ODU Dance Theatre Fall Concert Features Modern and Ballroom Choreography
October 26, 2012
The Old Dominion University dance program will present its annual University Dance Theatre Fall Concert Nov. 14-17 at the University Theatre.
Shows begin at 8 p.m. each night; a matinee will also be presented at 2 p.m. Nov. 17.
The concert features modern and ballroom dance choreography by ODU faculty members and selected students. Performance will also include a special guest appearance by the Dance Company of the Visual and Performing Arts Academy at Salem High School.
The Salem Academy Dance Company will premiere "Emotion Equilibrium," choreographed by lead dance educator Shannon Kisiel. During this modern dance, the audience is asked to make sense of an abstract dance within an emotion-based framework.
ODU dance program director Amanda Kinzer premieres a large-group modern dance work, titled "Interrupted," to fiery tango music. The dance is inspired by our busy modern lives, in which we are often distracted from our intended purpose by unanticipated interruptions.
Megan Thompson, a full-time dance faculty member at the university, is restaging a duet she originally choreographed and performed with Kinzer. The duet, titled "Concurrence," has been performed previously at ODU and in dance showcases in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Oklahoma. Inspired by the dissonant, yet symbiotic nature of the rich musical score by Ryuichi Sakamoto, this duet explores what it means to be connected. Does connection require physical contact? Do concurrent movements equate a connection? Can connection transcend physical separation?
The concert will include two premieres by ODU adjunct faculty member and guest artist Wesley Acker. "I Close My Eyes..." is a lyrical duet set on an 18th-floor balcony. This piece lets the audience vicariously experience young love, bringing to mind times when your perfect person was right there, in your mind and heart. The second premiere is a group swing dance titled "Sweet Hour of Swing." This piece may make you ask yourself, "Since when has Sunday School been so much fun?" This dance is likely to make believers of the whole audience.
"This Is Not a Love Letter" is a piece about the conflicting emotions of unrequited love. Behind the backdrop (or in this case, forefront) of an idyllic late 1950s Motown group singing about the beauty of love, choreographer Katie Iacono uses solos and a duet to express opposing heartbreak and confusion. Iacono is a new ODU dance adjunct faculty member and guest artist.
Guest artist Rachel Thorne Germond presents "Sweep," a group work to classical music by Haydn that uses an improvisational structure and choreographed movements to explore the inevitability of time's passing. The piece was originally performed in Mexico.
Selected student works will complete the program.
Tickets are $14 for general admission and $12 for ODU students. They are available online at www.oduartstix.com, at the Arts and Letters Box Office in the University Theatre (Hampton Boulevard and 47th Street), by phone at 683-5305 and at the door.
For more information about the concert contact Amanda Kinzer at 683-3002 or akinzer@odu.edu.