Release date: September 17, 2007
Kennesaw State dance program welcomes three guest artists
Contact: Cheryl Anderson Brown, Assistant Director of Public Relations
770-499-3417 or cbrown@kennesaw.edu
 |
Candess Giyan |
 |
Jason Kalish |
 |
Antonio Sisk |
KENNESAW, Ga.—Three professional dancers are serving as guest artists at Kennesaw State University for the 2007-2008 academic year. Candess Giyan, Jason Kalish and Antonio Sisk have achieved significant recognition as professional dancers and choreographers. Each guest will choreograph a new work for the KSU Dance Company as well as teaching master classes.
“We invited these three guest artists to work with our program because of their unique choreographic and stylistic abilities,” said Ivan Pulinkala, director of the KSU dance program.
A contemporary dancer, Candess Giyan has choreographed numerous projects, including Dad’s Garage Theater, Midtown Music Festival, and TBS television programs. Giyan trained and performed at the Denver Contemporary Theater and has performed with dance companies in Atlanta and in Louisiana. She is the co-director of Zoetic Dance Ensemble, an Atlanta-based, non-profit dance company that strives to bring innovative works to a wide audience. In 2006, Dekalb County awarded Giyan an individual artist grant, which is used to enrich arts and culture within the county.
Jason Kalish has worked professionally in many tap dancing productions. At the age of 16, he was cast on Broadway in “42nd Street” and later joined the performance cast of the international sensation “Tap Dogs,” opening for acts like Harry Connick Jr. and LeAnn Rimes. Kalish has also performed with celebrities such as the late Gregory Hines and comedian Jack Black. He now teaches at dance conventions across the country and is working on several choreography projects.
Antonio Sisk is a contemporary artist who served as principal dancer for five years at the Dallas Black Dance Theater. Throughout his career, Sisk also has held several positions at the Philadelphia Dance Company, a professional dance organization that performs in the United States and abroad. He graduated with a degree in dance and communications from Southern Methodist University and has premiered works by well-known artists, including renowned choreographer Alonzo King and triple-threat (actress, vocalist and choreographer) Hope Clarke. Now he uses his 14 years of experience to work with and educate new dancers.
The KSU dance program welcomes new guest artists each year. Since its inception in 2005, the dance program has experienced exponential growth. Currently, there are more than 100 declared minors in the program and more than 150 students receive dance instruction each term. The program strives to prepare students for the professional world of dance and to help them develop the knowledge and skills needed to pursue dance at the graduate level.
The KSU Dance Company is a pre-professional level dance company that performs at KSU, regionally and nationally. The mission of the KSU Dance Company is to bring Western concert dance to the community, as well as serve the mission of education in dance. Through outreach programs, students in the company gain valuable touring experience, while serving an important community mission. The variety of performance opportunities provide students with practical experiences that extend to the areas of production, design and stage management.
# # #
A member of the 35-unit University System of Georgia, Kennesaw State University is a comprehensive‚ residential institution with a growing student population approaching 20‚000 from 132 countries. The third largest state university in Georgia‚ Kennesaw State offers more than 60 graduate and undergraduate degrees‚ including a new Doctorate of Education in Leadership.
The KSU College of the Arts is one of only four Georgia institutions to have achieved full national accreditation for all of its arts programs.