Year: 2011-2012
DanceForce Member: Margaret Kaiser
Artists: John Toth, Doug Varone
Community Partners: Burchfield Penney Art Center; SUNY at Buffalo
Audience: 800
County: Erie

This was the final year of a three year project: Movable Points of Entry (MPOE), featuring choreographer Doug Varone and media artist John Toth. The culmination of this project was more than just a performance, it was the centerpiece of Doug Varone and Dancers 25th Anniversary.  As such, it embodied Doug’s evolution as a precise yet edgy choreographer who keeps challenging himself and his dancers to embrace movement from multiple points of reference, including present day technology.  The technology utilized in MPOE was supported both by Dance Force funding and by the general operating budget of Doug Varone and Dancers.  In addition to hosting the Company’s premiere performance at SUNY at Buffalo Center for the Arts on March 24, 2012, the Center not only became a new partner in this project but also featured the Company in a two week NEA sponsored residency in a local hospital (March 19-25). This experience of working with a special population of terminally ill children prompted Doug Varone to create two new works in progress, which were performed at the March 24th concert.  The weekend of the performance, the Burchfield Penney Art Center (BPAC) presented John Toth’s installation piece in the Center’s auditorium, building an artistic link from his work to the final performance piece, MPOE.  It should be noted that the Year 2 partnership with additional Dance Force member Elaine Gardner from Pick of the Crop Dance, which focused on a creative residency at Nichols School in the fall of 2011, further enhanced audience engagement. We estimated the  total performance audience at 600.  Marketing was coordinated between SUNY Center for the Arts and the Burchfield Penney Art Center, via printed materials and websites.