I am a Resident Designer for Neglia Ballet Artists; specifically, I design the lighting for all of their mainstage season performances. This includes at least two performances per year at Shea’s Performing Arts Center, one of which is with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra (BPO). Neglia Ballet’s yearly performance of “Baba Yaga” is presented, not only to the public, but to over 3,000 Buffalo Public Schools children during the “school-time” show. The performance of “The Nutcracker” with the BPO is an opportunity for myself and other faculty involved to engage our students in the process. Current students work as apprentices in the areas of scenic, properties and lighting during the load-in and technical rehearsals of “The Nutcracker.”
Archives
BAND Against Bullying
The Annual BAND Against Bullying Program is a performing arts competition where students from area high schools combine multiple forms of art to create the most dynamic illustration of dignity awareness to prevent bullying. Each final act performs at the University at Buffalo Center for the Arts.
Campaign4Life: Increasing organ donation in New York through challenge campaigns
Promote organ donation statewide through campaigns.
Community Engagement Research Project
Partnered with the Southern Poverty Law Center in my research titled “Working But Not Employed,” which examines workers who are not protected by labor and employment laws, such as incarcerated and workfare workers.
Riverrun Foundation Research and Teaching Fellowship Presentations
Riverrun Foundation funds four very modest fellowships for English department graduate students each year (three for travel to research collections and one for the best syllabus for a literature course — enabling the student to teach a 200-level literature course in the department). The condition of the fellowship is that the students engage in a community-oriented brief presentation of their projects, free and open to the public. This is held every fall — sometimes in Talking Leaves Books, Burchfield Penney Art Center, or The Mansion on Delaware.
Buffalo Humanities Festival
The Buffalo Humanities Festival is an annual fall celebration of ideas put on for the broad public of our city. UB’s Humanities Institute is the lead institution on this collaboration with SUNY Buffalo State, SUNY Fredonia, Niagara University, Canisius College, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Burchfield Penney Arts Center and Buffalo History Museum. We feature a nationally known speaker in the humanities and then develop a theme to bring together academics from UB and our partners to share cutting-edge and engaging research on this topic. Themes have included gender (2014) and migration (2015).
Bridging Communities through Dance
Bridging Communities through Dance is an arts-in-education initiative that links the University at Buffalo’s dance program with Western New York schools that may be under-served in the area of arts education. Made possible through a gift from First Niagara Bank, the UB dance majors and faculty teach dance and design a dance program that serves the needs of each individual school. Partnerships have included PS 67 Discovery School (2013-2014) and Rainbow K Elementary School (2014-present).
Support group for patients with vestibular disorders
I am part of a support group for patients with vestibular disorders in the Buffalo area. This support group is part of the Vestibular Disorder Association (VEDA) and is held once a month. I participate in discussions and present topics that are useful for patients and that feature current research, including the research conducted in my lab at UB.
UB on the Green
UB on the Green is a free, outdoor, family-friendly festival of music, dance and fun, celebrating summer in the South Campus neighborhood. Community residents bring their own lawn chairs, food and drinks to Hayes Hall Lawn, and enjoy great entertainment, hands-on activities, and dynamic demonstrations and workshops. UB on the Green features an exciting theme each night, including “Unity in the Community & Health Care Fair Night,” “Arts & Culture Night” and “Athletics Night.”
High-Tech CEL
High-Tech CEL provides support and guidance to key team members of early-stage and established companies pursuing the high-tech and life sciences commercialization pathway through a combination of interactive educational sessions, mentoring and networking opportunities with other entrepreneurs and people important to long-term success, such as investors.