Melissa Lowe

Interests

No activities entered.

Courses

Scholarly Contributions

Presentations

• Lowe, M. (2006, April 12-15). American College Dance Festival, Central Region. Adjudicated performances for national festival consideration. Wichita State University, Wichita, KS.
• Lowe, M. (2006, February 21-24, 2007). American College Dance Festival. Central Region Festival. Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX.
• Lowe, M. (2006, July 20 and 21). Master Classes in Ballet Technique. Summer Dance Workshop. Tucson Dance Company.
• Lowe, M. (2006, March 13-15). Invited Guest Faculty, Western Kentucky University. Daily ballet classes for undergraduate students in the dance program.. Bowling Green, KY.
• Lowe, M. (2006, November 5). Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase. Master teacher in ballet. Ina Gittings studios.
• Lowe, M. (2005, July 1). Master Class in Ballet Technique. Summer Dance Workshop. Tucson Dance Company.
• Lowe, M. (2005, June 19-24). Master Teacher for Utah Regional Ballet. Summer Ballet Workshop Intensive. Salt Lake City, Utah.
• Lowe, M. (2005, October 30). Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase. Master teacher in ballet. Ina Gittings studios.
• Lowe, M. (2004, February 22). Audition Master Class. Harid Conservatory National Audition. Campus.
• Lowe, M. (2004, June 3-29). Master Teacher for Ballet Arts. Ballet Arts Summer Dance Workshop. Ina Gittings Studios, UA campus.
• Lowe, M. (2004, June 7-11). Invited Master Teacher, Intermediate/Advanced Ballet Technique Classes. Ballet Tucson, 19th Annual SUmmer Dance Workshop. Campus.
• Lowe, M. (2004, May 13-15). Invited Master Teacher. Classes in Pointe Technique/Regional Dance America, Pacific Festival 2004. Campus.
• Lowe, M. (2004, October 17). Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase. Master teacher in ballet. Ina Gittings studios.
• Lowe, M. (2003, June 3-29). Master Teacher for Ballet Arts. Ballet Arts Summer Dance Workshop. Ina Gittings Studios, UA campus.
• Lowe, M. (2003, October 26). Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase. Master teacher in ballet. Ina Gittings studios.
• Lowe, M. (2002, January 19). UA Statewide Dance Festival. Ballet Class and Dance Division Orientation Session. Ina Gittings, UA campus.
• Lowe, M. (2002, January 20). Harid Conservatory of Dance Master Audition Class. Ina Gittings Building, UA campus.
• Lowe, M. (2002, June 3-29). Master Teacher for Ballet Arts. Ballet Arts Summer Dance Workshop. Ina Gittings Studios, UA campus.
• Lowe, M. (2002, October 12). Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase. Master teacher in ballet. Ina Gittings studios.
• Lowe, M. (2002, September 26). Movement as a Source of Healing. Honors Forum Invited Speaker. Park Student Union.
• Lowe, M. (2000, June 10-17). Master Teacher of Ballet. International cultural exchange. Telford College, Edinborough, Scotland.
• Lowe, M. (2000, June 19-23). Invited Master Teacher. The Performers Ballet and Jazz Company. Albuquerque, NM.
• Lowe, M. (2000, June 5-11). Invited Master Teacher. Ballet Arts 15th Annual Summer Dance Workshop. UA campus, Ina Gittings Studios.
• Lowe, M. (2000, March 15-18). Invited Adjudicator/Master Teacher. American College Dance Festival, Central Region. Wichita State University, Wichita, KS.
