DELVE 2024
JULY 29 - AUGUST 10
Asheville, NC
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APPLICATIONS DUE APRIL 1ST
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This year, emerging dance artists come together over two weeks to explore their unique voices, hone their technique, and work with Stewart/Owen Dance Co-Directors Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen in daily creative process. Classes include Ballet, Countertechnique®, Contemporary, Partnering, Floorwork, Improvisation, Body Maintenance and Stewart/Owen Repertory.
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Along with daily technique classes, DELVE participants receive personalized mentoring, new professional headshots, and guidance on building professional toolkits. Past DELVE participants have gone on to join Stewart/Owen Dance as company members and worked with DELVE faculty on professional projects.
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Cost: $900
Earlybird: $825
Thanks to our generous donors, full and partial scholarships are available. Details below.
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Housing is not provided. Participants will receive housing recommendations and will be connected with fellow participants to find roommates.
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APPLICATION DETAILS
S/O Dance is committed to hosting an inclusive space that welcomes diverse people, ideas, strengths, and experiences.
Dancers 18+ with a desire to challenge their technique, collaborate with fellow artists, and dive into creative process are encouraged to apply. Please note that space is limited; applicants will be informed of acceptance status no later than May 1st.
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Application materials required:
- headshot
- resume
- 2-min video*
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*Two continuous minutes of footage within the last year that best represents your dancing
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To be considered for scholarship:
-Please upload a one-page letter to your application demonstrating why you are a good scholarship candidate and why it is important for you to attend DELVE. S/O Dance is committed to the pursuit of racial equity in our comunity and prioritizes offering full-scholarhips to BIPOC applicants.
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DELVE 2024 FACULTY
GAVIN STEWART
Originally from Tulsa, OK, started his training at Tulsa Youth Ballet and received his BFA from UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance. Gavin has danced professionally with Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Owen/Cox Dance Group, MOVE: the Company, Richmond Ballet II, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance, Company E and Dark Circles Contemporary Dance Company. During his time with Company E, he performed regularly at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and worked extensively through the State Department touring as a Cultural Ambassador. These tours took him to Kazakhstan, Sweden, Turkmenistan, Russia, Cuba, Israel, Palestine, Azerbaijan, and Uruguay where he taught, performed, and choreographed contemporary dance.
Gavin was the first Richmond Ballet II member to create new works for both Richmond Ballet and Richmond Ballet II, and he has also presented choreography at UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance, Virginia Commonwealth University, Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, Agora Dance, Velocity DC Dance Festival, McCallum Theatre Choreography Festival, and Company E.
He has served on the faculty of Company E, CityDance Pop, Metropolitan Ballet Academy, the Academy at Terpsicorps, WNC Dance Academy, Ballet Conservatory of Asheville, and French Broad River Academy. Since moving to Western North Carolina in 2017 Gavin has continued to freelance as a professional dancer, while also Co-Directing Stewart/Owen Dance alongside his wife, Vanessa Owen.
VANESSA OWEN
Vanessa is originally from Amity, Pennsylvania and she received her B.F.A. in Dance from Wright State University. She has danced professionally with Wylliams/Henry Contemporary Dance Company, the Kennedy Center’s production of Children of Eden, Dark Circles Contemporary Dance and Company E. Vanessa performed regularly at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and worked extensively through the State Department touring as a Cultural Ambassador during her time with Company E. These tours took her to Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Russia, Cuba, Israel, Palestine, Republic of Georgia, Azerbaijan, China, and Uruguay where she taught, performed, and choreographed contemporary dance and musical theater productions.
Vanessa was awarded a McDowell Regional Artist Grant, a Fellowship in Choreography by the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Audience Choice Award at the NYC Dance Gallery Festival, and her choreography has been presented at Wright State University, Women in Dance Conference, Shenandoah University, McCallum Theatre, Asheville Fringe, CHOP SHOP, Richmond Dance Festival, Versatility Dance Festival, Palm Desert Choreography Festival, Austin Dance Festival, Stavna Ballet and Company E.
She has served on the faculty of Stavna Ballet, Joy of Motion Dance Center, Company E, the Academy at Terpsicorps, and WNC Dance Academy. Since moving to Western North Carolina in 2017 Vanessa has continued to freelance as a professional dancer, while also Co-Directing Stewart/Owen Dance with her husband, Gavin Stewart.
