Electronic Press Kit
Stronks-CV.pdfPress _files/Stronks-CV.pdfPress _files/Stronks-CV_1.pdfshapeimage_3_link_0
StronksPhoto-Full Bio.pdfPress _files/StronksPhoto-Full%20Bio.pdfPress _files/Stronks-Full%20Bio.pdfshapeimage_4_link_0
StronksStatement-Artistic.pdfPress _files/StronksStatement-Artistic.pdfPress _files/Stronks-Artistic.pdfshapeimage_5_link_0
StronksStatement-Teaching.pdfPress _files/StronksStatement-Teaching.pdfPress _files/Stronks-Teaching.pdfshapeimage_6_link_0
Articles and Reviews
 
 
"Mixing it Up" with Houston Metropolitan Dance Company A Dance Source Houston Review By Nichelle Strzepek 5.1.09 A work in four acts, Stronks' contribution felt like three separate statements. The first segment featured a fresh and promising use of contemporary music and joyous group choreography, blending the rhythmical undulations of jazz with a contemporary aesthetic. There was shared connective tissue between this and the work's bookend, however, the middle portions were incongruous. A fashion show of dancers in Studio 54-esque costumes felt like an inside joke to which only those associated with the company or school were privy. And, a short segment set to a jazz spiritual seemed heavy-handed with it's emotive camaraderie and hand-holding. Though met with a response that brought many audience members to their feet, I couldn't help but feel puzzled by the finale to this long evening. Flash Response to The Met’s “Mixing It Up” A flash response By Jacqueline Nalett 5.1.09 I think Jhon may just be on a one man mission to bring love and compassion to the world one dance at a time. His piece on Friday, Not Yet Soaring only clarified this idea of mine. Only this time did I start to realize that the audience member may not know right away at the beginning of the piece that he is slowly and methodically pulling you into a zone where you will actually have to think hard about what he is presenting you with – snippets of joy, drama, acceptance, power, spirituality and love, to name a few. All of this though is disguised as a George Clinton - Funkadelic fashion show, as dancers slowly disrobing in the shadows onstage, or as undulating spines and pulsating feet moving so thunderously that you begin to feel the vibe in your seat. I highly admire his use of text that is so vulnerable, honest and revealing of the emotional core we all have but many keep covered for fear of judgment. His blending of this text, both live and recorded, music and choreography that meander purposefully across the stage have become, for me, like a good book that takes you from one chapter to another, contains mystery about what is coming up but it’s ok, because I am willing to follow along one sentence at a time until the end of the story. The Houston Black Dance Festival Dance Source Houston Review Nancy Wozny 7.17.08 The noble slam poetess La' Crystal 7 bellows her own riveting text from “wake up is good” from a chair to launch jhon r. stronks Catch and Release Chapter IV: Do I Move You? She so galvanizes our attention that it's hard not to watch all that follows in stronks' puzzling, but always captivating, work. The program notes state “Catch and Release is a meditation on growth and the power of letting go viewed through the lens of the African American oral tradition.” OK, but there's little tradition in stronk's choreographic methods. His unruly piece unfolds according to its own logic, and it's best to let the actual work teach you how to watch it. If you can successfully let go of the usual glue that holds a dance work together Catch and Release's charms become apparent. Utilizing a confluence of movement styles including hip-hop, post-modern, and improvisatory techniques, stronks dares to play with alternative structures for making dances that are more intuitive and considerably less predictable. He creates a broad field for dancing where the eye has choices. Big Range Dance Festival 2007, Program A Arts Houston Review By Michele Brangwen 6.07 The most personal of the evening’s dances was Jhon R. Stronks’ solo A View from the Edge, set to music by Vivaldi. The choreography was Jirí Kylián-esque in its musical gesticulation, but more closely related to the emotional life of the dancer, with the movements emerging from an organic in-the-moment exuberance. The work featured a central largo section that was so genuinely danced it stood out as exactly why we steal away to the Barnevelder on a hot summer night: for a little dance that’s sweeter than the ice cream in the freezer. Houston's "it" Dance Company Dance Source Houston Review By Nancy Wozny 4.27.07 Stronks' two works made for a nice touch in the experimental realm, a new territory for the Met. His effective and precisely danced solo, Crossing along the dark side of night… kicking without screaming, layered a compelling sound score with text by Essex Hemphill performed by Wayne M. Smith, Kevin Everod Quashie, Stuart L. Twite and music by Bahia Black, Eternal Sun, Louie Vega, Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter. Stronk's large group work R(A)IZE.UP had the feeling of a street ritual. Using sampling techniques as a choreographic framework is an interesting concept and left me curious to see more of his work. Nerve Series New Modern Dance 2002 Dance Magazine Online Reviews Sherri L. McLendon 4.02 jhon r. stronks’ choreographic voice emerged as the most distinctive. His fragmented, multimedia works used elements of postmodern dance, performance art, voice, and popular dance in a series of vignettes about a young man’s life. Juxtaposing the theme of coming of age with an emergent homosexuality, the works questioned heroism and reflected the character’s longing for unconditional love. For example, in For all I know, Stronks’, in a homemade Superman costume, moved through horizontal and vertical space in a series of elongated positions to create the illusion of being airborne, the way 7-year-olds pretend to fly. Then, in mid-flight, he gave a rehearsed, deliberately kitschy wave to the audience. In a life lived in pieces, Stronks sang a bluesy song a cappella while his footwear, a white thigh-high, spike-heeled come-hither boot on one foot, a pointe shoe on the other, shocked the audience into titters. In can be like life, the character wore a too-small football jersey emblazoned with the name of national football hero E. Smith and, to establish a sense of longing, remembered a puppy he once had. Finally, in But it is not the same, the character said, "A life lived in pieces can be like life, but it’s not the same as living," before dancing the Pony to rave music, expounding on real-life experience with a comic juxtaposition of eras and styles.
 
Photo Credit: Bohemian Photography
Save as Draft
Dancers: Paola Georgudis, Lindsey McGill, jhon r. stronks
Stronks-ResumeDance.pdfPress _files/Stronks-ResumeDance.pdfPress _files/Stronks-ResumeDance_1.pdfshapeimage_9_link_0
Stronks-ResumeTeaching.pdfPress _files/Stronks-ResumeTeaching.pdfPress _files/Stronks-ResumeTeaching_1.pdfshapeimage_10_link_0