• Lowe, M. (2000, March 29-April 1). Invited Master Teacher. American College Dance Festival, Southwest Region. California State University, Long Beach.
• Lowe, M. (2000, May 19-21). Invited Festival Teacher. National College Dance Festival. University of Maryland, College Park, MD.
• Lowe, M. (2000, November 5). Movement Therapy Workshop for Breast Cancer Patients. Breast Cancer Retreat, three days of workshops for patients currently undergoing treatment for breast cancer. C.O.D. Ranch, Oracle, AZ.
• Lowe, M. (2000, September 18). Stress Managagement Movement Therapy Techniques. UA class. Eller Business College.
• Lowe, M. (1999, April 25). Female Body in Performance. Symposium. Tucson Museum of Art.
• Lowe, M. (1999, August 9-14). West Coast Conservatory of Ballet: Guest Teaching Residency. Classes in advanced ballet, pointework, and repertory. Orange, California.
• Lowe, M. (1999, February 3, 1999). UA Presents Pre-Performance Discussion for Nacional Ballet de Cuba. Half hour presentation. CESL Building, UA campus.
• Lowe, M. (1999, January 23). UA Dance Division Annual Statewide High School Day. Master Class. Ina Gittings Studios.
• Lowe, M. (1999, June 7-25). Ballet Arts Annual Summer Dance Workshop: Guest Instructor. Ballet technique classes. UA campus, Ina Gittings dance studios.
• Lowe, M. (1999, March 16). Califonia State University, Long Beach: Guest Teacher. Ballet classes. California State University, Long Beach: Department of Dance.
• Lowe, M. (1999, March 6). Merged Realities. Symposium. Ina Gittings Dance Theatre.
• Lowe, M. (1999, May 12-May 15). Regional Dance America: Master Classes. Dance Festival. Tucson, Arizona.
• Lowe, M. (1999, May 27). The Benefits of Arts in the Public School Curriculum. Live Radio Interview Broadcast on daily morning talk show: Hong Kong Today. Hong Kong Radio/TV Station.
• Lowe, M. (1999, May 28-31). Invited External Examiner for The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts. Reviewing BFA graduating dance students' final projects and two dance concerts. The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts.
• Lowe, M. (1999, May 29). The Arts in Secondary Education in Hong Kong: Shared International Perspectives. Panel Discussion. The Hong Kong Academy for the Performing Arts.
• Lowe, M. (1999, October 3). Master Class for Arizona Jazz Dance Showcase. Ballet Class. Ina Gittings Studios.
• Lowe, M. (1998, February 27, 1998). Perceptual Motor Learning Models in Dance. Panel discussion. University of Wyoming.
• Lowe, M. (1998, May 27, 28, & 29). Creative Movement Workshop for Public School Teachers. A 3 day, 15 hour, interactive workshop sponsored by Extended University. Ina Gittings Bldg..
• Lowe, M. (1998, May 7, 1998). Houston Ballet Pre-Performance Discussion. Discussion of Houston Ballet, offering behind the scenes information to the attending audience members;. Douglas 101, UA campus.
• Lowe, M. (1998, October 22). The Creative Process of Dance. Guest lecture for Fine Arts freshman colloquia class. School of Music.
• Lowe, M. (1998, October 7). UA Presents Pre-Performance Arts Encounter for Mark Morris Dance Group. Thirty minute aural presentation. CESL Building, UA campus.
• Lowe, M. (1998, September 20). "The World is Our Classroom". Alumni Travel Preview Party. University Mariott Hotel Ballroom.
• Lowe, M. (1997, June 25). Dance Workshop. Theatre School, Amsterdam, Holland.

