Ithaca College

Assistant Professor Daniel Gwirtzman (Theatre Arts) presented a paper, led an interactive movement workshop, and served on a panel at the 21st Annual National Dance Education Organization Conference (NDEO) in Miami.

The four-day conference, Creative Process: Choreography, Choice-Making, and Communication, was held October 23-October 26 at the Hyatt Regency Miami.  In his paper, A Life in Choreography: Longevity and Legacy, Gwirtzman made the case for the primacy of developing an archive as an educator, regardless of the sector one works in (Private, K-12, Higher Ed, Performing Arts Organization). He argued that we advance the dance field when we bring the same commitment, capital and passion to the archiving of one’s work that is typically brought to the Creative Process. His thesis concludes that history is written by the writers, not the actors, the do-ers, the drivers; it is recorded by the record-keepers. In the highly-interactive, pedagogical workshop Viewpoints and Perspectives: Using Viewpoints as a Creative System for Inclusion and Discourse Gwirtzman presented the structured work developed in the 1970s by theater artist and educator Mary Overlie and continued by Anne Bogart and Tina Landis. He presented how this improvisational system can train anyone to use their body in time and space to create meaning regardless of ability, age, or experience. As part of a Student Session, Gwirtzman joined a panel of three national dance educators entitled “How To Get A Job,” which provided undergraduate and graduate attendees insights into the contours of the arts marketplace, offering a range of case studies and best practices.