UW-Stevens Point’s Danstage 2016 brings original choreography to the stage
3/14/2016
​'A​ Classical Suite' will be performed in Danstage 2016.

 

A night of original choreography, including the premiere of a ballet set to live music, will be featured at Danstage 2016 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point April 8-10 and 14-16.

The production will be held in the Noel Fine Arts Center Jenkins Theatre by the UW-Stevens Point Department of Theatre and Dance, featuring new work by guest artist Max Pollak as well as new pieces by Associate Professors Michael Estanich and Jeannie Hill and Professor Joan Karlen.

Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 8-9 and Thursday to Saturday, April 14-16. A 2 p.m. matinee will be offered Sunday, April 10.

“These performances are shorter works accessible to everyone,” said Karlen. “Many of our students already have job offers as professionals, so this offers a last chance for the community to see them perform before they graduate.”

“Anthem,” a new ballet piece by Karlen, was inspired by both the excellent technical level of her students and “Composition for Two Pianos” by composer Jeffrey Brooks, she said. The score, a contemporary piece that fits well with the ballet choreography, will be played live on baby grand pianos by local pianists Nancy Boston and Tom Yang.

A yet-to-be-titled dance piece features Rumba Tap, a merging of Afro-Cuban music and dance with tap and body rhythms. The work was choreographed by Pollak, a professional dancer and teacher who worked with UW-Stevens Point students as a visiting artist in March.

“A Classical Suite,” choreographed by Estanich, is a classical modern dance set to “Works for Viola” by Franz Hoffmeister. The piece was inspired by early pioneers of dance such as Isadora Duncan to show the freedom of barefoot dance and create joyful, sweeping patterns.

“Implicitly Tethered” is a collaboration between Hill and glass artist Jon Chapman set to “Corigliano: Conjurer and Vocalise.” The performance brings sculpture and dance together and uses the kinetics of bodily motion, material interaction inspired by Butoh and Capoeira and contact improvisation to examine interaction and relationships.

Featuring dancers in tuxedos and ballroom gowns, “Resplendent Waltz” by Hill is a traditional ballroom waltz set to “Kaiserwalzer, Op 437” by composer Johann Strauss.

“Flicker” by Karlen is a piece created in 2006 that refers to the moment of connection with another person. Among the original dancers was Gerald Avery, now on Broadway in “Hamilton!”

Danstage 2016 tickets are $21 for adults, $20 for seniors, $16 for youth and $4.50 for students with UW-Stevens Point ID. Tickets are available at the UW-Stevens Point Information and Tickets Office, located in the Dreyfus University Center concourse, by calling 715-346-4100 or at http://tickets.uwsp.edu.

For more information, visit Danstage 2016 on Facebook.


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