The Knox College Dance Program will host a performance residency with the Chicago based company Synapse Arts from March 23-29.

The residency includes master classes and workshops, culminating in a series of site-specific dance pieces throughout Knox College's Ford Center for Fine Arts at 7 p.m. on March 29. The event will include 10 student performers from the Knox College Dance Ensemble and 10-15 performing members from the Knox and Galesburg communities. The event is free and open to the public.

Founded in 2004 and led by Artistic Director Rachel Damon, Synapse Arts is made up of a diverse group of performing and visual artists who came together with the singular mission: To create, perform, and educate others with the intent to nurture individual identities and challenge social norms by engaging artists and audiences in the making of dance-theater.

Dance Chair Jennifer Smith says that Knox dance faculty were drawn to idea of bringing the Synapse Arts residency to Knox because of its interdisciplinary approach to the creative process. "Synapse is uniquely equipped to engage our students in a collaborative project and discussions," said Smith. "By connecting our students to the Synapse artists, we can inspire, educate, and prepare our students for the world outside of Knox College."

Pictured above: The Jeremy Linberg Dance Residency (first photo) and the Ashley Tate Dance Residency (second photo) were two recent dance residencies at Knox.

The Synapse Arts Residency celebrates the Knox College Dance Program's new home within the Center for Fine Arts, where the program moved in the spring of 2017. Today, there are two dance studio spaces in the building, with a third space set to open in the spring of 2018. The dance program includes coursework in dance technique, theory, history, composition, and performance. Their mission is to encourage the development of an artistic practice that promotes the critical exchange of interdisciplinary ideas in a collaborative, artistic environment.

The Synapse Arts residency is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency through federal funds provided by the National Endowment for the Arts. Other support for the project comes from: Terpsichore Dance Collective, Knox College Dance Program, Karil Kirk-Ortner Memorial Dance Fund, Knox College Cultural Event Committee and Student Co-Curricular Fund.