Gus Solomons jr, a distinguished visiting professor in the University’s Dance Program in Arts & Sciences, will discuss his career as a dancer, choreographer and critic during an informal lecture/demonstration, Gus Solomons jr Tells It All.
The event, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 4 p.m. Sept. 30 in the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio, Mallinckrodt Student Center, Room 207.
Solomons began his modern dance training while an architecture undergraduate at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 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 Dance-Center, Danspace Project at St. Mark’s, Dance Theater Workshop, the Delacorte, Riverside, 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 he has 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 Robert A. Muh Award in 2001.
While at WUSTL 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 will also 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.
For more information, call 935-5858.