Name: Coffee Talk with Cori Terry & Peter Sparling during RADFest 26
Start: 2026-03-06T10:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-03-06T11:00:00-05:00
Location: Black Arts & Cultural Center

Coffee Talk with Cori Terry & Peter Sparling during RADFest 26

Coffee Talk with Cori Terry & Peter Sparling
Held at the Black Arts and Cultural Center during RADFest, March 8, 10:00 a.m.
Join us for an informal and engaging Coffee Talk with two influential figures in American modern dance: Peter Sparling, former Principal Dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company, and Cori Terry, longtime member of the Erick Hawkins Dance Company and Founder and Artistic Director of Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers. This mediated coffee-hour conversation offers a welcoming space for shared reflection on dance history, artistic lineage, creative process, and the evolving role of dance in our communities.
Patrons, RAD artists, community members, dance students, arts organizations, and all who are curious about dance are invited to attend—whether to actively participate in the discussion or simply listen and learn.
Coffee and light breakfast items will be provided.
This event is FREE. Registration is requested.
Register at: https://www.simpletix.com/e/17th-annual-regional-alternative-dance-fes-tickets-250674
Biographies
Cori Terry, Founder and Artistic Director of Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers for 43 years, was born in Brooklyn and trained in New York City after attending the State University of New York at Stony Brook. After 2 years of apprenticing, she joined the Erick Hawkins Dance Company in 1974, performing and teaching throughout the United States and Europe. In 1980, Terry came to Kalamazoo as artist-in-residence at Western Michigan University and soon after founded Wellspring/Cori Terry & Dancers. She has choreographed close to 100 works for Wellspring through the years, collaborating with The Kalamazoo Symphony, Fontana Chamber Arts, the Red Sea Pedestrians, The Gilmore Piano Festival, Cavani String Quartet, Eighth Blackbird, Bill Ryan and The New Music Ensemble and ZOFO to name a few. Now one of the nation’s longest-standing small professional modern dance companies, Wellspring has played a vital role in the Kalamazoo arts community for over four decades, advancing modern and postmodern dance, fostering collaborations, and introducing generations of audiences to the power of movement.
Peter Sparling is the Rudolf Arnheim Distinguished University Professor Emeritus of Dance and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Emeritus of Dance at the University of Michigan. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy and The Juilliard School, he danced with the José Limón Dance Company and served as a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company. As Graham’s assistant, he coached Rudolf Nureyev and collaborated with her on numerous new works. Sparling has performed, staged, and written extensively about Graham’s repertory worldwide and has appeared multiple times on PBS Dance in America. His wide-ranging career includes roles as artistic director, choreographer, educator, video artist, writer, administrator, and activist, with his screendance and visual art presented internationally. Since retiring from the University of Michigan, he continues to create dance films and paintings and remains active as a collaborator and cultural advocate.
COMPLETE FESTIVAL DETAILS & SCHEDULE: https://wellspringdance.org/rad-events
RADFest includes a variety of free and ticketed performances, screenings, classes, and community gatherings.
TICKETS AND REGISTRATION:
https://www.simpletix.com/e/17th-annual-regional-alternative-dance-fes-tickets-250674