LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which  distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming.  (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

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Jazz, Dance Combined for Weekend Show

By ABIGAIL BLISS
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Two classes at the Sitka Fine Arts Camp are teaming up for an evening of song and dance this weekend.
    Participants in the camp’s Dance Intensive and Jazz Workshop, both week-long programs, will perform 7 p.m. Saturday at the PAC. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $15 for students and seniors.

Adam McKinney, right, leads a rehearsal in Allen Hall Thursday. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)

Jazz workshop student, Sam Marmon, 14, plays the trumpet in the Yaw Chapel Thursday evening. (Sentinel Photo)


    The Dance Intensive is in its second year and still growing, said instructor Adam McKinney.
    McKinney, formerly of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Alonzo King LINES Ballet, spearheads the program in collaboration with Danny Ryan, formerly of the Kansas City Ballet and Wonderbound.
    While the Dance Intensive is a relatively new offering, McKinney and Ryan have known each other for decades. They first crossed paths 20 years ago at Milwaukee Ballet, where Ryan was a student and McKinney was a dancer with the company.
    They call their plan to expand dance offerings the Dance Alaska Project (DAP).
    “DAP aims to stimulate, invigorate and create lasting impact, inspiring individual and communal growth through the art of dance,” McKinney said. “We believe that by demonstrating the range of opportunities that dance can offer, we can develop and inspire the future of this beautiful art form.”
    This year, ten aspiring dancers from around Alaska have come to study ballet, modern, and contemporary dance with McKinney and Ryan. They range in age from kids entering eighth grade to 2018 graduates, with each participant bringing their own skill-set and goals to the week-long program.
    Ryan and McKinney explained that students arrive with varying degrees of experience, and the SFAC program gives them professional-level experience in their art form.
    On Saturday, they’ll perform “Phtora,” a 30-minute piece inspired by Greek mythology. It channels, McKinney said, “the idea of destruction, death, and resurrection, and the power of the human spirit,” and features music by Ezio Bosso and Arvo Part.
    The Jazz Workshop focuses more on the swapping of knowledge between professional and aspiring musicians than on rote instruction, said instructor Christian Fabian. It also allows each musician ample opportunity to practice.
    “The program is really designed for professional musicians to share their experience,” Fabian said. “There’s a lot of hands-on experience.”
    Fabian, a professional bassist himself, said that the 16 participants in this year’s workshop make up a “very diverse group.” The youngest is only 12 years old, but many of the other musicians have decades of experience under their belts.
    “(It’s) just people who want to gain further knowledge,” Fabian said. “It resonates with people on different levels, depending what we’re talking about...My experience is if you learn three or four things it can really have a big impact on your life as a musician.”
    For the first time this year, elementary, middle, or high school teachers who participate in the program can receive two Continuing Education Units through the University of Alaska.
    Fabian said the musicians’ performance Saturday will reflect the program’s origins. Initially, it revolved around the Native Jazz Quartet, a group formed in 2010 by Fabian and Ed Littlefield to find fresh takes on age-old melodies, creating jazz arrangements of Native music.
    “Part of the workshop initially was to teach people what we are doing in the Native Jazz Quartet, but we found out very quickly that to do so we have to teach a full jazz workshop,” Fabian said. Therefore, he said, the program now includes explorations of jazz composition, technique, and arrangement.
    For the performance, Littlefield has passed out a Native melody arranged as a jazz song, Fabian said.

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20 YEARS AGO

March 2004

Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.

50 YEARS AGO

March 1974

Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.

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