Photo by Jaqlin Medlock Samuel Asher Kunzman, NJDTE alum (2011) and current Ailey/Fordham BFA senior, is preparing to go on his first tour as an apprentice with Peridance Contemporary Dance Company. Samuel will perform alongside the company in Sanibel, Florida at the BIG ARTS Center, where he will perform in works by Artistic Director Igal Perry and Dwight Rhoden. The company has also recently commissioned works by Manuel Vignoulle and Macia Del Prete. In addition to his work with PCDC, Samuel continues to rehearse and perform with his BFA class at Ailey/Fordham, where he is dancing a lead role in William Forsythe’s “Limb’s Theorem,” as well as in works by Martha Graham and Robyn Mineko Williams. This spring, Samuel is setting an excerpt of his own choreography, “Major to Minor," on his classmates and is excited to return to NJDTE to re-stage “Playthings,” his creation for the 2014 NJDTE Young Choreographers’ Initiative.
Photo by Juliana Thomas Samuel shared his thoughts on the inspiring training he received at NJDTE, and how it set him on a path to success in his professional career as both a dancer and choreographer. Congratulations on all your accomplishments, Sam!
"I came to NJDTE as a senior in high school with just one year of formal dance training. Artistic Director Nancy Turano was candid with me about how hard I would have to work to achieve my goals of getting into a BFA program and all that would come with it. With that rare blend of tough and tender that only the best teachers can offer, Ms. Turano coached and trained me, always encouraging me to push my limits and expand my horizons. Even after I graduated, Ms. Turano made it clear that I had a home at NJDTE. During my time as a BFA student in the Ailey/Fordham program, she continued to be a both a mentor and a family member to me. She gave me wonderful opportunities to teach and choreograph on her students.
Every time I return to NJDTE, I am blown away by the professionalism of the students. Ms. Turano truly prepares her dancers for the realities of the dance world, and the drive and passion she inspires in students gives them a very important edge. She expects our best, so we become our best. I owe all of my successes to Nancy Turano, without whom I would have a mere fraction of the wisdom and knowledge I have. And even as I continue into my professional career, I know that Ms. Turano will always be in my corner, rooting for me harder than anyone else out there (as she does for each and every one of her students), and that is a bigger blessing than I can describe. Because of Ms. Turano's direction, NJDTE is a shining beacon of what pre-professional training can and should be." - Samuel Asher Kunzman
"I came to NJDTE as a senior in high school with just one year of formal dance training. Artistic Director Nancy Turano was candid with me about how hard I would have to work to achieve my goals of getting into a BFA program and all that would come with it. With that rare blend of tough and tender that only the best teachers can offer, Ms. Turano coached and trained me, always encouraging me to push my limits and expand my horizons. Even after I graduated, Ms. Turano made it clear that I had a home at NJDTE. During my time as a BFA student in the Ailey/Fordham program, she continued to be a both a mentor and a family member to me. She gave me wonderful opportunities to teach and choreograph on her students.
Every time I return to NJDTE, I am blown away by the professionalism of the students. Ms. Turano truly prepares her dancers for the realities of the dance world, and the drive and passion she inspires in students gives them a very important edge. She expects our best, so we become our best. I owe all of my successes to Nancy Turano, without whom I would have a mere fraction of the wisdom and knowledge I have. And even as I continue into my professional career, I know that Ms. Turano will always be in my corner, rooting for me harder than anyone else out there (as she does for each and every one of her students), and that is a bigger blessing than I can describe. Because of Ms. Turano's direction, NJDTE is a shining beacon of what pre-professional training can and should be." - Samuel Asher Kunzman
