Local choreographer Clifton Keefer Brown will bring his artistic talent to Holland as guest choreographer for the Hope College-sponsored Dance 28 concert.
This year's concert will run Thursday-Saturday, March 7-9, in the main theatre of DeWitt Center, located on Columbia Avenue at 12th Street. Curtain time will be 8 p.m. for all performances.
A modern, jazz and ballet choreographer, Brown will present a pointe piece titled "Serpente" for the concert.
Brown was born and raised in Chicago. After years of local study, he pursued and earned a bachelor's degree in fine arts from the University of Iowa. Immediately upon graduation, Brown danced with Ballet Arizona as an apprentice to the corps and, in 1993, joined the Grand Rapids Ballet as a soloist.
Brown presented many classical and neoclassical works while living and working in Grand Rapids, and also maintained a rigorous teaching schedule at the company school as well as local studios. Most admirably, Brown has worked with Steps in New Directions, a dance outreach program designed to engage at-risk children.
Brown recently returned to the West Michigan area from pursuing a European career in dance--with such companies as DjazzX Modern Dance Company in the Netherlands, L'Ensemble Da Micha Van Hoeke in Italy and Friedrichstad Palast in Germany--to present choreography for the InSync Dance Theatre. He currently is teaching jazz and ballet at Hope College, and serves as Artist in Residency at the Academy of Dance Arts in Grand Rapids.
Hope dancers to be featured in Brown's "Serpente" include: Colleen Cooney, senior Kristin Debbink of Appleton, Wis., sophomore Matthew Farmer of Bangor, freshman Sarah Gardner of Newcastle, Pa., sophomore Colette Harris of Chicago, Ill., sophomore Tim Heck of Libertyville, Ill., junior Helen Meronek of Auburn Hills and senior Jennifer Yoh of Wooster, Ohio.
Tickets for Dance 28 are available from the theatre lobby ticket office located in DeWitt Center, and cost $6 for regular adult admission and $4 for senior citizens, students, and members of Hope faculty and staff. The ticket office is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m., as well as until 8 p.m. on performance nights, and can be called at (616) 395-7890.