Marilyn D'Honau, Lori Leshner and Stephen Purdy Among Camp Broadway Guest Artists, Now thru 10/14
By: BWW News Desk Oct. 12, 2013
Today, Camp Broadway has announced its roster of guest artists visiting its three-day musical theater dance intensive geared towards dancers ages 14-18, occurring over the Columbus Day weekend, today, October 12-14, 2013.
These guests will complement the programmatic features, which are curated by Camp Broadway Dance Director Sue Delano (My Fair Lady; Cabaret). Delano will be demonstrating to participants how to communicate through movement by using theiconic street dance styles featured in shows such as Newsies and West Side Story.
Having participated in over 19 productions of West Side Story, Lori Leshner will provide additional perspectives on the themes of this intensive, which links contemporary dance moves to the history of Broadway. Ms. Leshner has been a member of the dance faculty at such lauded institutions as: NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, where she taught Song and Dance with Jack Lee, and choreographed Carousel, Company, and 4x4 by Richard; Collaborative Arts Project 21, where she has choreographedWild Party, State Fair, Hair, Into the Woods, and Cabaret; and Yale School of Drama, where she teaches Dance for Actors.
Guest artists also include Marilyn D'Honau, who will lead a special ballet session using her expertise as a member of the original cast of Jerome Robbins' West Side Story. Ms. D'Honau was also a soloist with ballet companies such as: Eliot Feld American Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, Buck's County Ballet, Staten Island Ballet and a guest artist with Rabousky & Kovach Concert Tour, and now teaches at Collaborative Arts Project 21 and Roy Arias Dance Center.
"The caliber of artists that Camp Broadway attracts is a testament to our commitment towards an authentic, quality Broadway experience for all ages," says Managing Director Melissa Caolo, who herself has toured extensively in the United States for several major American dance companies. "Even professional concert dancers aspire to Broadway but they often don't acquire the skills of singing and acting in the early part of their training and careers. Camp Broadway Dance exposes teen dancers who may be more accustomed to the competition space to what it means to add singing and acting to the equation."
Juilliard-trained Stephen Purdy (Frankenstein; Tarzan) will be providing the musical direction for the three-day workshop. As a vocal coach he has trained and works regularly with many of the Broadway elite including Tony and Oscar award winners.
To round out the program, dance participants will also attend Newsies, now featuring Camp Broadway alumni Andy Richardson. Additional activities include a mock audition, vocal rehearsals; and daily ballet with a musical theater point of view, led by the renown Cindy Thole (Agnes DeMille's Oklahama!).
Camp Broadway's programs put aspiring youth in in direct connection with veteran Broadway performers. For dancers looking to stretch their skills and learn how to add singing and acting onto their repertoire, this program offers an ideal foundation.
Registration is now open for Camp Broadway Dance here: http://www.campbroadway.com/camp-broadway-programs/cb-dance-ages-14-18/.
About the Artists:
Marilyn D'Honau
Marilyn was a soloist with the following ballet companies. Eliot Feld American Ballet, New Jersey Ballet, Buck's County Ballet, Staten Island Ballet and a guest artist with Rabousky &Kovach Concert Tour. On Broadway, she was a member of the original cast of Jerome Robbins' "West Side Story", "Gypsy", starring Ethel Merman, Ron Field's and Bob Fosse's "Sweet Charity" in Las Vegas. Ms. D'Honau also performed in "Pal Joey" starring Bob Fosse, "CanCan", "Merry Widow" and "Guys and Dolls" at City Center. She has worked with such dance legends as George Balanchine, Michael Bennet, Todd Bolender, Danny Daniels, Peter Gennarro, Michael Kidd, Lee Theodore, Rod Alexander, and Onna White. On television she appeared weekly on "The Ed Sullivan Show" as well as "The Bob Hope Special", "Perry Como", "Richard Rogers Special", "The Toney Awards", and the closing ceremony of the Statue of Liberty. With her sisters she appeared as "The D'Honau Sisters", an act which toured throughout the United States and Europe at major hotels and casinos and on national television, the Jim Backus Show. She was a principal dancer in the film "The Night They Raided Minsky's".
