KENNESAW, Ga. | Nov 6, 2025

Two decades after its founding, the Kennesaw State University Department of Dance stands as one of Georgia’s great success stories in the arts: a program built from a single studio on half a basketball court, into a nationally recognized home for innovation, collaboration and artistry.

This fall, KSU Dance celebrates its 20th anniversary with Labyrinth, an evening of powerful new works by faculty, alumni and international guests that honor the program’s creative past and vibrant future.
 
Performances will be held November 13–15, 2025, in the KSU Dance Theater on the Marietta campus, featuring choreography by faculty members Shannon Alvis and Autumn Eckman, guest BAMAH Israeli artist Yankalle Filtser, and KSU Dance founder Ivan Pulinkala, who now serves as KSU’s Provost.
 
An Artistic Journey Twenty Years in the Making
 
When Pulinkala arrived at KSU in 2005, there was no dance studio, no students and no curriculum — only an idea and a vision. Working from a converted basketball court, he built what has become Georgia’s largest collegiate dance program, now accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), with state-of-the-art studios and a 450-seat dance theater — the only discipline-specific venue of its kind in the Atlanta region.
 
“Looking back, I realize that the last 20 years have been a journey through a labyrinth,” said Pulinkala. “You think you’re making choices that will impact your trajectory, but really, you’re just following a singular path, meeting new collaborators, growing and discovering along the way. Labyrinth is a reflection of that journey — of perseverance and community collaborations.” 

 
Pulinkala’s new work Labyrinth features members of the KSU Dance Company with four alumni returning to the stage, bridging generations of dancers who have shaped and been shaped by the program. It’s both a homecoming and a continuation; an embodiment of the legacy that began with one man’s determination and a university’s belief in the transformative power of the arts.
 
Threads That Bind Us
 
The concert’s title, Labyrinth, also speaks to the evening’s overarching themes: connection, discovery and the delicate balance between individuality and belonging. For BAMAH guest artist Yankalle Filtser, who has spent the semester in residence at KSU, the title resonates on a deeply personal level.
 
Filtser, who hails from Israel and grew up in an Orthodox Jewish household, creates choreography that fuses Hasidic dance, contemporary movement and street styles. His piece, Knot Love, explores the inner conflicts that shape identity and the universal longing to find harmony between opposing forces.
 

“Conflict isn’t just something that happens in the world; it happens within us,” said Filtser. “My work plays between unity and loneliness, between the yearning to belong and the need to stand apart. The dancers use ropes as both boundaries and lifelines, a metaphor for how we are bound to one another through tension, resilience and care.”
 
Filtser’s residency embodies KSU Dance’s ongoing commitment to global collaboration. The university’s three-year partnership with BAMAH for visiting artists in dance, theatre and music is made possible through the generous support of the Radow Family Foundation and Norman and Lindy Radow. Filtser’s time with students this fall has invited dialogue around culture and empathy, bridging continents through shared creative practice.
 
New Works, Enduring Vision
 
Between Filtser’s Knot Love and Pulinkala’s Labyrinth are two additional premieres by KSU faculty choreographers Shannon Alvis and Autumn Eckman, both of whom bring a wealth of professional experience and distinct artistic voices to the stage.
 
In Group Solitaire, Eckman explores the fragile dance between connection and separation -- “a game of unity and isolation,” she says, where dancers test the boundaries of belonging. Through shifting patterns of movement, her work invites audiences to consider their own place within the choreography of community.
 

Alvis, whose career includes more than a decade performing with Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Nederlands Dans Theater, draws on her international background to create movement that is fluid, cinematic and emotionally charged. Water Serpents is inspired by the Gustav Klimt painting of the same name, Water Serpents I. “Klimt’s painting is not only steeped in femininity, strength, fluidity and sensuality,” she said. “It is also layered with such intricate detail, structure and patterning.” Her choreography continues her exploration of the human condition — where grace and vulnerability coexist and where dance becomes a universal language of transformation.
 
Together, these works form a tapestry that celebrates not only the 20th anniversary of KSU Dance but also the spirit that has defined it since its inception: curiosity, collaboration and courage.
 
A Legacy of Excellence
 
Under Pulinkala’s leadership, the KSU Dance Department quickly rose to national prominence, earning repeated invitations to perform at the Kennedy Center through the American College Dance Festival and developing partnerships with organizations such as Atlanta Ballet, Terminus Modern Ballet Theatre and the Batsheva Dance Company in Israel.
 
Today, alumni can be found performing, teaching and leading production teams for major companies across the country, including New York City Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago (who will be in residence and performing at KSU in January) and Atlanta Ballet.
 

“Labyrinth is more than a concert; it’s a reflection of who we are as a community,” said Marsha Barsky, chair of the Department of Dance. “Every dancer, faculty member and alum who has passed through our studios is part of this story. We’re celebrating 20 years of artistry that continues to ripple outward — across Georgia, across the nation and across the world.”
 
As KSU Dance enters its next decade, its mission remains clear: to cultivate artists who think critically, create fearlessly and move the world forward.
 
“Labyrinth is both a celebration and a homecoming,” Barsky added. “It honors our history while pointing to the boundless creativity ahead.”
 
Labyrinth tickets are on sale now for November 13, 14 and 15 at the KSU Dance Theater on the Marietta Campus. 

 

Photography by Matt Yung