Enid Lynn Honored For Her Work Establishing the Hartt Dance Division

On Friday, April 22, 2016, Hartt honored Enid Lynn, co-founder of the Dance program at Hartt.  Enid directed the School of the Hartford Ballet prior to coming to Hartt and was an important figure in dance in Hartford and beyond.  On Friday, Enid was presented with the Fuller Award, which is the Hartt Board of Trustees' highest honor.  After a wonderful performance by the Hartt dance students, a reception for more than 100 people was held to celebrate Enid.  The other co-founder of the program is current Hartt Trustee, Peggy Lyman-Hayes, who is pictured (center) below with Enid and Stephen Pier, current Director of the Dance Division.  Congratulations, Enid!

An Update on the Hartt Dance Division

Last semester, Hartt hosted Misty Copeland for a master class with the dance students. Misty stands out for her warmth, passion, and genuine love of the art of ballet. It was thrilling to watch her impart her passion and knowledge to the Hartt dancers and watch them all revel in it. Her visit was an event they will remember throughout their lives.

It is events like this that distinguish Hartt our school from others. Hartt has a top notch ballet faculty committed to real professional practice and standards and fosters a repertoire of the best ballet choreographers from Petipa and Bournonville through Balanchine and on to those who are working today. The school also has, of course, very meaningful preparation in contemporary forms, which gives the dancers a strong foundation for success in their chosen field.

The work speaks for itself. Recently, four professional ballet companies have offered contracts to graduates of The Hartt School’s BFA program. Graduates of our Ballet Pedagogy program are teaching at prestigious schools in New York City and elsewhere including the Joffrey School (three graduates), Ballet Academy East, and Peridance Capezio Center. That is on top of the many dancers who are finding success in the modern and contemporary dance world. This is extraordinary for a school of Hartt’s size. The Dance Division should be proud of what it has accomplished in the last four years since Stephen Pier has joined as director of the division.

To read more about Misty’s visit, and see photos taken during her master class, please visit the UNotes article .

The Hartt faulty is very grateful for the encouragement and support of the school’s alumni and other supporters as it continues to strengthen the program and provide the best opportunities for the students to create successful lives in ballet and dance.

If anyone would like to make a gift to the dance program at Hartt, please visit our giving page and select “Other/Dance” in the designation box.

2014 NYC Alumni Reception with Dean Flagg

Here is one photo from the alumni reception held a few weeks ago in NYC.  It was a terrific turnout and a great opportunity to reconnect with some UHa and Hartt alumni.  Thanks to Dean Flagg for hosting the event and Ryan Bauer-Walsh for his efforts in organizing and advertising!

It was also great to see Robert Black (alumnus and current faculty), Peggy Lyman-Hayes (former dance faculty) and Stephen Pier (current faculty).

The entire photo album on flickr is here.

A Message from Stephen Pier

Dear Friends of Hartt Dance,

It has been some time since I sent out our last newsletter, “The Hartt Dance Occasional”, and things just keep getting better. We have had an excellent Fall semester so far with a promising freshman class starting to get traction and a beautiful group of seniors preparing to launch their careers.

Our dancers have just finished an extraordinary series of performances in the Roberts Theater presenting the first half of the Senior class in their own group works as well as solos created on them by professional choreographers.  It was very moving to see them perform along side their younger colleagues and appreciate how far they have come as aspiring artists and engaged human beings. Clearly, the work of our brilliant faculty is having a meaningful effect!

BWW Interviews: Stephen Pier - Heart to Hartt

There is a wonderful recent interview with Stephen Pier - Hartt's Dance Division Director.

A link to the Broadway World website interview is here.