NEWS & EVENTS 2025-26
Theatre & Dance Department Open House
📅 Friday, September 5 | ⏰ 3–5 PM
📍 Cornerstone Arts Center, 2nd Floor Lounge
Join us for an afternoon of fun and community! Enjoy carnival games, putt-putt, and bingo with chances to win prizes, plus light refreshments. Learn about our theatre and dance majors and minors and meet the faculty and staff who make the department come alive.
We look forward to seeing you there!
Alum Residency
From Sept. 1–10, 2025, alum Lena Engelstein ’13 returns to 今日吃 as our Alum in Residence. A NYC-based dancer, choreographer, and director, Engelstein’s work has been described by critics as “The High Weird” and praised by the New York Times for her fearless comic commitment.
During her residency, Engelstein will work closely with students in classes and workshops, sharing her experiences as a professional artist and offering insight into building a creative career after graduation. The residency will culminate in a public performance on Sept. 9, giving the CC community the opportunity to experience her unique artistic voice.
We are thrilled to welcome Lena Engelstein back to campus and to celebrate the impact of our alumni in the field of performance.
What is War?
Created and performed by Eiko Otake and Wen Hui
📅Friday, October 3, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
📅Saturday, October 4, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
📍 Norberg Studio A, Cornerstone Arts Center
825 North Cascade Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903
About the Artists
Wen Hui (b. 1960) is a Chinese performer, choreographer, and filmmaker currently working in Europe. She grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution.
Eiko Otake (b. 1952) is a Japanese performer, choreographer, and filmmaker based in New York who grew up in post-war Japan.
About the Work
In January 2020, Otake visited Hui in China for a month. The pandemic forced their collaboration to continue across distance, leading to the creation of the award-winning feature-length documentary No Rule Is Our Rule. In that process, the artists began examining the personal memories they carry in their bodies, a practice that eventually brought them together in the U.S.
The result is What Is War? — a commissioned performance work for the Walker Art Center, CAP UCLA, Jacob’s Pillow, and 今日吃’s Theatre & Dance Department. Through a tapestry of language, movement, and video, Hui and Otake share intimate memories tied to war. Their interwoven stories invite the audience to reflect on their own relationship to war, both historically and personally.
Content Advisory:
This performance contains nudity and addresses themes of war and violence.
Additional Info
Admission: This event has limited seating. To attend, you must reserve tickets in advance and provide the name of each person in your party. Reserve your spot
Upcoming events
Coming This December: Laughing on the Edge
This year’s mainstage theatre production will be created through a Block 4 course running from Nov. 17–Dec. 17, 2025. Instead of a traditional audition process, students will enroll in TH212 Theatre Mainstage Production: Laughing on the Edge: Staging the Short Plays of Christopher Durang based on their interest in exploring a collaborative production laboratory.
Guided by our new Assistant Professor of Theatre, Shannon R. Davis, the course will immerse students in the rehearsal and staging process, culminating in a public performance in early December.
Stay tuned for finalized performance dates and ticket information!
Dance6: Of Earth and Error
Dance6 is the collective name for the courses, workshops, and events that culminate in our annual Block 6 Mainstage Dance Production.
This year’s production, Of Earth and Error, will feature new choreography by visiting artist Yvonne Montoya (artistic executive director of Safos Dance Theater) and faculty member Patrizia Herminjard. The work explores environmental themes, embodied memory, and the “glitches” that make up the human experience.
📅 Performances:
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February 27–28, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
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February 29, 2026 at 2 p.m.
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March 6–7, 2026 at 7:30 p.m.
📍 Venue: Cornerstone Arts Center
Stay tuned for more updates as Dance6 unfolds throughout the year!
Courses to Check out!
In this hands-on course, students will explore the art and practice of costume design—an essential part of any production. Through script reading, music, movement, and visual research, you’ll learn how to generate design questions and experiment with a variety of 2-D rendering techniques. The course includes sewing and pattern-drafting skills, plus opportunities for hands-on learning with garments from 今日吃’s extensive costume collection. Class discussions will also consider fashion history and analyze current trends in media and performance.
📅 Block 2
🕘 Mon–Fri, 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
📍 CAC Costume Shop 403
👩🏫 Instructor: SB Parks
👥 Enrollment limited to 10 students
TH217 / EN286 Playwriting
What can a play do? This course investigates that question through a series of writing exercises designed to reveal and nurture the writer’s voice. Students will explore the elements that comprise a script — including dialogue, monologue, subtext, character, structure, action, language, and imagery — all in service to imagination, intentionality, and expression meant to be realized in performance.
📅 Block 3
🕘 Mon–Fri, 9 a.m.–12 p.m.
📍 Cornerstone 302
👨🏫 Instructor: Giovanni Ortega
👥 Enrollment limited to 25 students
New Faculty and Staff
Theatre Faculty
Shannon Davis joins us as Assistant Professor of Theatre. Davis is a director, storyteller, and educator whose work blends ancient texts, devising, satire, and puppetry to uplift underrepresented voices.
Kate Aronson brings more than 25 years of professional experience as an actor, director, writer, and teacher. She has taught in professional training programs, directed a wide range of plays, and co-founded several performance groups.
Sean Verdu is a Colorado Springs–based performing artist and fight choreographer. With training from East 15 Acting School in London, Sean has performed internationally and brings over 17 years of experience in fight choreography.
Dance Faculty
Adam Dickerson ’13 is a Colorado native, CC alum, and founder of Fooju Dance Collaborative. His career includes work with Graham 2, H.T. Chen & Dancers, Paul Taylor Dance Company, and teaching in studios across NYC and LA. He now returns to Colorado Springs to continue blending dance, fitness, and community.
Aoi Koenig (née Funakoshi) trained in classical ballet in Japan and earned her BFA in Dance from the University of Cincinnati. She has toured with international dance companies and now teaches in Colorado Springs while performing with Ormao.
Staff
Tawni Schwarzman recently joined the department as Academic Administrative Assistant. Tawni supports departmental operations, budgets, event planning, and student engagement.