Gus Solomons jr

Gus Solomons jr, a distinguished visiting professor in Washington University’s Dance Program in Arts & Sciences, will discuss his career as a dancer, choreographer and critic during an informal lecture/demonstration titled Gus Solomons jr Tells All.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30, in the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio, located in Room 207, Mallinckrodt Student Center, 6445 Forsyth Blvd. For more information, call (314) 935-5858.

Solomons began his modern dance training while an architecture undegraduate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), studying Laban Technique with Jan Veen at the Boston Conservatory of Music and Graham Technique with Robert Cohan. After graduating, he pursued a dance career in New York, performing as soloist in the companies of Donald McKayle, Joyce Trisler, Pearl Lang, Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham, among others, while also forming his own troupe, The Solomons Company/Dance, in 1972.

Today, Solomons is a leading figure in postmodern and experimental dance. He has choreographed more than 150 pieces, both for his own company and many others, including Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, The Berkshire Ballet and Contemporary Dance/Fort Worth. His work has been produced by the 14th Street DanceCenter, Danspace Project at St. Mark’s, Dance Theater Workshop, the Delacorte, Riverside, the Jacob’s Pillow and Joyce Theater festivals, and the American Festival in London.

Since 1981, Solomon has written reviews and features for The Village Voice, Dance Magazine, Ballet Review, The New York Times and other publications, and contributed chapters to several anthologies. His numerous honors include fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Foundation for Contemporary Performance Arts; a 2000 Bessie (New York Dance and Performance) Award for Sustained Achievement in Choreography; and MIT’s first annual Robert A. Muh Award in 2001.

While on campus this semester, Solomons will lead a dance writing workshop; lead master classes in improvisation and in modern dance theory and technique; and discuss his work with students in the course “Modern Dance and the African American Legacy.” He also will conduct auditions and train students in one of his works, which will be presented Dec. 3-5 as part of the 2004 Washington University Dance Theatre concert.