Frostburg Dance Company Celebrating 42 Years of Movement

This story appears in the January print issue of Allegany Magazine.

Some people are born with a need to dance, not simply a desire. Like ships in the night, these dancers find one another for the sole purpose of creating movement. The Frostburg State University Dance Company, in its 42nd year, is one of those avenues by which dancers find each other.

Established by Claudia Palumbo, the company is an active ensemble on campus which puts on a spring concert, and often a fall. Jamie McGreevy, the company’s current director says that “each company has been different and brought different energies and talents,” but that the program has always offered students the opportunity “for humans to be humans and to play.”

Jamie joined the FSU Dance Company as a student in 2000. She and other students allowed for the dance program to evolve from a minor to a major, and Jamie was among the first cohort in the Bachelors of Dance program at Frostburg.

“When I started college, I tried to leave dance behind but it was my true calling and passion,” Jamie McGreevy says, and from this foundation, she earned a Masters of Fine Arts in Choreography from Jacksonville University in Jacksonville, Florida. As many local students do, she returned home. She then became the director of the FSU Dance Company in the Fall of 2008.

The company has an elasticity that allows it to meet the needs of the dancers. Sometimes as few as nine dancers are members, sometimes as many as 40. Nonetheless, Jamie says, “We made some amazing ‘firsts’ at FSU. [The company] gives a voice to those who may not have one; it allows a view to be expressed in a way that can be seen and heard by others in an open, unfiltered space.”

Indeed, the FSU Dance Company has always offered a safe and non-judgemental space to students. As part of the dance minor, many of the graduates are not music or theatre majors. Nicole Mattis, the Chair of the Theatre and Dance Department at FSU says, “More often than not, dance company members and dance minors are people who grew up dancing from a very young age. When they arrive to FSU, they want to major in other fields while continuing to pursue their love for dance. In this way, they are just like student athletes.”

Once in a while, a company member isn’t a traditional dancer, at all.

Danny Durr, a graduate of Fort Hill High School, sought out dance classes from the time he was a child. His parents would take him from studio to studio, without luck, “they just didn’t know what to do with boys you danced.”

At Washington Middle School, he met Dave Kauffman and started theatre and show choir. His exposure only increased from there in high school where he was offered his first choreography gig by Bob Thompson who let Durr try his hand at “Oliver.”

It wasn’t until he reached Frostburg State University and had the opportunity to join the Dance Company that everything changed.

“When I got to Frostburg, I took the dance minor. I never got the chance to focus on dance before that,” Danny says.

Sure enough, the culture within the Dance Company demands excellence. Students are required to create and pitch their ideas for dance numbers prior to being selected for the show.

“We got to choreograph our own pieces, but we had to submit a proposal which included the song, discussed our motivations, and ended with a statement of desire. There always had to be a reason for why you wanted to perform,” says Durr.

Nicole Mattis remembers seeing Durr dance.

“I can distinctly recall watching him and thinking to myself, ‘this is a person who absolutely needs to dance,’” she says with tears in her eyes.

This creative process molded Danny Durr as a performer, and as a creator. It was at Frostburg that Karen Smith from the Riverside YMCA realized Danny’s passions and offered him the opportunity to start Y-Dance, a dance studio for children which is still in operation. For five years, he taught classes and formed a dance crew.

“This was a refreshing experience, in part because I was able to bring boys into dance, which was something I didn’t have as a child,” Danny says. He then worked with other community groups throughout that time, including Brenda’s Body Shop in Oakland, Maryland and as a performer and choreographer at Cumberland Theatre.

And then, he took the leap. Danny Durr took his skill set from FSU and moved to The Big Apple. His arrival in New York City was nothing short of reaffirming,

“I have a tattoo that says, ‘I create, I dance, I live’ and I got that shortly after making the move.”

When Danny Durr first moved, he spent a year working with a professional dance company before realizing he is a “choreographer at heart” and returned to theatre. He’s traveled the country several times over working for theatres in Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and back to New York again.

In all that time, Danny continues to look for those that share his drive.

“I always say I don’t want to work with dancers who want to work or want to dance. I want to work with dancers who need to dance.”

Susan Manger earned a scholarship to study at the Washington Ballet Company when she was 17. She packed her bags and moved to Washington D.C. taking two or three modes of public transportation in and out of the city to attend classes and rehearsals. After burning herself out, she moved back to her hometown of Frostburg and took a seven year hiatus.

“What pulled me back into dance was the opportunity to learn world-renowned technique at Frostburg State University with the Dance Company,” Susan says.

Indeed, FSU has attracted professionals from the Martha Graham Dance Company including Pearl Lang and Mary Anthony and hip-hop artist Rennie Harris, who have offered their expertise to those involved in the company.

“The Dance Company pushed people outside their boxes and comfort zones,” says Susan. “It gave us opportunities we wouldn’t have had otherwise.”

For Susan Manger, one of those opportunities included being a featured dancer in many of the Dance Company’s Spring Recitals. Another opportunity for Susan came via teaching as an adjunct in the Dance Department.

“I was approached to teach ballet and couldn’t say no,” she says, with a smile.

Thus, for several years Susan worked at FSU as a professor in the department and continued to advise dancers in the Dance Company because she recognized its value on campus. “Without the Dance Company, students wouldn’t have had the exposure that they did,” she says. “It brought so much attention to campus.”

Besides attention and opportunities, Nicole Frost says the FSU Dance Company allowed for dancers to improve their dance skills.

“In each of my four years with the company, I learned more and I became better. While I was here, I was able to build my technique.” Nicole says. She came to FSU in Fall 1997 and joined the company under Claudia Palumbo’s leadership. She fondly remembers the guest artists with whom she shared the stage. “The company brought in so many incredible dancers and we, as students, had so many great opportunities,” Nicole says, also recognizing the place the company had in her success as a student.

“This was our place to let it out. We had freedom. We had a release. When I was stressed with school, I could come to the studio,” she says.

Frost, like Jamie McGreevy, returned to FSU after earning her Masters in Performing Arts Education from American University. For the last ten years, she has taught as an adjunct. “I would rather do this over anything. I always loved dance and the stage, but I never wanted to be a competitive dancer,” she says.

In addition to teaching traditional students, Nicole also teaches an Activites for Life course which attracts dancers of all ages. As the participants move around the room, it’s difficult not to watch Nicole, at the front and with a beaming smile.

“I will do this as long as I can,” she says, “I have to keep dancing.”

The Frostburg State University Dance Company will perform their Spring Dance Concert April 17-18, 2020 at the Performing Arts Center on campus. Details about the performances are forthcoming. However, attendees can rest assured that while they’ll enjoy the show, the performers will be fulfilling their need to make art.