HWS News
12 June 2026 Somatic Dance Conference & Performance Festival
The 10th annual Somatic Dance Conference & Performance Festival returns to campus.
The Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival returns to HWS this June, bringing somatic dance practitioners, educators, choreographers and dancers to campus for three days of conference sessions and performances. Conference director, Professor of Dance and Movement Studies Cynthia Williams notes that it is the 10th anniversary of the first Somatic Dance Conference on campus, following the opening of the Gearan Center for the Performing Arts in 2016.
The annual conference has attracted national and international artists and educators through the years, bringing presentations from a diverse range of somatic disciplines, including Alexander Technique, Body-Mind Centering ®, Continuum, East West Shin Somatics, Feldenkrais, Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis, Pilates, Skinner Releasing Technique, and Yoga among others.
Conference attendees will be offering movement workshop and lecture sessions across the three days, including sessions such as “Land to Water Yoga” (Michelle Iklé) “Learning Anatomy Through Creative Play” (Anne Harris Wilcox) “On Site: Embodied Screen Dance” (Daniel Burkholder) and “Dance and Yoga Synergies in Education” (Donna Davenport). While the main conference sessions are not open to the general public, those interested are invited to attend either of our two keynote sessions:
- Bill Evans returns to campus as a keynote speaker, having been here several times as a guest teacher, choreographer, and director of his Bill Evans Teachers Intensives, hosted in conjunction with the Somatic Conference in 2018 and 2019. His keynote address, “Teaching What I Want to Learn,” will be held Friday, June 19 9:00-11:00 a.m. in Studio 104 in the Gearan Center.
Bill Evans just completed writing a second edition of his book, Teaching What You Want to Learn. With more than twice as many words and new essays, it is more like a new book. In his presentation he will read a few new essays and share the backstory behind them. He will also share video excerpts of solo concerts he performed between ages 36 and 52, and comment on how the experience of creating, refining and performing those works contributed to the development of the Evans Somatic Dance Technique. He will welcome questions from conferees.
Bill Evans is professor emeritus at University of New Mexico and SUNY Brockport. He was also a professor at the Universities of Utah, Washington and Indiana and at Dean College. He choreographed more than 300 works for professional and pre-professional companies and artists. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship and numerous fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. He received Lifetime Achievement Awards from NDEO (2005), Dance Teacher Magazine (2010) and the American Dance Guild (2015). He directs the Evans Somatic Dance Institute in Port Townsend, Washington, which produces concerts and workshops and conferences for educators. The Bill Evans Dance Company was active internationally for 40 years and was the most-booked professional dance ensemble in the United States in the late 70s and early 80s. Evans performed and taught in all 50 states and in 24 other countries. He is 86.
- Martha Eddy’s keynote presentation is “Claiming Presence at All Times - Embodied Movement and Dance for Advocacy and Survival” on Thursday, June 18 4:00-6:00 p.m. in Deming Dance Theatre in the Gearan Center.
Martha Eddy's talk will investigate how a somatic approach to dance is related to well-being. "This is an invitation to talk, listen, feel, and MOVE through scenarios of survival — from caregiving to navigating systemic oppression. We'll explore resilience through deep somatic rest and active movement," Eddy says.
Martha Eddy, MSMT/E, CMA, DEP, EdD is an author, researcher, lecturer, performer, honorary professor at Teachers College (BioBehavioral Sciences) and former Geraldine Ferraro Fellow of Social Justice and Movement at Marymount Manhattan (Coordinator: Body, Science and Motion). Trained in BMC® and LBMS, Martha taught in both certification programs for over 10 years, influencing the development of Dynamic Embodiment Somatic Movement Therapy (DE-SMT) in 1990. DE-SMT is affiliated with Moving On Center, co-founded with Carol Swann, and provides the philosophy for BodyMind Dancing/BoMiDa & Moving For Life.
Her book Mindful Movement: the Evolution of the Somatic Arts and Conscious Action includes sections on Embodied Conflict Resolution. She and Shakti Smith published Dynamic Embodiment of the Sun Salutation during Covid. The research and books reflect four decades of providing inroads for nervous system regulation for stress and during trauma recovery. Current interests are in Active Embodiment — repatterning physical, emotional, and mental habits to better meet life goals.
Other conference events that are open to the public are two dance concerts, both held at 7:30 p.m. in Deming Dance Theatre on different nights.
Dance Concert I Friday, June 19th at 7:30 p.m. in Deming Dance Theatre will feature Boston-based choreographers and dancers Meghan McLyman and Kristen Duffy Young in “Perfect Score,” a duet that takes a humorous look at two Olympic skaters going for the gold. Professor Emerita Donna Davenport brings “Two People, Two Chairs” to the stage, a collaboration between Davenport, and vocalist, Cher Temple: In two different chairs, Donna performs a comedic solo about her grandmother who told her as a child to sit still, then dances a more somber elegy accompanied by Cher's songs. Brockport based choreographer Samantha Balbi is joined by dancer Dakota Gilhuley for a duet entitled “Threads We Didn’t Chose,” a piece about manipulation and forced connection between two people. Returning to the Somatic Dance Conference stage is UNC Charlotte Professor of Dance E.E. Balcos, presenting “Threshold,” a meditation on loss and transformation. University of Wisconsin Whitewater Professor Celia Weiss Bambara performs “Me and the Moon,” which she describes as waxing and waning into voice, conflicts and resolutions, and the generative power of storytelling. The Friday concert ends with an improvised duet by University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Professor of Dance Daniel Burkholder and Dance and Movement Studies Professor Cynthia Williams. Burkholder and Williams will be joined by Ithaca based musician Stan Stewart.
Dance Concert II Saturday, June 20th at 7:30 p.m. in Deming Dance Theatre starts with renowned movement artist Claire Porter in a new solo entitled “Eat My Words.” Porter explains: "In an upscale Word Restaurant (in the Grammar District) a hungry patron interprets the day’s Menu of Specials. Her palate is challenged by the day’s possible choices having been limited to pronouns." A duet for Rochester based dance artists Nancy Hughes and Michaela “M” Neild follows—“if she is the storm, she is also the shelter,” explores intimate hierarchical relationship dynamics. Salem State Professor Meghan McLyman offers “Feral,” an intense solo inspired by the movie adaptation of the book Nightbitch by author Rachel Yoder. The work focuses on a woman’s struggle against societal female roles, expectations and behaviors. Saturday’s concert ends with an ensemble performance developed by participants in the Interplay workshop led by Christine Gautreaux and Kate Arms. This performance component is designed as a living inquiry into how community can be formed, embodied, and expressed in real time…moving from process to performance within a single shared experience. The audience will be invited to join the community on stage at the conclusion of the piece. Musician Stan Stewart collaborates to provide music for the performance.
Both dance concerts are free of charge, with donations to the Somatic Dance Conference & Performance cheerfully accepted at the door. For more information about the conference or the concerts, please contact Cynthia Williams at williams@hws.edu .
