of art & design
Thursday & Friday, November 12 & 13, 2009
8pm, Stewart Theatre
The NC State Dance Program Fall Concert will be presented November 12 and 13, 2009, at 8pm in Stewart Theatre. The concert will feature the annual movement studies project choreographed and performed by the NCSU Dance Company, a work by guest artist L.D Burris performed by the DanceVisions Repertory Company, and additional choreography by independent study students Sarah Griner, Kaye Usry and Ashley Walls.
This year’s movement studies project is entitled Shorts. Shorts is a collection of fifteen dances ranging from one to four minutes long, inspired by films. In Shorts, NCSU Dance Company performers and choreographers draw on film techniques images and ideas from a diverse selection of movies in the creation of original dance works that explore choreographic craft. The students’ creations are as diverse as the films they chose for inspiration, films such as Michel Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Darrell Roodt’s Sarafina, and David Yates’ Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, to name a few.
L. D. Burris’ Say What!! is the guest choreographer’s way of paying homage to ‘70s Funk music. This dance, performed by members of the DanceVisions Repertory Company, is a celebration of the African inspired rhythm and timing inherent in Funk music, which Burris uses as a vehicle to explore his unique synthesis of African, modern and jazz dance styles.
Kaye Usry explores other dance styles in her work, The Class. The Class, performed by Quinn Banning-Arndt, Alexis Hatjioannou, Jessica King, Callie Leechford, Catryn Painter and Meredith Spence, is a fusion of ballet and modern dance. This piece explores the themes of boredom, anxiety, and frustration in the context of a ballet class, using music by Radiohead.
Choreographed and performed by Sarah Griner, A Prayer is a very real prayer for the choreographer as she prepares to move on to the next step in her life after college. The piece was originally choreographed and performed in 2007 featuring music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The piece has changed and evolved as Sarah's prayers and concerns have changed over the last two years.
But today, they're all gone (Mr. Davis), choreographed by Ashley Walls and performed by Jillian Johnson and Kelly Bryant, is an examination in how humans react to disasters. Set to Steve Reich's Different Trains and using World War II as a vantage point, Walls' new piece explores how we respond to tragedy.
A question and answer session will follow the Thursday night concert.
For more information contact the Dance Program (919.515.7034 or danceprogram@ncsu.edu).