Reviews

• Lowe, M. (1997. Educational Corner(p. 1). Arizona Dance Arts Alliance Statewide Quartlerly Newsletter.

Creative Works

• English Suite; dance performance; October; A ballet piece for 15 dancers, (originally choreographed in 1996) I restaged the work for an entirely new cast who performed two of four movements for the UA Dance Family Ties concert, October 13 (in conjunction with Family Weekend.)
• Arizona Opera Production, The Marriage of Figaro; Dance sequence within the opera; October; Arizona Opera contracted me to choreograph for their production of The Marriage of Figaro and to coordinate the choreography with the guest stage director, Michael Cavanagh. The opera was performed in the Music Hall at TCC, November 12-21 and at Symphony Hall in Phoenix, November 26-30.
• Ballet Lecture Demonstration; Dance Performance; October; During the UA Dance concert entitled Family Ties, October 22, Jory Hancock and I arranged a ballet lecture demonstration using students from classes which we team teach. The lecture demonstration featured 19 dancers and was accompanied on the piano by Suzanne Knosp.
• "Walls" (working titile); choreography for dance concert; October; I am working collaboratively with Jory Hancock on this new choreography. We share a love for the music (a Howard Hanson piano concerto), as well as a vision for creating a dramatic piece. The work, for 16 dancers, will premiere at Centennial Hall, April 2 and 3, as part of the Dance Division's annual faculty concert.
• Ballet Lecture/Demonstration; Dance Performance; October; I choreographed a ballet lecture/demonstration to be presented for the UA Dance Division's annual dance concert, Family Ties (part of Family Weekend). Accompanying the lec/dem presentation was a narrated text, (which I wrote) and delivered simultaneously while the dancers performed the movement. All the movement was choreographed to specific musical selections, which I planned together with Suzanne Knosp, who accompanied the dancers in performance.
• Chrysalis; Dance Performance; October; I created a new piece of choreography for graduating senior, Nadia Ali, as Nadia's senior capstone project. The choreography was inspired by a classical composition by Sergio Assad for two guitars and cello. This piece was performed as part of the UA Dance season on the Three's a Crowd Concert, November 12, 13, 14 (four performances).
• Invisible Sun; contemporary ballet; October; I restaged my piece, Invisible Sun for five dancers for the UA Dance, In the Season Concert. The restaging of the work, some five years later, involved a great deal of new choreography, in place of the original choreography in order to highlight the special gifts of these particular dancers.
• Arizona Opera, The Marriage of Figaro; Choreography within opera performance; October; I was invited by Arizona Opera to choreograph the polonaise scene in this opera which was performed by the principals in the cast. As part of the Arizona Opera season, the opera was performed in both Tucson and Phoenix in November.
• Arizona Opera production of La Traviata; opera performances; October; I was the choreographer for the dance sequences in La Traviata, guest director, Michael Cavannaugh. The choreography featured seven female dancers from the UA Dance Ensemble.
• Carmen, Arizona Opera; original choreography for opera performance; October; I was the invited choreographer, working under the direction of guest director, James McNamara. I created original choreography for the Gypsy Dance in Act I. The 4 women cast were members of the UA Dance Ensemble. I also provided movement coaching for the principals in the cast. Performances were November 3, 4, and 5 at Tucson Community Center and Novmeber 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13 at Symphony Hall in Phoenix.
• From Street to Stage, a Lecture Demonstration; dance performance; October; I wrote the script and was the speaker for this lecture demonstration presentation created especially for the Family Ties concert, October 13 in the Ina Gittings Dance Theatre. Together with Jory Hancock, I choreographed two dance segments for 8 members of the UA Dance Ensemble.
• In Gratitude; Dance Performance; October; Jory Hancock and I co-choreographed a ballet piece in tribute to the many people (most importantly President Likins) who contributed to the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre with their generous support. This piece was choreographed to an original score for live orchestra, by Dr. Suzanne Knosp. Designed for a large cast of 38 dancers in the UA Dance Ensemble, the piece had its premiere October 4th as the closing work on the gala concert in two performances.
• Nine Lives; Dance Performance; October; Nine Lives, a work for nine dancers (two casts) was performed during the UA Dance, In the Season Concert, December 1-4, Stevie Eller Dance Theatre.
• The Merry Widow (dance excerpts); Opera Performance/dance excerpts; October; No hourly credit is listed because the choreography for the dance excerpts (co-choreographed by myself and Jory Hancock) was actually completed during the summer for performances at Crowder Hall. This time, UA Opera Theatre was invited to Sierra Vista for one performance on Septmeber 6, as part of Sierra Vista's performing arts series. The hours spent in preparation for the event included Jory's and my own rehearsals, (as we were now dancing the featured roles in the folk duet). We also rehearsed the ensemble of 7 female dancers.
• New Orleans Hair Salon Convention; Choreographed Dance Sequences; October; The national hair salon, Gadabout, contracted me to be artistic consultant and coordinator of the dance sequences which would be performed in New Orleans September 11 as part of the national hair salon conference. I selected five dancers from the UA Dance Ensemble to participate, each receiving a salary from Gadabout for their work. Additionally, I supervised the video portion of the presentation as well as scheduled rehearsals for the cast of dancers and hair stylists.
• Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux; dance performance; October; The two dancers who performed this were new to partnering together and many adaptations were made to suit their strengths individually and as a couple. Much of the rehearsal process was spent working on manner, overall strength and stamina, and the polish needed to perform the pas de deux with the customary maturity and confidence.
• Liza's Afternoon; SOMAD Faculty Artist Series; October; This was a repeat performance (hence, no hourly credit taken) of choreography originally created several years ago by Jory Hancock and myself. It is a pas de deux to a suite of songs we arranged by George Gershwin. The piece requires the piano to be played live on stage and we were fortunate to be supported by Suzanne Knosp as our accompanist.
• La Vida Breve; Dance Sequences within the opera; October; Together with Jory Hancock, I choreographed two major dance sequences for two casts of UA Dance Ensemble members (6 dancers in each cast). The dances occurred during the context of the opera La Vida Breve, the one hour long opera by Manuel de Falla, presented as the second half of the concert, Una Noche de Ballet y Opera Espanola, October 28-31 at Crowder Hall. UA Opera, UA Symphony and UA Dance joined forces for this production.
• Mountain Songs; Dance performance; March; (I have also cross-listed this choreography under the "performance, exhibit, screening" category. Although the piece had its premiere in 1995, I recreated it for the "Premium Blend" faculty dance concert at Centennial Hall, February 19 and 20. With a new cast of dancers and also two musicians, the reworking of the piece during the rehearsal process involved some qualitative changes to the existing movement and also some new movement for two of the sections. Numerous stylistic changes were made to highlight the specific skills of the new cast.
• "Liza's Afternoon"; dance performance; March; Although this pas de deux was co-choreographed and performed several years ago by myself and Jory Hancock, we re-created the piece again, especially for the fund-raiser event for the Dance Division entitled, "Dances from the Heart", which was presented February 14. Performed to live piano accompaniment, the suite of Gershwin pieces were performed by Suzanne Knosp. Rehearsals for the piece were designed to find the exact tempo for each of the six movements and establish visual cues for Suznanne to be able to coordinate her music with us.
• Salome; Opera Performance; March; Arizona Opera contracted me to do the choreography for Salome's Dance of the Seven Veils. I created the choreography first and then staged it separately on two different female casts of the Salome role.
• Female Forte; dance performance; March; I created a suite of three female solos and one trio of females. All four works were from established traditional ballet repertoire but required my staging and adaptation of each. Female Forte was performed on the Spring Collection concert in the Ina Gittings Theatre, April 27 and 28.
• Paquita; Dance performance; March; I mounted several sections of this 25 minute historic classical ballet for the 16 members of the UA Dance Ensemble for the Family Ties Concert, last October. Then, for the Winter Concert, the dancers performed the piece in its entirety. President Likens had requested the Dance Division to do a concert especially for the Board of Regents in February. Six sections of Paquita opened the evening's concert to showcase the classical ballet strength of our program.
• Arizona Opera Production of The Merry Widow; March; I served as co-choreographer (with Jory Hancock) for Arizona Opera's production of The Merry Widow, featuring 10 dancers from the UA Dance Ensemble. Additionally there was choreography for members of the opera company.
• "Puss 'N Boots"; dance performance; March; I staged this classical pas de deux by historic choreographer, Marius Petipa.Performed by a female and male, the piece is a light-hearted spoof depicting cats having a spat, requiring detailed facial expressions and gestures in addition to the demands of the choreography.
• Window in the Woods; Dance performance; March; In an artistic collaboration with Anne Bunker, the artistic director of "Orts Theatre of Dance", I co-created an original choreography as a performance vehicle for us both. The choreography was inspired by our separate visits to Scotland, loosely depicting the flavor of the Scottish heritage via the movement vocabulary and more specifically, via the collaborative score, composed by two Scottish composers. Visual elements via projected slide and video images upon large, hanging panels of fabric on the stage, were generated from photographs which Anne and I had each collected from our travels in Scotland. I designed the costumes as well, working with a seamstress throughout the rendering of them.
• Tchaikovsky Pas de Deux; Dance Concert; March; My work involved staging of George Balanchine's choreography for two dancers (served as Master's Project for one of the dancers); rehearsal director and costume designer; Performed on Spring Concert, Ina Gittings Dance Theater, Feb.28 & March 1, 1997;
• Eugene Onegin; dance sequences in Arizona Opera's production; March; See elaboration under "Performance" category.
• Sidetracks; Dance performance; March; Sidetracks is a contemporary ballet pas de deux choreographed by Lise Houlton (from American Balleet Theatre). As Jory Hancock and I were in the original cast of this piece in 1986, we determined that it would be an appropriate work for the UA Dance Ensemble. Over the course of the spring semester, we staged it for three separate casts of dancers and it was performed in two different dance concerts, Premium Blend and Spring Collection.
• La Vamp en Verte; Dance Concert; March; Solo choreography, created as senior project for Courtney Combs, music: Milhaud, played live on stage by Suzanne Knosp, Ina Gittings Dance Theater, Feb. 28 & March 1, 1997;
