The LIVE Center

The LIVE Center Mentoring Series Brings Big Dance Names to Mason

Emily Schneider — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 17:59:19 +0000

The LIVE Center Mentoring Series Brings Big Dance Names to Mason Emily Schneider Wed, 04/13/2022 - 13:59

In This Story

Learn More About the LIVE Center

The LIVE Center Mentoring Series is a new initiative from The LIVE Center within George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts that connects some of the biggest names in the performance world to students around the country.

Left: Tony Award-winning choreographer Justin Peck; Right: Students in George Mason University's School of Dance move during a class using The Live Center's Window Wall technology.

The first event of the Series features Tony Award-winning choreographer, director, filmmaker, and dancer, Justin Peck, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Monday, April 25, 2022. This event will be produced and streamed live using the LIVE Center’s Window Wall projection technology and Zoom from the National Dance Institute Center for Learning & the Arts (New York City, NY), to participating students at Mason’s School of Dance (Fairfax, VA) and the Baltimore School for the Arts (Baltimore, MD). The class will be moderated by Mason Heritage Professor of Dance and founder of The LIVE Center, Christopher d’Amboise. Funded in part by a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), this is the first of three events planned for this series in 2022.

With the accompaniment of two dancers, Peck, who is Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet and has choreographed countless projects for stage and screen including Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story (2021), will lead a conversation with students on the differences between choreographing for film versus live performance, and will instruct students on some of the vocabulary developed around his choreography for the film.

“The LIVE Center's mission is to provide unique and creative virtual education opportunities for students, and having the world-renowned choreographer Justin Peck is as exciting as it gets,” says d’Amboise. “He will be providing insight and information on his process, experience, and the challenges of choreographing for ballet, Broadway, and cinema. The LIVE Center Mentoring Series connects the greatest artists of today with the next generation of leaders.”

Justin Peck is a Tony Award winning choreographer, director, filmmaker, and dancer based in New York City. He is currently the acting Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet. Peck began choreographing in 2009 at the New York Choreographic Institute. In 2014, after the creation of his acclaimed ballet Everywhere We Go, he was appointed as Resident Choreographer of New York City Ballet. He is the second person in the institution’s history to hold this title. As a performer, Peck has danced a vast repertoire of works by George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Alexei Ratmansky, Lynn Taylor-Corbett, Benjamin Millepied, Christopher Wheeldon, and many others. Peck has created more than 40 dances—over 20 of those for New York City Ballet. Peck has worked extensively as a filmmaker. In particular, his focus has been exploring new innovative ways of presenting dance on film. Peck choreographed the feature films Red Sparrow (2016) starring Jennifer Lawrence and directed by Francis Lawrence; and West Side Story (2021) in collaboration with director Steven Spielberg.

Christopher d'Amboise is currently a Heritage Professor in the School of Dance at George Mason University. Born into a family of dancers, he became a principal dancer in the New York City Ballet, and from 1990 to 1994, he was the artistic director, president, and CEO of the Pennsylvania Ballet. He also has a passion for musical theater and performed in the Broadway production of Song and Dance, which earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Musical.

Developed to expand the reach of The LIVE Center’s groundbreaking virtual instruction technology and the connections it makes possible, The LIVE Center Mentoring Series is a new project that offers direct access to exciting classes and conversations with globally recognized artists, choreographers, and performers. Additional events will be scheduled for Fall 2022, and interested organizations are encouraged to contact the College to discuss potential participation.

Topics

The LIVE Center

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

Dance

dance education

virtual alternative instruction

virtual education

Virtual learning

arts education

The LIVE Center Awarded $10,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

Emily Schneider — Mon, 31 Jan 2022 16:57:21 +0000

The LIVE Center Awarded $10,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts Emily Schneider Mon, 01/31/2022 - 11:57

In This Story

Christopher d'Amboise

The LIVE Center (or the Center for Live Interactive Virtual Education) within George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts has been approved for a $10,000 Grants for Arts Projects award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA). This funding will support future programming from this groundbreaking center at Mason: the LIVE Center Mentoring Series.

