Rockwell Museum

Saturday, May 5, 2018* | 11 a.m.- Noon

This is a presentation of Bare Bones Café, a community-sourced museum experience included with regular Rockwell admission. Refreshments will be available. Full schedule

“Taking Turns: Painters, Dancers and a Musician” is an improvisational performance highlighting a collaborative group of artists including visual artists Bridget Bossart van Otterloo and Filomena Jack, dancers Kristen Merritt, Heather van der Grinten, Amy Bush and Michele Ikle, musician Lou Vogel – and the audience.

Lou will play a variety of instruments and the dancers will respond to the music. Two painters will then respond to the performance by capturing the gestures they see. A third easel will be set up for audience members to try their hand at painting along.

About the Artists

• Bridget Bossart van Otterloo paints and teaches in Corning, New York. She has a degree in Studio Art from Houghton College. Bridget moved to Corning in 2002 to work as an apprentice and studio assistant for the late Thomas S. Buechner. She currently works from her light-filled home studio, where her subjects include still life, flowers, plants, portraits and landscapes painted in oils and watercolor. Bridget has taught art classes at local youth centers, museums, libraries and schools. She has been on the faculty of 171 Cedar Arts Center in Corning teaching drawing, painting and studio art since 2002. Bridget’s work can be viewed at several venues in the area including: The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes in Corning, The North Star Gallery in Ithaca, Memorial Art Gallery in Rochester, The Franklin Street Gallery and Quintus Gallery in Watkins Glen.
• Amy Bush is owner and artistic director of Dancers’ Alley Studio currently in Horseheads but soon to be housed out of her brand new endeavor LINKmovementARTS (LMA) in Elmira. She is the founder and director of Sharing Space Dance Collective which is a product of her many talented teachers and network of dance professionals throughout the area. Amy has a BA in Dance from SUNY Brockport. She is a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist/Educator through ISMETA and RYT500 through Yoga Alliance. She is a certified Teacher/Trainer for EastWest Somatics. She also will be completing her Laban Movement Analysis training this June in NYC. Amy believes being a lifelong student of dance and movement is essential for the quality of content offered to her students. Amy is passionate about teaching and sharing the art of dance and somatic movement to people of all ages. She believes EVERY BODY can dance!
• Michelle Iklé is an Associate Professor of Dance at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, NY. She holds a M.F.A. from SUNY Brockport in Dance Science, Somatics and Dance Performance and a B.A. in Dance Teaching and Performance from SUNY at Buffalo.  She is a Certified Instructor and Director of Education at Eastwest Somatics Institute for Yoga, Dance, and Movement Studies and a Registered Somatic Movement Therapist.  Iklé specializes in jazz and modern dance, contemporary partnering, and somatic education.  She has presented her somatic jazz pedagogy at national conferences, symposia, and festivals for more than ten years. Iklé’s choreography has been commissioned by Middle Tennessee State University, Shelter Repertory Dance Theatre, Wells College and the Society for New Music’s Vision of Sound 2015-16 concert series.  In addition to independent choreography and performance projects, Iklé is also a long time member of Present Tense Dance Company in Rochester, NY. 
• Filomena Jack has have been creating art for more than 25 years and is generally over stimulated by cute, bizarre and funny things. She received her BFA from Jersey City University and teaches art to a variety of audiences. Filomena currently has a solo exhibition of paintings titled “We Are Called” at the The Evelyn Peeler Peacock Gallery in Corning running until May 11th, 2018.
• Kristen Merritt began dance classes at the age of 3 and is currently under the direction of Amy Bush at Dancer’s Alley in Horseheads. She dances with the Sharing Space Dance Collective based out of Horseheads, performing in variety of settings including Corning Museum of Glass, Urban Arts Crawl and Clute Park. Her passion for dance and movement to convey emotion and expression continue to evolve as she collaborates with other artists.
• Heather van der Grinten, a Corning native, is currently based out of New York City while she completes a Museum Education Masters programs through the Bank Street College of Education. She credits her family and friends of Corning, NY for giving her the ambition, creativity, and grace to accomplish all the various pursuits of her life.
• Lou Vogel is a composer, performer and improviser based in Hector, NY. Especially interested in playing music that moves people to dance, and that affects people on a deep level. Using the different instruments he plays (trumpet, electric guitar, flute, violin, percussion and singing harmonies) as a musical palette, he chooses what will contribute most to spiraling the musical energy ever higher. For every note, there’s another note that melts it.

*Saturday, May 5 is Crystal City Saturday – celebrating 150 years of glassmaking in Corning. We’re showing a little extra love to our locals (zip codes starting 148, 149, 169) by offering free admission for all ages before the launch of a busy summer season.