Accumulation Dance is a partnership
between Meghan McLyman and Kristen
Duffy Young, whose mission is to create original work that expresses
the
human experience through dance and performance. These artists
were drawn
together by their shared interests in somatic-based dance practices,
collaborative dance making, and the investigation of their identities
as
feminists and mothers. They are interested in searching for and
expressing
personal truths. Each work digs deeper into questioning how ones
life
pushes against or folds into the confines of societal systems.
A
modern/contemporary dance vocabulary, storytelling, and humor
give voice to
their work.
Accumulation Dance has received support
for their choreography from the New
England Foundation for the Arts, The Boston Foundation and Boston
Center
for the Arts, and have been presented by Crash Arts/World Music,
The
Somatics Dance Conference, The Museum of Fine Arts, The Southern
Vermont
Dance Festival, Salem Arts Festival, Art Beat/Somerville Arts
Council,
Dance for World Community, The Dance Complex, Green Street Studios,
Across
the Ages Dance Project, Tufts University, College of the Holy
Cross, Salem
State University, and Hollins University/American Dance Festival.
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MEGHAN MCLYMAN (MFA, MA, BA) is a Professor of dance at
Salem State
University and the Chair of the Music and Dance Department, where
she has
been instrumental in creating the Bachelor of Arts degree in dance.
The
University recognized her passion for teaching with the 2017 Distinguished
Teaching Award, and in 2018 she received the Arts Learning Distinguished
Teaching and Arts Advocacy Award. Meghan graduated with a BA in
dance from
Point Park University, received an MA in dance and arts management
from
American University, and an MFA from Hollins University in partnership
with
the American Dance Festival. Meghan has taught courses at various
dance
programs including The Colleges of the Fenway, The College of
the Holy
Cross, James Madison University, North Quincy High School, Green
Street
Studios, and Avery Ballet. She has held master classes at Moving
Target
Boston, The Dance Complex, Tufts University, MIT, Webster University,
the
American Dance Festival, the American College Dance Association,
and at the
Massachusetts Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation
and
Dance. Meghan has performed with The Caitlin Corbett Dance Company,
4
Square, The Falling Flight Project, Digby Dance, The Moving Laboratory,
Flip Side Dance Theatre, Sister's Trousers, and with The Avery
Ballet. She
continues to develop her craft by immersing herself in various
workshops,
conferences, and master classes. She is on the board of the Massachusetts
Dance Education Organization, the state chapter under National
Dance
Education Organization, and recently served on the board of the
American
College Dance Association New England Region. She is in the process
of
becoming a Certified Evans Teacher under Bill Evans, as well as
a Moving
For Life Certified Instructor under Martha Eddy.
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KRISTEN
DUFFY YOUNG is an educator, administrator, choreographer,
performer, and arts advocate, who has dedicated her career to
developing accessible arts education programs. She is the founding
Director of the Colleges of the Fenway Dance (COF) ensemble, beginning
in 2006, and has expanded the program to include more than 150
faculty, staff, and alumni participants each year. In addition
to teaching contemporary dance classes and creating diverse educational
and performance opportunities, Kristen also increased recognition
for the program through its participation in the annual American
College Dance Education Conference. As the new Co-Director of
the COF Center for Performing Arts, Kristen spearheaded the programs
new mission and name change to encourage collaboration across
the campuses. She also created the COF Minor in Performing Arts
Dance Concentration, which recently launched in 2021. Kristen
works closely with COF's institutional partner, Emmanuel College,
where she serves as an adjunct faculty member of the Theater Arts
Program, choreographing mainstage musicals and teaching courses
in dance. Past teaching appointments include Salem State University
and the Longy School of Music. Kristen has also worked in fundraising
and development for the Boston Arts Academy and Facing History
and Ourselves.
In addition to her work at COF, Kristen
served as President of the Massachusetts Dance Education Organization
and has now transitioned into the role of Vice President. Her
passion for developing community dance programs also led her to
serve on the boards of the Boston Dance Alliance and Boston Youth
Moves. She was recently awarded the prestigious 2020 Arts|Learning
Distinguished Arts Education Advocate Award for Dance.
As a dancer, Kristen has performed
the work of Accumulation Dance for the past 15 years. She has
also performed with Bill Evans, Caitlin Corbett, Bosoma Dance
Company, Weber Dance, Rose Pasquarello Beauchamp, Carey McKinley,
and Julie Pike Edmond.
Kristen earned an MFA in Interdisciplinary
Arts from Goddard College and a
BA in Dance and BBA in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst. She is also a Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban/Bartenieff
Institute of Movement Studies and a Certified Pilates Instructor
from the
Kane School of Core Integration (now Kinected). She is currently
pursuing a
200 hour yoga certification with Yoga of Energy Flow, as well
as
certification with the Bill Evans Teacher Training program.
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