UW-Stevens Point to host night of original dance
4/2/2013
Courtney Holcomb and Nicholas Frey performing in
'Round the Corner,' during Danstage 2012.
Photo by John Morser.
 
Staged for the first time “in the round,” allowing audience members on four sides to see dance unfold on multiple fronts, Danstage 2013 is a night of original choreography at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point.
The production will be held April 12-14 and 17-20 in the Noel Fine Arts Center Studio Theatre by the UW-Stevens Point Department of Theatre and Dance, featuring new work by guest artist Melinda Jean Myers as well as new pieces by Professor Joan Karlen, Associate Professor Jeannie Hill and Associate Professor Michael Estanich.
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12; Saturday, April 13; Wednesday, April 17; Thursday, April 18; Friday, April 19; and Saturday, April 20. A 2 p.m. matinee showing will be offered Sunday, April 14.
Tickets are $17 for adults, $16 for senior citizens and $12 for youth. Tickets may be purchased at the University Information and Ticket counter in the Dreyfus University Center concourse, by calling 715-346-4100 or 800-838-3378, or online at www.uwsp.edu/centers/uit/ordering.asp. Visa, MasterCard and Discover are accepted. UW-Stevens Point students with a valid ID may purchase advance tickets for $4.50 per show or be admitted free the day of the show, if seats are still available.
Myers’ new work, “head and tail,” uses “chance choreography,” as the eight dancers’ movements and how they respond to each other are determined by a coin flip. The resulting work is never performed the same way twice. Pamela Luedtke, an associate lecturer in dance, assisted in its direction. A Stevens Point native, Myers has performed around the world with the Trisha Brown Dance Company and now works with Lucky Plush Productions in Chicago.
Karlen’s new work, “Tacit,” was inspired by nature and our connection and responsibility to it. Set to a score by Dmitri Shostakovich, it features an ensemble of 11 dancers whose movements develop and arise like new growth from the forest floor.
“Hokkaido Sanctuary, Japan 7:21 am,” choreographed by Estanich, is inspired by Taiwanese photographer Feng Ying Ke’s images of the red-crowned crane in flight and at rest. Performed by 15 dancers to John Adams’ Common Tones in Simple Time” and set in a dense fog, the work creates quivering landscapes of birds on the brink of flight.
“Listening In,” choreographed by Hill, explores what it means to truly listen. Four dancers researched deaf culture to communicate through gesture, body percussion, sign language and tap dance.
For more information, visit uwspdanstage.blogspot.com or www.facebook.com/uwspdanstage.
 
 

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