ASHLEY LINDSEY
Ashley is a choreographer and educator. His professional career began when he was invited to join the Limón Dance Company. During his time with the company, he performed in theaters across five continents in featured roles in works by José Limón. He went on to perform with the Lubovitch Dance Company and worked with choreographers Helen Simoneau and Celia Rowlson-Hall and Hinton Battle.
As a choreographer, his work has been commissioned by Charlotte Ballet II, Limón II, Houston Met II, Elon University, and UNCSA. His work has been presented at the Reverb International Dance Festival, the Capezio Ace Awards, the North Carolina Dance Festival, and the White Wave International Dance Festival.
He has also taught master classes and workshops throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. In 2021, he joined the UNCSA School of Dance faculty as a visiting guest professor. And is the Artistic Director of UNCSA's Summer Dance Intensive and Professional Studies Workshop.
ERIC MULLIS
Eric Mullis is a dance artist and scholar whose work centers on the possibilities of interdisciplinary performance. His choreography has been featured in the North Carolina Dance Festival, The Fact/SF Summer Dance Festival, Breaking Ground Festival, UrBANGUILD Kyoto, and at Performance Philosophy, Amsterdam. He is a Fulbright Scholar who, in 2021, conducted research on dance and the philosophy of technology at Taipei National University of the Arts in Taipei, Taiwan. Eric has authored two books, "Pragmatist Philosophy and Dance: Interdisciplinary Research in the American South" (Palgrave MacMillan: 2019) and "Instruments of Embodiment: Costuming in Contemporary Dance" (Routledge: 2022). He is the Director of Goodyear Arts (an artist-run gallery and performance space in Charlotte, North Carolina) and is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Queens University of Charlotte.
JOY DAVIS
Joy Davis is a dance artist, educator and mother steeped in the practices of performance, improvisation, and Countertechnique. She has taught worldwide for institutions such as the American Dance Festival, The Juilliard School, Bates Dance Festival, Harvard University, University of Arizona, and One Body One Career (OBOC) Countertechnique Intensive, amongst others. Joy's choreographic work has been presented by Dance|Now, Fact/SF Summer Dance Festival, UrBANGUILD Kyoto, and New Dialect; and with Alexander Davis - as The Davis Sisters - at The Yard, Boston Center for the Arts, and New England Dance on Tour. Joy is a Senior Countertechnique Teacher and holds an MFA in Choreography & Performance from Smith College. She is a recipient of the North Carolina Choreographers Residency Project, a collective member at Goodyear Arts, and on dance faculty at Boston Conservatory at Berklee and Davidson College.
JAMIE BREGE-DEVITO
Jamie Brege-DeVito is a dance educator, choreographer, teacher trainer, and collaborative artist based in Asheville, North Carolina. Prior to moving to Asheville, Jamie served as Assistant Principal for Boston Ballet School, where she taught, choreographed, and worked closely with school leadership, faculty, students, and families to ensure a high-quality dance education experience for students of all ages and abilities.
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Jamie earned her BFA from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College SUNY. Jamie holds a Master of Arts in Dance Education, Ballet Pedagogy from New York University. She is an ABT® Certified Teacher through the ABT® National Training Curriculum, Pre-primary through Level 7 and Partnering. Jamie’s teaching credits include Boston Ballet School, Grand Rapids Ballet School, Purchase College SUNY, Boston University, Dean College, Endicott College, and Lasell University. Jamie co-created, and will continue to lead, Adaptive Dance Teacher Trainings for Boston Ballet School in Boston and at schools and organizations around the country. Jamie currently serves as Artistic Director of WNC Dance Academy's repertory company.
ADAM DEVITO
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Adam’s journey into the wellness world began over a decade ago. After a bike accident left him with chronic shoulder pain, he was spurred to explore meditation, yoga, and clinical massage therapy. His injuries have been his greatest teachers over the years and have been equal parts humbling and awe-inspiring. They inform the way he approaches both his movement and massage practice and continue to show him the body’s incredible capacity for healing.
Outside of the dance studio, Adam runs Sama Therapeutics. Through this small clinical massage practice, he supports the healing of chronic pain, injury, movement dysfunction, and stress. He also teaches meditation classes and workshops to those looking to settle an overactive nervous system. When he’s not teaching or massaging, you can find Adam hiking with his family and friends in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains.