Department of Dance - Guest Artists

Guest Artists

Students have the opportunity to work with guest artists of national and international repute. Guest artists teach master classes, choreograph works, and are available to the students and community through various outreach activities. Members of the University Dance Company have performed choreography by José Limón, Twyla Tharp, Mary Anthony, Karole Armitage, Bill Evans, Wally Cardona, Patrick Corbin, Carl Corry, Claire Porter, Michael Simms, and William Whitener, among many others.

Choreography by Bill Evans Featured in Fall 2009 Concerts

The University Dance Company will perform Jukebox by award-winning choreographer Bill Evans on its fall concerts on November 19 and 20, 2009, at the Lied Center.

Evans was in residence October 3-11, 2009, to teach master classes and to stage Jukebox for members of the University Dance Company. Jukebox pays homage to the Hollywood movie musicals of the 1940s. This high-spirited and humorous suite of dances features tap, jazz, and modern dance moves set to music arranged and recorded by Glenn Miller and his Orchestra. http://www.freestatestudios.com/shows/river-city-weekly/

Bill Evans was voted one of the three top American tap dance artists (with Savion Glover and Brenda Bufalino) by readers of Dance Magazine in 2004, and he has choreographed more than 200 works for dance companies throughout the world. He was artistic director of the Bill Evans Dance Company, based in Seattle and Albuquerque, the most-booked company in the nation for several years under the National Endowment's Dance Touring and Artist-in the-Schools programs. Evans was a dancer, a choreographer and the artistic coordinator of Utah's Repertory Dance Theatre. Later he was the artistic director of Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers and its professional training program, where he now is a permanent guest artist.

Evans has been awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, and more than 70 other awards from public and private arts agencies in the U.S. and Canada. He received the New Mexico Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts and was named Scholar/Artist of the Year by the National Dance Association in 1997.

Evans received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Dance Education Organization in 2005. An article about the international impact of his teaching was featured in the October 2003 issue of Dance Magazine. His book, Reminiscences of a Dancing Man: A Photographic Journey of a Life in Dance, was published in 2005. He currently is a visiting professor and artist in residence in the Department of Dance at the State University of New York College at Brockport.

Hayley Mac, Guest Artist for Spring 2010

Hayley Mac has captivated audiences by her inimitable style all over the United States and in virtually all venues of the entertainment industry.   You may have seen her starring in “42nd Street”, as a featured dancer in commercials and on MTV, or as a solo artist on Television networks such as CBS, Fox, Live Talk-shows and radio broadcasts. Her diverse talents also gave her the unique opportunity to be the creative director and star in an Original “One-Woman Show”, showcasing her tap dancing and jazz vocal talent-opening for the comedic icon, Rita Rudner. Hayley has been asked to perform and open at many prestigious events including the “8th Annual Choreography Awards for Cinema and Television”, Coca Cola's “Olympic City” at the Olympics in Atlanta, GA, Disney World's Epcot Center, and numerous black tie affairs for Professional Sports teams and celebrities.  She has had the great honor of dancing alongside some of the world’s most legendary dancers: Henry Le Tang, Gregory Hines, Ann Reinking, and Gwen Verdon.

In addition to performance, Hayley has gained high accolades for her artistry and choreography. She is known for producing innovative dance concerts that uniquely blend multiple forms of fine art .  Her work has been broadcast live around the world as the choreographer for the Emmy nominated Showstopper Dance Championships, as well as the opening and closing ceremonies for the World Championships of Performing Arts.  She has been featured in Dance Magazine, choreographed over 70 works for dance companies around the country, as well as co-creating, choreographing, and starring in an Original musical debuting on the West Coast.   Hayley has a passion to teach and positively influence dancers in this generation-she travels extensively around the country not only performing, but teaching hundreds of thousands of dancers as a 'master teacher' and motivational speaker. In addition to her creative talent, Hayley also places a high value on education, graduating from Pepperdine University in Liberal Arts with an emphasis in Theatre as well as a Master’s Degree in Instructional Leadership-where she spent most of her time doing research on the effects of dance on body image and researching the most effective teaching methods for dance education.  She currently resides in Kansas City, Missouri with her husband, Cameron.