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 ��AV’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 ��AV'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 ��AV. 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

Tech Talent Investment Program (TTIP)

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 ��AV’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 ��AV’s College of Visual and Performing Arts that help support the community’s creative economy,” said NEA Acting Chair Ann Eilers. “��AV’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

Tech Talent Investment Pipeline (TTIP)

Outpouring of Support for the Live Center Window Wall

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

Outpouring of Support for the Live Center Window Wall Pam Muirheid 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 ��AV

Danza Hoy - ��AV 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:

��AV'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