The Department of English at the University of Rochester named N\u2019jelle Gage and Guy Thorne of FuturPointe Dance the recipients of the 2014 Lillian Fairchild Memorial Award, during a ceremony on Thursday, Jan. 29.<\/p>\n
The award is given annually to a local visual artist, writer, choreographer, or composer for his or her commitment to the arts in the Rochester area. Rosemary Kegl, chair of the English department and member of the Fairchild Award committee, said the selection committee chose Gage and Thorne for their recent portfolio of innovative and collaborative projects, including Psychopomp & Pageantry \u2013 Dance. Ritual. Magic<\/em>, which premiered at the First Niagara Rochester Fringe Festival, Riot- A Performance\/Installation, <\/em>a piece that commemorated the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of the Rochester race riots, and their work with Rochester area schools.<\/p>\n Gage and Thorne co-founded FuturPoint Dance in 2009 as a way to promote cultural diversity and awareness in dance through community outreach, performances, and artistic residencies. The contemporary dance company\u2019s eclectic work combines Caribbean dance forms, ballet, and Latin vocabulary.<\/p>\n \u201cWe use influences from Africa, Europe, Asia and even pre-Columbian America that are in touch with contemporary and urban culture,\u201d said Thorne, who has a bachelor of fine arts in dance from SUNY Brockport. \u201cBy breaking the rules of dance, we are able to build our skills and find meaningful work in this medium.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the past few years, the Rochester-based dance company, FuturPointe, has toured around the world, most recently performing the Let\u2019s Dance International Festival in Leicester, United Kingdom, and the Santa Cruz Fringe Festival in Santa Cruz, California. Locally, their work has been featured at the Rochester Fringe Festival and they have worked with Young Audiences of Rochester, a non-profit arts education organization, to stage multiple interactive performances at the Rochester City School District.<\/p>\n Established by University of Rochester Professor Herman L. Fairchild in 1924, the award is in memory of his daughter, an accomplished designer who died of tuberculosis at the age of 32. Previous awards have been given out to visual artists, composers, choreographers and writers such as modern dance choreographer Garth Fagan, sculptor Albert Paley, and Pulitzer Prize- winning poet Anthony Hecht.<\/p>\n \u201cI love the spirit of this award, and it does an excellent job of encouraging burgeoning artists,\u201d said Gage, who graduated from the University of Arts in Cuba with a master\u2019s degree in Cuban modern dance techniques. \u201cThis year, we\u2019d like to use our dance to help encourage social wellness and interactions, and gain a newer and more diverse audience.\u201d<\/p>\n