Feb. 28, 2006 -- Described as buoyant, lyrical and dramatic, the Christopher Watson Dance Company will perform at The Forum on Tuesday, March 14, as part of the Lecture~Concert Series at Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.

The classical modern dance performance, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 7 p.m. at The Forum, 115 E. Monroe, in downtown Jonesboro.

Established in 1991 in California, the dance company is under the direction of Artistic Director Christopher Watson, choreographer. His work has been supported by grants from the Michigan Council for the Arts, the New York Program of the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission, the Jerome Foundation through the SpaceSpace Co-Project, the Linden Hills UCC Fund, the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, the Lyndale Neighborhood Association, the Minneapolis Arts Commission, as well as funding from the St. Paul Companies, the Minnesota Dance Alliance, Mervyn's, the McKnight Foundation and numerous individual contributions. In 1997 he received a 3M Award for Innovation in the Arts.

The Christopher Watson Dance Company’s mission is to provide high quality, meaningful dance experiences to people of all ages through training, audience education and performance. They focus on providing accessible activities based on the philosophy that concert dance is an art form that can engage all members of the community.

Since its founding, the Christopher Watson Dance Company has performed in Sacramento, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Davis, California; Kenosha, Wisconsin; Ames, Iowa; as well as Duluth, Ely, Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota. The dance company has performed throughout the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul participating in choreographers evening at the Walker Arts Center, Isolated Acts a Red Eye Collaboration, the Minnesota Dance Festival at O'Shaughnessy Auditorium, and at the Hennepin Center for the Arts, Ballet Arts Minnesota, SpaceSpace, Intermedia Arts, the Southern Theater, Concordia University, the Lyn-Lake Festival, and the Seward Arts Festival.

Additionally, one member of the dance company, resides in Jonesboro. David Wick, international abroad adviser at ASU, has danced with the Christopher Watson Company since 2000. A native of St. Paul, he balances his work at ASU with the dance company, traveling to performances and rehearsals in Minnesota, while his wife is a graduate student in avian ecology in biological sciences at ASU.

“I’m excited to connect ASU and the community. I have been in three performances at the Foundation -- “The Hobbit,” “Jungle Book” and “Misery.” I am particularly thrilled to bring my dance work to my new home, here in Jonesboro. I really like it that the Foundation of Arts and ASU are working together for this performance,” said Wick.
The Christopher Watson Dance Company will be giving a master class for ASU students and another master class for the community on March 13.

The Christopher Watson Dance Company is presented with support from the Foundation of Arts in Jonesboro. The ASU Lecture~Concert Series presents diverse programs each season to enrich the cultural life of the campus, community, and region.

For more details, please contact Dr. Gil Fowler, associate dean for The Honors College, at 870-972-2308 or via email at gfowler@astate.edu or visit http://honors.astate.edu/.