Tag Archives: Ballet Arkansas

Creative Class of 2015: Stephanie Thibeault

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stephaniethibeaultStephanie Thibeault is a dancer, teacher and choreographer.  She is currently an Associate Professor of Dance at UALR, where she established the B.F.A. degree in Dance Performance.

Starting her career with Kinetics Dance Theatre and SURGE Dance Company of Baltimore, Thibeault worked as a professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer in the Baltimore/Washington area before serving as a dance faculty member at several institutions, including University of Maryland, Dickinson College, and Wichita State University. Along the way, she has had the opportunity to perform with wonderful artists, including Mikhail Baryshnikov and Parsons Dance Company.

Having performed and presented work in New York City, Baltimore, Washington (DC), Lisbon (Portugal), and numerous other cities, large and small, Thibeault’s teaching and choreography have taken her around the globe, from the U.S. East Coast to Canada and Europe, and from the American Midwest to Hawaii and Taiwan. Stephanie Thibeault holds her M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Maryland.

Thibeault’s choreographic work has been recognized with awards, and she has been selected for guest artist residencies and commissions by various professional companies and universities. Having received an Individual Artist Fellowship for Choreography from the Arkansas Arts Council in 2010, she continues to experiment with different processes and forms as she creates new work. A commission from Ballet Arkansas in 2012 produced American Dream, which took Thibeault back to her classical ballet roots while moving her forward into expressive simplicity.

She is currently working on the 2015 Fall Dance Festival on the UALR campus in November, which coincides with the B.F.A. student’s Fall Dance Harvest dance concert.

Creative Class of 2015: Geoffrey Robson

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geoffreyrobsonGeoffrey Robson has been the Associate Conductor of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra since 2008, and the Music Director of the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra Youth Ensembles since 2012.  In the latter capacity, he has collaborated with the Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre and Ballet Arkansas’ Preparatory Program.

He also performs as a violinist, frequently appearing in the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra’s popular River Rhapsodies chamber series, performing with principal members of the ASO. He has also performed with The Wildflowers and other music acts in Central Arkansas.  As a conductor, works with guest artists such as Midori, the Beach Boys, Vadym Kholodenko, Rachel Barton Pine, Lawrence Hamilton, Timothy Jones, Henrietta Davis, Christiane Noll, and Calvin Lee. In addition, Robson writes and produces “At the Symphony, a concert preview radio series on KLRE Classical 90.5.

He completed his M.M. at Yale University in 2004, studying violin performance with Erick Friedman. In Connecticut, he served as co-concertmaster of the Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, and assistant concertmaster of the Waterbury Symphony. Robson also worked as a public schoolteacher in New Haven, CT, and has taught violin, piano, viola, and music theory extensively as a private instructor.

Robson studied orchestral conducting at the Mannes College of Music in New York City under the tutelage of David Hayes. He has twice attended the London Conducting Workshop, an annual course at the Royal College of Music in London, and the International Conducting Festival and Workshop in Zlin, Czech Republic. Robson graduated from the honors college at Michigan State University in 2002, where he studied violin performance with Dmitri Berlinsky and I-fu Wang, and conducting with Leon Gregorian.

Creative Class of 2015: Clea Hupp

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C-HuppDr. Clea Hupp is the new Chair of the UALR History Department.  She joined the UALR History Department in 2006 and received her Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 2004.

Hupp specializes in the history of the Modern Middle East and U.S. – Middle Eastern relations. She has received grants from numerous institutions including the John F. Kennedy Foundation, the Lyndon Johnson Foundation, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and the American Center of Oriental Research.

Her latest book was recently published from I. B. Tauris and is entitled “The United States and Jordan: Middle East Diplomacy during the Cold War.” She has traveled extensively in the Middle East and she speaks both Arabic and French.  She has made numerous presentations both in Arkansas and throughout the US on Middle East relations.

Hupp serves on the Board of Directors of Ballet Arkansas. She is also an active supporter of many arts organizations in Little Rock. Arguably, her favorite cultural institution is the Arkansas Rep, which is led by her husband Bob.

Creative Class of 2015: Michael Bearden

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Michael-Bearden-Arkansan-of-the-Year-220x300Dancer and visionary Michael Bearden is in his third season as Ballet Arkansas‘ Artistic Director.  Prior to that he spent two years as Artistic Advisor to the company.

During his tenure at Ballet Arkansas Michael has brought works to the repertoire by choreographers such as Val Caniparoli, Gerald Arpino and George Balanchine. A native of Searcy, Arkansas, he received his training at the Academy of Ballet Arkansas and went on to have a fourteen year career with Ballet West, in Salt Lake City. As a Principal Dancer at Ballet West, Michael performed leading roles in ballets by some of the world’s greatest choreographers including Balanchine, Ashton, Tudor, Forsythe, Stevenson, Welch, Dove, Tetley, Tharp, Kylian and Christopher Bruce.

As a choreographer, Michael has created or staged his works for Ballet West, the University of Utah, Brigham Young University, the University of Cincinnati, Belhaven University and Texas Christian University. Michael is grateful for the continued opportunity to give back to the community by helping to guide Ballet Arkansas to new heights.

Under his leadership with the Ballet, the company has sponsored two Visions choreographic competitions, premiered several new works, and presented the first performance of George Balanchine’s Who Cares? in Arkansas.  He has also been instrumental in the company’s plans to move into the Creative Corridor on Main Street.

