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 KATHERINE
KRAMER
KATHERINE
KRAMER, Producing Artistic Director, has been a vital presence in the
resurgence of classic jazz and tap dance since the 1970's. A performer
whose influences range from her early tap mentors Brenda Bufalino, Honi
Coles, Ralph Brown and Charles "Cookie" Cook, to classical tap
artist, Paul Draper, master of choreographic improvisation, Richard Bull
and legendary dancer/choreographer/author, Daniel Nagrin.
Ms. Kramer
has appeared in concert with tap masters Coles, Bufalino, and Cook, as
well as Gregory Hines, Savion Glover and many of her contemporaries and
was a featured soloist in the 1996 National Tap Extravaganza in New York.
In 1980 she
assisted Jane Goldberg in producing "By Word of Foot" at the
Village Gate in New York, bringing together many of tap's most celebrated
artists, including the late John Bubbles. She has collaborated and performed
with musicians Ray Anderson, Rebecca Mauleon, Dave Samuels, Kristen Korb,
Michael Spiro, among others.
Prior to
evolving into a jazz artist, she performed as a modern dancer with Laura
Dean, Kei Takei, Bill T. Jones, Arnie Zane, and Lois Welk and with Ara
Fitzgerald, co-directed the company, Fitzgerald, Kramer and Bean. For
seven years Ms. Kramer directed her own company, Syncopated, Inc. and
has toured internationally, two one-woman shows, "Rhythms of the
Heart" and "Tap Roots."
Katherine
was the choreographer and movement coach for the film, "The Horse
Whisperer," directed by and starring Robert Redford. Her choreography
is featured in the music video of the Academy Award nominated song by
Allison Moorer, "A Soft Place To Fall."
She holds
a Masters Degree in Movement and Dance from Wesleyan University and a
BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College. She has taught at universities
throughout the country and has been commissioned to create dances for
numerous companies and universities, including Montana Transport Co.,
Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Stephens College, University of Alaska, Skidmore
College, Youth Dance Unlimited, Florida International University, Eastern
Kentucky University, and Manhattanville College.
Katherine
is currently based in Miami, Florida during the school year and teaches
at Florida International University. During the summer she is in Montana.
Recent
Projects
For Heaven's
Sake
Collaborating with renowned visual artist/pupeteer, Pablo Cano, Katherine
choreographed this interarts project for 6 tap dancers and 6 moving puppets.
Commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Miami Beach, this piece
is premiered in April of 2003.
DancersImprovgroup
Over the past year Katherine has been working with six other improvisational
dance artists in Miami, experimenting with the creation scores and structures
for performance. For their premiere performance, "Garage Door"
in April of 2003, she has been given permission to re-direct a piece originally
created by one of her mentors, the late Richard Bull.
Jazz Week
2003
Katherine was the Guest Artist in Dance at the University of Alaska annual
Jazz Week in Anchorage, Alaska, March 7 - 16, 2003. This was her 7th visit
to Alaska over the past 10 years. This trip was spent choreographing for
the UAA Dance Ensemble, teaching tap, classic jazz, and "musicians
who swing". As well, she performed with the Guest Artists in Music
who were there for the week. The highlight was a 7/4 version of Monk's
"Rhythm-a-Ning" performed with bassist, Victoria Mayhem and
drummer, Allison Miller, both from New York.
DanceSense
Katherine wrote the content design, teacher's guides and web materials
for a 10 part video series on dance, "Dance Sense," produced
by Kentucky Educational Television. It was released in January of 2002
and in it she is featured as a jazz and tap artist. During Rhythm Explosion
2001 a crew from KET came to Montana to video the workshop. Footage including
numerous faculty members and students is included in the series. It is
being distributed nationally to schools to support the work of teachers
using curricula following the National Standards for Dance.
Rhythms
of Helena
May of 2001 marked the culmination of a 3-year community project in Helena,
Montana, conceived and directed by Katherine and produced by the Myrna
Loy Center/Helena Presents with support from the Lila Wallace Foundation
and the National Performance Network. This project brought together people
from all walks of life within the community to explore rhythms unique
to their specific communities (seniors, Native Americans, government workers,
visual artists, teens, ranchers) and to create a performance piece that
was a reflection of the rhythms of the community as a whole. The result
was an evening length work incorporating movement, original music, tap,
video, and text. It was performed by some 25 local participants.
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