Welcome back!  Please explore the sidebar items on the right to learn more about me as a choreographer, dancer and educator.  If you wish to contact me, please do so at denisepurvis@suu.edu.  I would love to work with your company and/or students.

This summer has been very exciting so far.  It began with a very successful performance of my quintet To the End and my duet Journey On in the Contemporary Dance Concert hosted by St. George Dance Company in  St. George, UT.  I am grateful to my breathtaking dancers for performing so beautifully.

A week after the St. George performance, I was presenting at the International Conference on Teaching Somatics-Based Dance Technique.  This was an inspiring experience, as I attended workshops given by some amazing and insightful dance educators.  I was honored to share pedagogy practices designed to access interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences in the high school dance class.  In addition, I premiered a new solo titled Combative and was pleased to receive much positive feedback.   

After the conference I enjoyed a week of Barteneiff & Laban work at the Bill Evans Dance Teachers' Intensive.  I cannot express how grateful I am to have reconnected with my Evans family.  I feel refreshed and excited to begin another school year in August.  The BEDTI family is full of gifted educators who are generous with their talent, insight and care.  Many thanks to all of you for a blessed week!

Immediately after the conference I traveled to Corning, NY to complete a residency at 171 Cedar Arts Center.  It was so exciting to work with the young dancers (and many of the adult dancers) at 171.  Their joy when dancing is evident, as is their hunger for new movement experiences.

This week has been exciting as well.  I just wrapped up a children's dance camp at the Clifton Forge School of the Arts.  We spent the week studying modern technique, learning about the railroad and its significance to the town, and creating dance.  I loved watching my students dancing their own work after only a week of rehearsals.  The pride they felt for their work was obvious and well-deserved.  What special children!

Now I look forward to a few weeks to spend with my family in Virginia.  Soon enough I will be back in Utah gearing up for another year of growth at Southern Utah University.  Keep visiting my blog and checking out my upcoming events.

COMING SOON:  October (Date TBA) - The premiere performance of Shifting Velocity Dance Company, my fledgling company of gifted dance artists.  Also featured is the work of Paul Ocampo, Summer Belnap-Robertson, and Chien-Ying Wang.  And there may be a very special guest artist joining us...