevie Eller Endowed Chair, will begin his post as interim dean on July 1, at the beginning of the new fiscal year.

"I've worked with fine arts faculty, as well as faculty and deans in other colleges, for 22 years in numerous ways," said Hancock, who will succeed the current dean, Maurice J. Sevigny.

"I've enjoyed as well the working relationships I've built with the staff who support the schools, the college, and the development office," Hancock said. "It's a terrific team."

The college – comprised of the schools of dance, art, media arts, music and theatre art, as well as the Peter Treistman Fine Arts Center for New Media – recently joined the Colleges of Letters, Arts and Science under the UA's Transformation Plan. That college includes the colleges of Science, Humanities and Social and Behavioral Sciences. As part of the partnership, each college will function in unison under the direction of Joaquin Ruiz, the executive dean, but each college will maintain its own dean.

UA Provost Meredith Hay expressed appreciation for Sevigny's many years of service to the University and also said she is confident that Hancock will help to further promote the college's already strong programs.

"At a time when the University is undergoing such dramatic transformations and working to integrate the Colleges of Letters, Arts and Science, Jory Hancock is the perfect person to lead the College of Fine Arts in this newly configured team," Hay said.

Hay also noted that the UA will conduct an internal search to fill the deanship.

In the interim, Hancock said he would continue to preserve the prominence of the college programs while also figuring out ways to save the college additional funds by creating efficiencies.

"We will be working in the most efficient way possible," said Hancock, who will continue serving as the dance school's director during the interim position.

Hancock, who has been a member of the UA faculty since 1987, said the focus within the college will continue to be on the "core operation," which involves teaching, research and outreach. Hancock, who earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from Indiana University, spent his early career as an apprentice with the American Ballet Theater in New York City, Pittsburgh Ballet Theater and Seattle's Pacific Northwest Ballet.

When he arrived at the UA, Hancock joined what was then the Committee on Dance. Under his leadership, it has grown to school status. Also under Hancock's direction, the school opened its Stevie Eller Dance Theatre in 2003. The $9 million grant-funded center has since earned numerous architectural awards.

Outside of his administrative duties with his school, Hancock also served as chair of the faculty during 2001 through 2005 after having served as vice chair for a one-year term in 2000. In his new position, Hancock said he will also focus on collaboration, particularly between the college's schools.

"I'm excited about the position," Hancock said.

"As school directors we have a great relationship already. Dean Sevigny, in his leadership style, has encouraged that," he said. "Our job together will be to come up with the very best pathway for the College of Fine Arts to continue its integral role on the University of Arizona campus."

Ken Cerniglia

Ken Cerniglia, Dramaturg and Literary Manager for Disney Theatrical Productions, visited the School of Theatre Arts in early March for an open forum and Q&A session with students. Ken's work for Disney Theatricals has included productions such as High School Musical, Tarzan and The Little Mermaid. During the lively forum, Ken described his success in breaking out of the traditional mold of a quiet, scholarly dramaturg, while still conducting research for productions, Ken also teams closely with creative artists and marketing, legal and production staff to ensure a full collaborative effort. His daily duties include everything from conducting research and attending table readings to scouting NYC theatres for new material and composing liner notes for Disney Soundtrack CDs. Theatre Arts students posed a variety of questions, ranging from specific inquiries about the processes and challenges involved with Ken's position to speculations about current theatrical works in progress.

Silent Film Scene

In February, the Stevie Eller Dance Theater was filled with media arts and dance students to watch seven silent film shorts, accompanied by pianist, Dr. Suzanne Knosp, Music Director for the School of Dance. Dr. Knosp states, “Improvising music for silent film is much like improvising music for dance. I watch for the phrasing, rhythm and expressive content of the scene in order to spontaneously create music that will support those elements. My eyes are constantly glued to the screen so that I am immersed in the action.” This annual, special day of combining students from media arts and dance classes is the brain-child of Dr. Jennifer Jenkins, Media Arts, who specializes in US and Mexican film history, theory and aesthetics. The film shorts featured such well-known silent film stars as Buster Keaton (Go West 1925, The Scarecrow 1920), Harold Lloyd (Are Crooks Dishonest? 1918), Charlie Chaplin (Behind the Screen 1916, The Adventurer, 1917), and Director Max Linder (Seven Years Bad Luck, excerpt 1921 and Love’s Surprises excerpt 1913).

Pete Kozachik

Pete Kozachik, Director of Photography on such films as Tim Burton's Corpse Bride and The Nightmare Before Christmas visited us on January 5. Pete chatted with a standing-room only audience that included faculty, staff, students, and many members of the local film community. He showed his work and described his process. He also entertained questions from the audience on everything from lighting, set design, industry practices, and much more. The free seminar was hosted by The University of Arizona's Hanson Film Institute.