The Program

Darion Smith


Photo by Rachel Neville


The Program

Choreographer

Darion Smith

Performed by

Ronderrick Mitchell, Howard Perry, Jacob Rice, Tom Resseguier, Darion Smith

MUSIC

Man Parrish, Brian Eno, Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto, Ben Frost

COSTUMING

Darion Smith

 

Darion Smith is the artistic director and cofounder of Jansuphere Dance Company. Smith’s choreographic works have been presented throughout the United States and abroad in Spain and Mexico. Smith fuses different dance genres, incorporates visual art and interactive set designs and life size props to create his artistic vision. He has worked to maintain his vision for JDC, since its founding in 2007, as a platform for collaborative exploration, providing opportunities for professional dancers, and community engagement through performances and workshops. Smith was the recipient of the 2020 Mark Ryder Original Choreography Award. Smith is a faculty member at the Howard Community College Dance Program in Columbia, MD and the Peabody Preparatory Dance Program in Baltimore, MD.

Smith studied at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen, Germany and the Bolshoi Academy in Moscow, Russia. Smith earned an MFA in dance from the University of Oregon. Smith’s professional career credits include the Dance Theatre of Harlem, Metropolitan Opera Ballet, New York Theatre Ballet, and Buglisi Dance Theatre, to name a few.


PROGRAMME NOTES

The Program is an intergenerational dance theater work that explores the physical/emotional aesthetics of maleness, the male figure while addressing societal forces and landscapes that have shaped generations of men.

Performers

Howard Perry, A native of Washington DC, Howard grew up studying the art of dance and acting in Washington DC before leaving for training and career opportunities in New York City. While studying dance on scholarship at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center, he began performing in N.Y.C. and Japan with companies Mad about Dance, Mafata Dance Company and Young Soo Kim while later touring throughout Germany and Europe performing in musical theater. After moving to Barcelona Spain, Howard worked on collaborative Spanish television and film productions while also teaching jazz classes, fitness and djing. Along with Alvin Aliey, he also trained with Phil Black, David Howard., Finis Jhung, Steps, and Broadway Dance Center. He also holds a BS degree in Architectural Engineering from North Carolina A&T State University a HBCU institution. Returning to Washington DC, Howard is reconnecting with dance and theater as well as the city. His connection with dance, theater and music continues to motivate and inspire him artistically.

Jacob Rice received his early dance training in Naugatuck with Barbara Hyland. He continued his training on full scholarship for 3 years at North Carolina School of the Arts and additional 2 years on full scholarship at the School of American Ballet in New York City. Mr. Rice’s distinguished career includes Virginia State Ballet, Connecticut Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet, Joffrey Ballet, Princeton Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and Dance Alloy Theatre (Pittsburgh). Mr. Rice was featured in Pacific Northwest Ballet’s movie “Nutcracker: The Motion Picture” choreographed by Kent Stowell with sets and costumes by Maurice Sendak. Mr. Rice and his wife, Kimmary Williams, created a youth choreographic workshop for Scotland’s Edinburgh International Festival and were co-artistic directors of Southold Dance Theatre in South Bend Indiana. They are the founders and co-artistic directors of Central Maryland Youth Ballet. A professional ballet school and youth company in Columbia MD.

Ronderrick Mitchell's career is rooted in both performance and education, showcasing a deep commitment to dance as a transformative art form. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance Performance and Choreography from New World School of the Arts/University of Florida and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Florida State University. Mitchell honed his skills on scholarship at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and participated in the 2010 International Dance Festival of Prague, where the performance in Robert Battle's Battlefield earned three awards, including the main overall first-place honor. Most notably he is the award recipient of The National Society of Arts and Letters in the category The Art of Choreography.

His early training at Bethel A.M.E. Church, under the mentorship of Beverly Barber, PhD., laid the foundation for his future endeavors. Professionally, Mitchell has danced with esteemed companies such as The Tallahassee Ballet, Brazz Dance Theater, Bethel Liturgical Dance Company, Poetic Expressions Dance Company and The Campbell Dance Experience. His exposure to both classical and contemporary styles is enhanced by his collaborations with world renowned choreographers like Ronald K. Brown, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Augusto Soledade, Peter London, and Darrell Jones.

In addition to his performing career, Mitchell is a passionate educator, known for teaching master classes across the nation. He has a particular expertise in Vogue Dance history. He also has served as the Artistic Director for Coppin State University's BRAVO! youth dance program, where he created original works and performance opportunities for young dancers of color. His focus on community engagement and mentorship led to the founding of RODANCO, a Community Arts Program dedicated to using dance as a tool for leadership and student mentorship.

Mitchell's choreography has been featured at prestigious venues such as Florida State University, the Touhill Center for Performing Arts, the Baltimore Theater Project, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Currently, he continues to influence the next generation of dancers by teaching in Baltimore City Public Schools and directing RODANCO.

Tom Resseguier studied ballet at the Ballettschule des Hamburg Ballett, where he took his first steps into the neoclassical repertoire through John Neumeier’s style, before joining the Junior Ballet at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in 2016. There, he performed, among others, pieces by William Forsythe, Jean Guizerix, Yong Geol Kim, José Martinez and Douglas Becker.
He then went on to dance for the Ballet de l’Opéra de Metz in 2018 and joined the Compagnie Illicite Bayonne under the direction of choreographer Fabio Lopez. In 2019, he started working at the Compagnie Par Terre on the creation of À Mon Bel Amour, a contemporary piece by choreographer Anne Nguyen. During this time, he also worked as a freelance dancer and actor on various other projects, including the French TV series L’Opéra and the Netflix short film Anima choreographed by Damien Jalet.
Alongside his dance projects, Tom Resseguier has a passion for astronomy and earned a dual bachelor in mathematics and physics, as well as a master in astrophysics, both from Sorbonne Université in Paris.