Program News
Dance
Salve hosts "Bridging the Gap" jazz dance and music festival
The Newport Folk Festival and Newport Jazz Festival are highlights of the summer arts scene, drawing tens of thousands of visitors to Aquidneck Island. To continue the celebration between festivals, Salve hosted the inaugural "Bridging the Gap: A Jazz Dance and Music Festival" in 2024. Curated by jazz dance artists and scholars from across the U.S. and Canada, and in collaboration with acclaimed jazz musician Julius Rodriguez, the festival augmented the rich history and culture of jazz in Newport by featuring musicians and dancers in events at the historic Casino Theatre and Ochre Court.
Dance program showcases jazz in "Rhythm & Sounds" performances
Presented by Extensions Dance Company, "Rhythms & Sounds" took audiences on a journey of propulsive rhythms and soulful sounds. Dancers shared stories in the syncopated vernacular of Black American dance with works inspired by West African, Afro-Cuban and Ethiopian movement. The concert featured choreography from adjunct faculty Haley Andrews '18, Carlos R.A. Jones, Ashley Rich Omisore and Mekbul Tahir; dance students Livia Armstrong, Trinity Leite and Taylor Steeves; and guest artists Kimberley Cooper and Maurice Watson.
Leite makes choreographic debut in New York City
Members of Salve's dance program traveled to New York City to perform choreographed works by dance major Trinity Leite – "Cat and Mouse" and "Artemis" – both of which were selected as featured performance pieces at festivals in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Created to embody the performance environment, energy and atmosphere exuded by live jazz musicians, "Cat and Mouse" was presented at Jazz Choreography Enterprises' Jazz Dance Project. Inspired by the memory of Leite's former dance teacher and mentor, who lost her battle with ALS at age 32, "Artemis" was performed at WAXworks.
Guarino's book challenges the devaluation of jazz dance's Black American history
Dance professor Lindsay Guarino’s second text on jazz dance, "Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century," challenges dominant narratives on jazz dance by looking critically at the impacts of white supremacy on a Black American art form. Co-editors are Carlos R. A. Jones, professor and chair of the Department of Dance at SUNY Brockport, and Wendy Oliver, professor in the Department of Theater, Dance and Film at Providence College.