Doris Ressl: Choreographer Presents Signature Dance Company at CSU Dominguez Hills

Doris Ressl will introduce her dance company Ressl Dance! to the Los Angeles area in a concert titled “Signature Moves,” on Sept. 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre. The dance program coordinator at California State University, Dominguez Hills founded the troupe 20 years ago when she taught at the University of Minnesota, Duluth and choreographed for the Minnesota Ballet. Known for her site-specific dance events along Lake Superior, Ressl received the Minnesota State Art Board Arts Leadership Award in 2001.

Many of the performers in “Signature Moves” are CSU Dominguez Hills students and faculty. Lecturers Michelle Funderburk and Dana Maue will join students Sonia Bawa, Marco Carreon, Tazanna Neal and Camille Williams onstage. Also featured is alumna Jeannette Nailor. Ressl’s colleagues in the Los Angeles dance world will also perform, including Phoenix Cole, Sarah Garcia, Jessie Parmelee, Micki Selander, and Leanne Vecchione. Dancer David Wick and musician Jane Anfinson, who are based in San Francisco, will present a new work titled “Home” which was created with Ressl.

“Running my own dance company is so important for creative work,” says Ressl. “Choreographing [with] students is very challenging and rewarding. It sets them on the road to being professionals. It is also important to keep working with seasoned professionals who can truly fulfill the technical and emotional needs of choreography.”

A hallmark of Ressl’s performances has been her ability to create and choreograph dances around the surroundings that they will be performed in. Her dances have been performed in art galleries, outdoor sculpture gardens, on the shores of Lake Superior, on staircases, in gazebos and in rose gardens. The company has also performed on stage in more traditional concert settings throughout the United States, including venues in Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Virginia, Texas and Wisconsin.

“Unorthodox venues inspire choreographers to create outside of their movement comfort zones and explore new ways to express their ideas,” says Ressl. “Performing outdoors brings dance to an audience in relaxed settings they are familiar and comfortable with. Outdoor dances become a social event where people gather to enjoy the outdoors, chat with their friends, listen to music, and experience the visual excitement of dance.”

Ressl arrived at CSU Dominguez Hills one year ago from teaching ballet and modern dance at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind. She received her training dance techniques by Alwin Nikolais, Humphrey-Weidman, and Merce Cunningham at Columbia College in Chicago and earned a Master of Fine Arts from Smith College.

“Signature Moves” is sponsored in part by the CSU Dominguez Hills Sally Casanova Memorial RSCAAP (Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities Award Program) Fellowship, the Emeritus Faculty Association Faculty Legacy Fund, the College of Arts and Humanities, and the Department of Theatre and Dance. Ressl Dance! is a 501(c3) non-profit organization.

Tickets are $10 for general admission and $5 for CSU Dominguez Hills students and senior citizens. For more information, contact Ressl at ressldance@yahoo.com or (310) 243-3732.

For more information on Ressl Dance!, visit www.ressldance.com or follow the company on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ressldance.

- Joanie Harmon