UA Professor Receives NEA Grant to Restage Notable Dance

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Sarah M. Barry, assistant professor of dance at The University of Alabama, has received a National Endowment for the Arts grant for $15,000 under the American Masterpieces: Dance category.

The award will support the restaging of José Limón’s “There is a Time” for the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre, the UA department of theatre and dance’s pre-professional company in-residence.

José Limón choreographed “There is a Time” in 1956. It is based on a passage from the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes and uses the concepts of cycles and circles to display many aspects of the human experience.

Limón was born in Culican, Mexico, in 1908 and came to the United States when he was 7. He danced for the Humphrey-Weidman company in the 1930s and went on to found his own company.The performance of “There is a Time” is presented by arrangement with the José Limón Dance Foundation (http://limon.org) and is produced in accordance with the Limón Style and Limón Technique service standards, established by The José Limón Dance Foundation.

Clay Taliaferro, who taught  Limón technique during a residency at UA in Feburary, will serve as re-constructor of the piece.Rita Snyder, UA associate professor, is acting as rehearsal director for the dance, and Barry is serving as project director.

Taliaferro has had an extensive involvement with American dance, earning an international reputation as an award-winning performer, teacher and choreographer. He was a principal dancer and guest artist with the José Limón Dance Company for many years and also served the company as assistant artistic director.

Snyder has danced professionally with both ballet and modern dance companies, including American Festival Ballet, Classical Ballet Theatre, Berkshire Ballet, Tandy Beal and Co. and Clay Taliaferro and Dancers. She received a BFA in modern dance performance and an MFA in ballet teaching and choreography from the University of Utah.

Barry has shown her choreography in Edinburgh, Scotland, at the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, and in Biel, Switzerland, as part of the 46th International Choreographer’s Showcase. She holds an MFA in modern dance from the University of Utah as well as a certification in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis through the Integrated Movement Studies program.

The National Endowment for the Arts was established by Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government.To date, the NEA has awarded more than $4 billion to support artistic excellence, creativity and innovation for the benefit of individuals and communities.The NEA extends its work through partnerships with state arts agencies, local leaders, other federal agencies and the philanthropic sector.

Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre performances will be at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, through Thursday, March 31; 5:30 p.m. Friday, April 1; and 2 p.m. Saturday, April 2.Tickets are $18 for adults, $15 for seniors and UA faculty and staff and $12 for students and children.

Tickets can be bought at the department of theatre and dance box office, in the lobby of Rowand-Johnson Hall, between noon and 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 4 p.m. Friday. Tickets can also be ordered by phoning 205/348-3400 or by visiting the online sales office at http://theatre.ua.edu.

The department of theatre and dance is part of UA’s College of Arts and Sciences, the University’s largest division and the largest liberal arts college in the state. Students from the College have won numerous national awards including Rhodes Scholarships, Goldwater Scholarships and memberships on the USA Today Academic All American Team.