Grossmont College Students Perform in Faculty-Choreographed Dance Concert

A faculty-choreographed dance concert will showcase the Grossmont College program’s diverse instruction, including salsa, tap, ballet, contemporary, modern and hip-hop.

“Entrances & Exits” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Friday and Saturday (April 25, 26 and 27) at the Joan B. Kroc Theatre, 6611 University Ave., in San Diego. Admission is $13 at the door – cash only.

Seven faculty members choreographed the concert and Grossmont students will be dancing to classical and contemporary music, swing from the 1930s, a Gershwin classic and a Lyle Lovett song.

• David Mullen, department co-chair, has been teaching at Grossmont since 1998. The majority of his experience is in theater dance, having performed on Broadway, off-Broadway and in industrials, national tours and videos. He has choreographed a variety of musicals and plays, including “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Club,” “The Fantasticks,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Westside Story,” “The Wizard of Oz,” “Working,” “The Lorax,” “The Minneola Twins,” “Zombie Prom” and “Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.”

• Kathy Meyer, department co-chair, has been a full-time dance instructor for the Grossmont College Dance Department since 1989. She has danced with the Gloria Newman Dance Theater, The Matti Lasco Dance Company, and studied and performed with Repertory Dance Theater. She has danced and choreographed for a variety of musicals, including “Sweet Charity,” “Pajama Game,” “Dancin’,” “The Lorax,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Once Upon a Mattress.”

• Melissa Adao’s professional dance background includes Unity Dance Ensemble, Urban FX, EKetc and Super Galactic Beat Manipulators. She has worked with artists such as Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, Andy Dick, Athena Cage, No Doubt and Nickelodeon’s “Taina.” Currently, she choreographs and dances for San Diego local artist, Krystle Cruz.

• Nancy Boskin-Mullen teaches social and ballroom dance at Grossmont College. She enjoyed a nomadic career as a professional dancer and choreographer, which spanned three decades and three continents. She has been on faculty at several colleges in Los Angeles and San Diego, instructing a variety of classes including jazz, tap, modern, swing dance and social and ballroom dance.

• Sylvia Morales’ extensive training and professional experience began with ballet and has since included other forms – modern, jazz, classical Spanish and flamenco. As a soloist and choreographer, Morales has performed in venues including Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Colorado Dance Festival, Los Angeles Olympic Arts Festival and with The San Diego Symphony collaborating with conductor Jung Ho Pak. She was a featured dancer with the Los Angeles Opera Company, the American Opera Center in New York City and Ballet Metropolitano de Caracas, Venezuela.

• Colleen Shipkowski began her training under artists of the San Francisco Opera Ballet. Her credits include choreography and dancing for ballet companies, musical theater productions, concert dance companies, industrials and two KPBS television specials. In San Diego, she has served as a member of the board of directors for Patricia Rincon, as resident choreographer for Patty Hoffman and created ballet departments for three dance studios. Since 1983, Shipkowski has created at least three choreographic works each semester for three college dance companies.

• Debi Toth-Ward’s choreography has been presented in New York, San Diego, Los Angeles and recently in the “Other Side” festival in Seattle. She has an extensive performing career and was a member of the Throne Dance Theater in New York, where she appeared with Dave Brubeck and sons. In San Diego, she has performed with Three’s Company, Patricia Sandback and Dancers, and was a founding member of Malashock Dance, where she assisted director John Malashock for nine years.

For more information, call (619) 644-7766 or visit www.grossmont.edu/dance