• Point of Origin; dance performance; March; This piece for 16 members of the UA Dance Ensemble, to a suite of orchestral music by Carl Orff, was created for the Premium Blend Concert, April 7 and 8. The piece was performed again on the Spring Collection concert, April 29 and 30.
• Exit/Enter; dance performance; March; This piece was created as a solo for graduating senior, Stephanie Zak, to satisfy the BFA requirement of senior capstone. It was performed on the Spring Collection concert, April 27 and 28 in the Ina Gittings Dance Theatre.
• "Walls"; Dance performance; March; Together with Jory Hancock, I choreographed a contemporary ballet piece, "Walls", which had its premiere at Centennial Hall, April 2 and 3, on the Dance Division's "Dances on the Hardwood" concert. This piece was a fairly new endeavor for me as a choreographer. We set out to create a work which would challenge the dancers psychologically in new ways, requiring each dancer to be involved in the theme of the work emotionally and to subsequently create their own, individual character profile. This idea was indeed stimulating for the dancers and presented many challenges for the performers and for us as choreographers. I also designed the costumes for the piece.
• Cendrillon; Opera Performance; March; Together with Jory Hancock, I co-choreographed the dance sequences within this UA Opera Theatre, full evening production. The 16 dancers were members of the UA Dance Ensemble.
• William Tell Pas de Deux; Staging/Rehearsal Director of historic ballet choreography; March; Together with Jory Hancock, I staged and directed rehearsals of William Tell Pas de Deux, an historic piece created in 1842 by August Bournonville. Three couples peformed the work for the Spring Collection Concert, (6 performances), April 28-May 1.
• "Pure Arches"; dance performance; March; Together with Jory Hancock,I co-choreographed this pas de deux for two dancers. The piece utilized a flute and harp score, played live on stage during the performance. The concert where this piece premiered, was a fund-raiser for the Dance Division, entitled "Dances from the Heart". A one night only event, presented on February 14, Valentine's Day at the Temple of Music and Art, most of the pieces on the program were designed to contain themes of love or romance. "Pure Arches" was a playful look at romance from a young couple's point of view. Performed in three movements, the style of choreography was classical ballet. Rehearsals for the piece began with the first week of classes in January, three times a week for approximately an hour and a half each day.
• Games; dance performance; March; dedication to UA Athletics; co-choreographed with Jory Hancock for 22 dancers; music: Francis Poulenc; designed costumes;
• Tonadas; Dance Concert; June; Hours were already given credit under Performance Category. Tonadas, a piece which I co-choreographed with Jory Hancock, had been mounted several years ago. This summer, we re-staged the piece, altering it somewhat in preparation for the Amsterdam performance invitation, (June 26 and 27) and preceded by the Ticket to Amsterdam Concert, (June 14) on the UA Campus.
• UA Opera Theatre, A Little Night Music; June; Jory Hancock and I served as co-choreographers for the UA summer opera production of Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music". Nando Schellan was the guest director.
• La Esmeralda (female variation); dance concert; June; The Dance Division presented a performance titled, "On the Road Again" in the Ina Gittings Dance Theatre, August 1. For this concert, I staged "La Esmeralda" female variaiton for graduating senior, Deborah Kenner.
• Gondoliers; UA Opera Theatre Performances; June; This operetta presented some unusual challenges choreographically. The traditional version of this Gilbert and Sullivan production intended dance to be woven all through each scene, rather than separate dance sequences used as diversions or to enhance the plot. This meant that the cast of singers also needed to learn movement, indeed to dance! Together with Jory Hancock, from the moment the spring semester was finished, we began offering basic movement training for the singers to give them a movement vocabulary sufficient enough that there would not be a perceivable distinction between dancers and singers. Following this, we choreographed movement for nearly every scene in the production. We selected a group of six UA Dance majors, which contributed greatly to the production values, as they were used in virtually every scene as both singers and dancers. The choreography specifically for our dancers was designed to highlight their movement expertise without breaking the plot or singling them out from the rest of the cast.
• The Merry Widow; choreography for UA Opera Theatre; June; Together with Jory Hancock, I choreographed two dance scenes within the opera,7 dancers in one scene, and a pas de deux (2 dancers) in the other.
• The Gondoliers, by Gilbert and Sullivan; UA Opera Theatre; June; Together with Jory Hancock, we created original choreography for the nine UA Dance Ensemble members we had chosen to participate in the dance sequences that were featured throughout the opera. Additionally, I was involved in some staging of movement for the singers in the cast and coaching of these scenes during the rehearsal process. There were four performances at Crowder Hall, June 24-27.
• La Perichole; Dance sequences within the opera; June; Working in the production of "La Perichole", under the direction of Charles Roe as part of UA Opera Theatre,I co-choreographed with Jory Hancock, two dance sequences for ten UA dancers: a circus scene and a court ballet. I also designed costumes for the dancers. The rehearsals began the last week of May, and progressed steadily, at least three times a week until the tech week. We presented four performances with full orchestra, in Crowder Hall, June 25-28.