Dance Concert Welcomes Spring
The Alma College Dance Company will celebrate the arrival of spring
with the debut performance of “Seasons” and other works at its annual
spring dance concert.
Ballet, jazz and modern dance will be featured in the concerts at 8
p.m. Friday March 23, 8 p.m. Saturday, March 24 and 3 p.m. Sunday,
March 25 in the Remick Heritage Center, Presbyterian Hall. Tickets are
$8 for adults and free for Alma College staff, students and youth 18
and under. Seating is reserved. Call (989) 463-7304 for ticket
information.
“Seasons” incorporates film of 12 dancers around 12 trees near Alma
College’s McIntyre Center for Exercise and Health Science as the
seasons change. The film will be added to a dance that Carol Fike,
associate professor of theatre and dance, is choreographing for the
spring concert.
“I’m so grateful to the dancers,” said Fike. “I couldn’t have done it
without their dedication. I have made the film, found music, arranged
the sound score into a collage, and found costumes that work for each
dancer.”
The multimedia presentation is an appreciative salute to nature, said Fike.
“I have turned to nature for so many things, in rain and snow and sun;
it has been my solace, comfort and compassion,” Fike said. “In moments
of sadness, confusion, tragedy, it has helped. As soon as I get out
into nature, things quiet down.”
The concert also will include “The Dance of the Wilis” from the full-length ballet Giselle. The dance is set by Thomas Morris, associate professor of theatre and dance.
“Wilis are women who have died before their wedding day with their love
unrequited,” Morris said. “They are spirits who roam the woods between
midnight and dawn and kill any man that they can entrap.” The lead role
of Myrtha will be danced by guest artist Samantha Shelton.
Also adding their talents to the concert are guest choreographers Sherry Gilpin and B.J. Sullivan.
Gilpin, a free-lance teacher/choreographer based near Louisville, KY.,
is a former principal dancer with the Louisville Ballet and Ohio
Ballet. She has worked with a cast of nine to prepare the Mandolin
Concerto, which is a ballet with a Spanish influence.
Sullivan, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at
Greensboro, is a graduate of the Julliard School and is a sought-after
modern choreographer. She worked with a cast of five to present a
challenging modern piece.
Seniors Jane Macdonald and Claire Hammer also have choreographed a piece titled “Gracia.”
Posted: Wed, March 14th, 2007 at 12:31PM
