Studio Notes
Rescue Mission
It’s been 20 years since The Dance Complex in Cambridge, MA, opened its doors. Back in 1991, this now-thriving studio was just a group of movement enthusiasts hoping to preserve the historic Odd Fellows Hall—a beautiful late-19th-century building in downtown Cambridge—and create a space devoted to dance. Today, the volunteer-based, artist-run center serves the Greater Boston area with six studios, an array of classes from ballet to capoeira, and a blackbox theater. The studio continues its 20th-anniversary events with a faculty concert, Nov. 11–12, and the Odd Fellows Dance Hall, Nov. 19–20, in which viewers can wander between four simultaneous performances and an exhibition by photographer/videographer Charles Daniels.
Class at the Dance Complex. Photo by Charles Daniels, Courtesy Dance Complex.
Awards & Appointments
The Washington Ballet has appointed Monique Meunier as ballet master of its trainee program. Meunier was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet who went on to dance with American Ballet Theatre and Complexions Contemporary Ballet. The School at Jacob’s Pillow granted its 2011 Lorna Strassler Award for Student Excellence to 21-year-old Craig Black Jr. The award, which goes to one student each summer, includes a scholarship to attend one of the Pillow’s professional advancement programs, as well as a cash stipend. Black, a graduate of Juilliard, participated in the Pillow’s contemporary program.