Ms. D'Honau has been on faculty at the New Jersey School of Ballet under artistic director Edward Villella, and in New York City has taught at Broadway Dance Center, Dance Concepts Inc., Theater Dance, the New York Conservatory of Dance, Steps, Musical Theater Works, New Dance Group, and Eliot Feld's New Ballet School. She has taught company classes for Feld Ballet/NY and the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Master classes for Dance Alliance, and has been a guest teacher at Skidmore College, Bennet College, and Gulfport College. Recently did a reading for the b'way show "Ballroom" starring Tyne Daily, directed and choreographed by Jerry Michell. Currently, Ms. D'Honau is on faculty at Collaborative Arts Project 21, and Roy Arias Dance Center.
Sue has worked as a performer on Broadway with Richard Chamberlain in My Fair Lady, the national tour of Cabaret with Joel Grey, and a national tour with Liza Minnelli. She has also worked all over the country and Europe as a performer, dance captain, swing, understudy, and assistant director with such names as Jimmy Buffett, Herman Wouk, David Bell, Susan Stroman, Jack Lee, George Abbott, Igor Goldin, Evan Pappas, Ron Fields, Ron Lewis, Michael Shawn, Vivian Matalon, just to name a few. As a Director/Choreographer:Les Miserables, Winter Park Florida; Oklahomaat WCU. As Choreographer: Air India Industrial, New Delphi, India;Mame, Stephens College; The Tenth Floor, Fringe Festival NYC; How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, CAP 21; BRAVO'S On With the Show; Camp Broadway; numerous AMDA Showcases. Sue received her BA in Dance at Stephens College in Columbia, MO.
Lori Leshner
Lori has been a member of the dance faculty at NYU/Tisch School of the Arts, having taught Song and Dance with Jack Lee, and where she has choreographed Carousel, Company, and 4x4 by Richard. She is also a dance faculty member at Collaborative Arts Project 21, where she has choreographed Wild Party, State Fair, Hair, Into the Woods, and Cabaret, as well as the Yale School of Drama, teaching Dance for Actors.
Lori is the Director of Dance at the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse in Auburn, NY, having choreographed Kiss Me, Kate, My Fair Lady,Anything Goes, The King and I, The Producers, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Full Monty, Promises, Promises, Man of La Mancha, High School Musical, Brigadoon, and Little Shop of Horrors.
Lori was trained at the Hartford School of Ballet, and is a Certified Active Isolated Stretch Therapist, as well as a Registered Yoga Instructor. She has performed and choreographed in summer stock and regional theatre all over the country, as well as having toured nationally and internationally with West Side Story. Performances include: Carousel, Brigadoon, Cabaret, A Chorus Line, 42ndStreet, Evita, Man of La Mancha, Carmen at The Houston Grand Opera, and many more.
Stephen maintains and active career as a pianist and conductor for Broadway and off-Broadway musicals in New York and on tour having played and/or conducted Peter Pan starring Cathy Rigby (New York and tour), The Fantasticks (off-Broadway), The Full Monty (tour), Tarzan (Broadway), Frankenstein (off-Broadway) and The King and I (tour). International credits include 42nd Street (European tour),Grease (Paris and European tour), and A Chorus Line (European tour). Regional credits include Arena Stage, Atlanta Alliance, Northshore and the Joseph Papp Public among the many.
Cynthia is a veteran of the Broadway stage and currently works as a director/choreographer and teacher in New York City for Camp Broadway as well as Theatreworks/USA, Two Beans Productions, TADA!, AMDA and Encores. She is a faculty member of the dance program at Montclair State University, Fairleigh Dickinson University and AMDA. Her Broadway performance credits include: A Christmas Carol, My Fair Lady, Nick and Nora, Me and My Girl, Meet Me in St Louis, Singin' in the Rain, and 42nd Street. National Tours include: Agnes DeMille's Oklahoma!, Sugar Babies and 42nd Street. Her regional choreography credits include: Carousel and Leave Him to Heaven for Farleigh Dickenson University, 42nd Street, Allenberry Playhouse, Me and My Girl, Mill Mountain Playhouse, and Quilters, Penn State University. Cynthia works as a teaching artist in the New York City public schools with grades K-12. She is also a graduate of Butler University.
CAMP BROADWAY LLC, established in 1995, sets the standard for high-quality, professionally designed, authentic Broadway experiences for all ages. The Camp Broadway program is the industry leader in theatre arts camps and special events, including featured appearances in nine of the last twelve Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade telecasts. Camp Broadway has hosted over 20,000 children from around the world at its summer camps and enabled over 300,000 students to attend a Broadway show as part of its Broadway-themed workshops. Broadway Camp Workshops - for children and adults - deliver a fun, eye-opening glimpse at what it would be like to prepare to step onto a Broadway stage, while making any visit to Broadway more memorable.
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