Developed to expand the reach of the LIVE center’s groundbreaking virtual instruction technology and the connections it makes possible, the LIVE Center Mentoring Series is a new project that offers direct access to exciting classes and conversations with globally recognized artists, choreographers, and performers. Students from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Mason will be joined by high school and university students from around the country, broadening access to exceptional training and connections in the professional dance world. This grant will fund three iterations of the LIVE Center Mentoring Series during 2022. The first class is anticipated for May 2022, and will be shared live with about 300 participants across the United States. More details about the dates and participating artists will be announced as they are finalized.

"This is a unique opportunity to connect leading artists with the next generation of performers in a supportive and meaningful way," said Christopher d’Amboise, Heritage Professor of Dance and leader of the LIVE Center.

Christopher d'Amboise teaching a class in front of the LIVE Center Window Wall, in the Fall of 2021.

In 2019, d’Amboise saw a need for video conferencing that allowed for life-sized, full body interaction. From this, the concept of the Window Wall was created: a teacher in a remote location could be projected live and life-sized onto the wall of a studio, while a live feed of the students is projected for the teacher.

This concept became the basis for the flagship initiative of the LIVE Center. By eliminating the barrier of distance, theWindow Wall expands possibilities for virtual teaching, performances, and one-of-a-kind events.

The LIVE Center Mentoring Series project is among 1,248 projects across America totaling $28,840,000 that were selected to receive this first round of fiscal year 2022 funding in the Grants for Arts Projects category.

“The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts projects like this one from George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “George Mason University’s College of Visual and Performing Arts in Fairfax, VA is among the arts organizations nationwide that are using the arts as a source of strength, a path to well-being, and providing access and opportunity for people to connect and find joy through the arts.”

To stay in the know, visit the LIVE Center site.

Topics

grants

grant program

National Endowment for the Arts

Dance

dance education

virtual education

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

Campus News

The LIVE Center

Outpouring of Support for the Live Center Window Wall

96ab7f9bab134dd391354ecdce10b5cfPam Muirheid — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 18:43:45 +0000

Outpouring of Support for the Live Center Window Wall 96ab7f9bab134d… Tue, 01/19/2021 - 13:43

See What's Happening at the LIVE Center

Left: A Dance class in front of the Window Wall. Center: Mason Professor, Christopher d'Amboise, creator of the Window Wall. Right: Guest Artist Hope Boykin teaches master classes through the Moving Story Window Wall from New York into all four of the School's studios.

Following the announcement of the LIVE Center—which was officially launched in December 2020 by CVPA and the School of Dance—we received an outpouring of support for this innovative virtual education solution. Below you will find the most recent news items related to the LIVE Center. We invite you to learn more about the LIVE Center concept and to visit this page often for the latest updates.

Broadway World - The LIVE Center Launches at George Mason University

Danza Hoy - George Mason University Reinvents Education by Launching the LIVE Center

Fairfax Times - George Mason’s University departments collaborate to launch the LIVE Center

Northern Virginia Magazine - GMU’s College of Visual and Performing Arts Launches New Home for Virtual Education

Dance Magazine - One Strategy For Creating Dance During a Pandemic? Digital Now, Live Later

Mason News:

George Mason University's College of Visual and Performing Arts and the School of Dance Collaborate to Launch the Live Center

Connecting Students with Today’s Top Artists Despite the Pandemic

The LIVE Center Awarded $10,000 Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

The LIVE Center Mentoring Series Brings Big Dance Names to Mason

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA)

The LIVE Center

George Mason University's College of Visual and Performing Arts and the School of Dance Collaborate to Launch the Live Center

96ab7f9bab134dd391354ecdce10b5cfPam Muirheid — Thu, 10 Dec 2020 16:44:46 +0000

George Mason University's College of Visual and Performing Arts and the School of Dance Collaborate to Launch the Live Center 96ab7f9bab134d… Thu, 12/10/2020 - 11:44

Topics

College of Visual and Performing Arts School of Dance

The LIVE Center

In This Story

Christopher d'Amboise

Rick Davis

From left to right: A dance class in front of the Moving Story Window Wall; Window Wall creator, Christopher d'Amboise; and Hope Boykin teaching Mason students from New York through the Window Wall

The College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) at George Mason University, in collaboration with its School of Dance, announced today the official launch of the LIVE Center, also known as The Center for Live Interactive Virtual Education. Conceived and spearheaded by Heritage Professor of Dance Christopher d’Amboise, the LIVE Center is a home for innovative virtual education and collaboration solutions for the School of Dance and all academic units within the College.