5th Main Street Food Truck Festival this Saturday – October 3

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MSFTFestival-2015-posterThe 5th annual Main Street Food Truck Festival will be held on Saturday, October 3 with a record 45+ food trucks along with craft vendors and buskers.  Road Runner Stores is the 2015 presenting sponsor.

“Last year we saw over 10,000 people come to Main Street in Little Rock to eat at the food trucks,” said Gabe Holmstrom, executive director of the Downtown Little Rock Partnership (DLRP).  “This year we have even more trucks for people to choose from and are excited to show off all of the energy in the heart of downtown.”

The 2015 downtown Little Rock festival will span five city blocks offering street eats from over 45 food trucks and food carts, artists at work, craft selections, buskers located on each block, Heifer International  children’s activities and five well stocked beer gardens selling the coldest beer in town!  The Arkansas Repertory Theatre will again have its morning costume sale.

Attendees can enjoy the festival activities from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Main Street will be blocked off from 3rd to 8th streets. Entrance to the festival is free. Raffle tickets will be sold throughout the day for great items including a locally produced PK Grill.

Since the festival began the historic Mann on Main Building, has reopened in the 300 block, now home to state offices, Samantha’s Tap Room & Wood Grill, Bruno’s Italian Restaurant, and residents. Raimondo Winery and Soul Fish Café are scheduled to open soon. The heart of Main Street has been named the Creative Corridor and will soon be also home to the Arkansas Symphony, Ballet Arkansas, visual art studios, the Little Rock Technology Park and others. A theater education class space for the Arkansas Repertory Theatre has opened across from the main theater on Main Street.

“It’s amazing to me to see the people who love the city and who have gotten involved in plans for Main Street revitalization,” said Mayor Mark Stodola. “We all know that investment in Main Street is an investment in our future as a city. With over $100 million in investment in our new Main Street Creative Corridor, this year’s attendees will see a transformed Main Street!”

For more Main Street Food Truck Festival information:

Creative Corridor Celebrated This Afternoon

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A grand opening to highlight the new features and completed sections of the Creative Corridor’s Low Impact Development (LID) streetscape will be held 3 p.m. Monday, Sept. 14, as the revitalization of Little Rock’s Main Street continues to take shape, block by block.

Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola will join Ron Curry, Region 6 administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and Randy Young, executive director of the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, for the kickoff event, which will begin with a project update at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (601 Main Street). Professor Stephen Luoni of the University of Arkansas School of Architecture and director of the UA Community Design Center will give an informative presentation on the theories of Low Impact Development and creative place-making that underpin the project.

The most recently completed improvements in the 500 block of Main Street will be open to the public for strolling along the tree-lined boardwalk on the west side.  All of the pedestrian and environmentally friendly streetscapes in the 100, 200, 300 and 500 blocks of Main Street contain LID features such as bioswales, porous pavers, rain gardens, and other biodiverse vegetation.

The grand opening will also celebrate the elements of creative place-making that have occurred. Recent public art installations and the clustering of artistic and creative organizations on Main Street are transforming the Creative Corridor into a downtown hub that supports a great level of pedestrian activity, sociability, recreation and aesthetics.

An arts open house and reception will follow the tour, with the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Arkansas, Matt McLeod Fine Art, and Cranford Co. opening the doors to their new, connected spaces.

“The progress on Main Street is a harbinger of the exciting development yet to come for this area,” says Stodola. “The Creative Corridor, once just a vision, has become a vibrant reality that has earned national accolades, brought together many of our City’s cultural institutions, and created these beautiful spaces that will continue to grow.”

The Creative Corridor is a mixed-use development project aimed at restoring the vitality of Main Street by creating an arts district and retrofitting a four-block segment of the street between President Clinton Avenue and 7th streets. The City of Little Rock estimates that more than $100 million in private and public investment has occurred to date to help make this vision a reality.

 

Dr. Clea Hupp to lead UALR History Department

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C-HuppDr. Clea Hupp has been named as the new Chair of the UALR History Department.

Clea E. Hupp is an Associate Professor of History. She joined the UALR History Department in 2006 and received her Ph.D. at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in 2004.

Clea Hupp specializes in the history of the Modern Middle East and U.S. – Middle Eastern relations. Dr. Hupp received grants from numerous institutions including the John F. Kennedy Foundation, the Lyndon Johnson Foundation, the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations, and the American Center of Oriental Research. Her latest book was recently published from I. B. Tauris and is entitled “The United States and Jordan: Middle East Diplomacy during the Cold War.” She has traveled extensively in the Middle East and she speaks both Arabic and French.

She has made numerous presentations both in Arkansas and throughout the US on Middle East relations.  In addition to her book, her publications include:

“Strike at Samu: Covert Diplomacy and Shifting Alliances Prior to the Six Day War,” Diplomatic History January,2008.

“Supporting the Brave Young King: The Suez Crisis and Eisenhower’s New Approach to Jordan, 1953-1958” in Reassessing Suez 2008.

“Balancing Act: Jordan and the United States during the Johnson Administration,” Canadian Journal of History 2006.

Dr. Hupp serves on the Board of Directors of Ballet Arkansas. She is also an active supporter of many arts organizations in Little Rock.