DREAM OF HELEN, PRESENTATION AND BROADCAST @ SUU (CC: Nov 17)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 11/3/11
Michael French
Marketing & Public Relations Coordinator
College of Performing and Visual Arts
Southern Utah University
Office: 435-865-8667
michaelfrench@suu.edu

Photo credit: A Cedar City-set maypole dance from Dream of Helen featuring SUU dancers and members of the Hubei Opera and Dance Drama Theatre ensemble. Photo: Xiaosu Fang

FOR CALENDAR EDITORS: DREAM OF HELEN, PRESENTATION AND BROADCAST

WHAT:             On Thursday, November 17, 2011, faculty and students from Southern Utah University’s College of Performing and Visual Arts will share their remarkable stories about the creative process behind Dream of Helen, the collaboration between China’s Hubei Opera and Dance Drama Theatre and SUU inspired by the life of Helen Foster Snow.

WHO:               College of Performing and Visual Arts, Southern Utah University

WHEN:             Thursday, November 17, 2011

TIME:               Presentation: 11:30am / Video Broadcast: 7:30pm

WHERE:           Presentation: Auditorium Theatre / Broadcast: Thorley Recital Hall, Music Building, Southern Utah University, Cedar City, UT

TICKETS:         Phone: Arts Hotline: (435) 865-8800 or visit: www.suu.edu/arts

PRICES:           Free and the General Public is encouraged to attend.

SUU’S COLLEGE OF PERFORMING AND VISUAL ARTS’

FACULTY AND STUDENTS SHARE

“DREAM OF HELEN”

NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Southern Utah University, Cedar City, Utah: To honor a fellow Utahn, they traveled half way around the world to collaborate on a spectacular dance drama celebrating one women’s life. On Thursday, November 17, 2011, faculty and students from Southern Utah University’s College of Performing and Visual Arts will share their remarkable stories about the creative process behind Dream of Helen, the collaboration between China’s Hubei Opera and Dance Drama Theatre and SUU inspired by the life of Helen Foster Snow. The day will include two special events surrounding Dream of Helen. First there will be a presentation behind the creative process at the Auditorium Theatre at 11:30am and then in the early evening at 7:30pm, a video showing of the dance drama Dream of Helen at Thorley Recital Hall in SUU’s Music Building. Both events are free and the public is welcome to attend.

Shauna Mendini, Dean of SUU’s College of Performing and Visual Arts and Co-Director of Dream of Helen, extends this event invitation to the entire community. “On behalf of everyone from SUU connected to Dream of Helen, I wanted these talented individuals to share their experiences with our community. Helen Foster Snow was a Cedar City native and her legacy inspired all us creatively and emotionally. Her spirit brought us all together and our collaboration with the Hubei Opera and Dance Drama Theatre carried on Helen’s regional connection between Cedar City and the people of China.” 

For the late morning presentation at the Auditorium Theatre, a panel comprised of the SUU creative team and student dancers will share their extraordinary saga of developing a new performance piece from the ground up. Featured panelists for this event will include: Dean Mendini, Keith Bradshaw, SUU Music Chair and co-composer, Kay Andersen, Theatre Arts & Dance Chair and co-choreographer, Xun Sun, Associate Professor of Music and music director for the production, as well as several students who performed in the world premiere.

Later that day, Dean Mendini will host the broadcast at Thorley Recital in SUU’s Music Building which includes a complete performance of Dream of Helen as performed onstage at the Wuhan’s Qintai Grand Theatre in China’s Hubei Province.

Fourteen SUU dance students were part of the production’s company which features nearly one hundred dancers. The dance students traveled to China in the late May 2011 for an extensive eight-week rehearsal process. Then in early July, six SUU music students, accompanied by the Department of Music’s Dr. Lynn Vartan, arrived in China. Vartan and the students rehearsed with the Hubei Symphony Orchestra and joined the orchestra’s ninety musicians to perform the dance drama’s score.

Helen Foster Snow (1907-1997) was a native of Cedar City, Utah, who was an instrumental bridge builder of U.S./China relations. Known as the mother of Chinese Industrial Cooperatives and through her efforts as a writer, she received two Nobel Peace Prize nominations and was the second American to be awarded the title of “Friendship Ambassador,” the highest honor bestowed by the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. She is considered a heroine by the Chinese people. Snow’s mother, Hannah Davis Foster, taught at the Branch Normal School now Southern Utah University.

Experience Dream of Helen through discussion and broadcast. Do not miss this unique sharing that is open to all.

ABOUT THE COLLEGE
The Southern Utah University College of Performing and Visual Arts is comprised of nationally accredited departments of Art and Design, Music, Theatre Arts and Dance, as well as a graduate program in Arts Administration. The College offers 16 different degree areas, including liberal arts Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees; professional Bachelor of Music and Bachelor of Fine Arts in art and theatre degrees; and a Master of Fine Arts in Arts Administration degree. More than 60 full- and part-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 550 majors in the College. Over 1100 students enroll each year in over 195 arts classes on the SUU campus. The College presents 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year. The College’s affiliate organizations include the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery, American Folk Ballet, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and the SUU Ballroom Dance Company. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, contact the Office of the Dean at (435) 865-8561, or by e-mail at cpvamktg@suu.edu.