The genesis of the LIVE Center dates back to 2019, when Professor d’Amboise first identified a need for video conferencing that allowed for life-sized, full-body interaction in educational settings. This idea propelled the creation of the Moving Story Window Wall, through which a teacher in a remote location can be projected live and life-sized onto the wall of a studio while a live feed of the students is also projected for the teacher. Featuring a flexible projection window of up to 30 feet wide by 20 feet high, the Window Wall is currently set up in four studios for up to 40 students with a minimum of 10 feet social distance. This concept is the basis for the flagship initiative of the LIVE Center, which expands the possibilities for virtual teaching, performances, and innovative events at George Mason University and beyond.

The LIVE Center became imperative when the COVID-19 pandemic forced educators to change the ways in which they typically teach. The virtual nature of the Moving Story Window Wall, eliminating the barrier of distance, has already allowed for safer, physically distanced instruction to take place at the School of Dance throughout the Fall. In addition to making classes possible, the LIVE Center has also allowed for inspiring outdoor events to take place at George Mason University. Recent arts experiences on campus included: Mason Drive-in Dance, a unique performance of student choreography that used a parking lot as a stage and invited audience members to park their cars and use their headlights to light the performers (October 24); and Beyond the Stage, two evenings of dance film screenings that celebrated student choreography and performance for the camera and brought the Mason community together at the Center for the Arts (November 6 and 7).

“The LIVE Center is a place where innovation literally is a moving target—a place where constantly changing ideas about exploring new technologies for teaching, creating, producing, and presenting work across all the disciplines can find fertile soil,” shared Rick Davis, Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. “I call it a moving target, too, because the initial inspiration comes from the world of dance, which is all about motion in time and space. And the LIVE Center has already made breakthroughs in how dancers interact with each other across vast distances. I can’t wait to see what’s next as we bring more kinds of artistic work to the table.”

On December 10, the School of Dance presents the world premiere of Running to and Toward: A Dance Film by Hope Boykin, which features 38 junior and senior dance majors. School of Dance Director Karen Reedy commissioned Boykin to create a new work during the Fall 2020 semester, with the desire to continue the program’s legacy and commitment to engaging dance majors with important artists in the field—even during the pandemic. The Moving Story Window Wall technology allowed for this unique opportunity to have 36 in-person and two virtual dance majors work with Ms. Boykin from her home in New York City.

Through the efforts of HopeBoykinDance, Boykin is a creator, mover, educator, and motivator. A highly celebrated performer who recently completed her 20th and final year as a company member of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, she is the Artistic Lead for the Kennedy Center Dance Lab and an in-demand choreographer. Regarding her experience during the residency and in using the Window Wall, she shared “there are no limits to how we can make, build, and bring dance to the lovers of our art form; the lock is broken, and the lid thrown away.”

Professor d’Amboise added, “I am thrilled that the LIVE Center and the School of Dance have created the first ‘New York to Mason Window Wall’ series with guest artist Hope Boykin. Hope’s creativity in embracing the challenges we are facing, and her bold, adventurous spirit are inspiring. She has welcomed innovation and reimagined the creative process in a way that shows us all how the arts are infinitely adaptable and that obstacles are also opportunities. The LIVE Center will continue to innovate with special performance events and more opportunities for leading guest artists in music, dance, art, and theater to inspire our Mason students, faculty, and community.”

Running to and Toward: A Dance Film by Hope Boykin premieres December 10 at 7 p.m. EST on the Center for the Arts’ website, Facebook, and YouTube. The film will remain available for viewing on the website following its premiere.

By Camille Devlin