What a wonderful day. Swing Concerto opened last night. It is the third time I have restaged it at SMU. Today, I had the great fortune of having an interview/conversation with the three soloists, spanning some eleven years. The fates were kind and they are all in Dallas at the same time.
Zac Hammer now lives and teaches here. He performed the lead in 2005. He is the young man in the middle.
Willis Johnston is in Dallas with another favorite former student of mine, Katie Drablos. They have developed a new class called Heart and are on a mini tour sharing their talents and spirits with young dancers. Willis was one of the “swing couples’ when Zac did the solo and became the lead in the spring of 2009, the year he graduated. The photo is of Paul Taylor’s Cloven Kingdom.
Last is Reid Conlon, the soloist in the 2015 version. He is the quintessential jazz dancer. He is a junior and has a great future ahead of him. He is in the middle of the photo.
