Fall Dance Concert Features Original Choreography
The Alma College Dance Company kicks off its 17th season with its annual fall concert, featuring a large cast, a variety of dance styles and choreography by four dance professionals.
The concert takes place at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12 and Saturday, Nov. 13 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14 in the Remick Heritage Center. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors 62 and up, and free for Alma College staff, students, and youth 18 and under. Seating is reserved. For ticket information, call (989) 463-7304.
Five dances comprise the performance, including two works choreographed by Samantha Shelton, visiting instructor of dance at Alma College: “Two Seasons,” a ballet set to Anton Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons,” and “Fingal’s Cave,” performed to Mendelssohn’s “Hebrides Overture.”
“We are delighted and thrilled that Samantha Shelton’s works will be performed,” says Carol Fike, director of Alma's dance program. “The students have enjoyed working with her, and her work is remarkable.”
“Purge,” choreographed by Fike, is a modern dance performance set to the music of Milton Babbitt. Fike says she is grateful for the assistance and contributions of the company’s student dancers to the creation of the piece.
"Acceptance of Actuality,” choreographed by Kristen Bennett, adjunct dance instructor, explores the journey of growing up and is dedicated to Bennett’s grandmother. The modern jazz performance is accompanied by music from Sesame Street and Elton John.
“Moving Still,” the final dance of the concert, is the design of 1995 Alma College alumnus Kristin Bender Polizzi. When Bender Polizzi visited Alma in September for a performance by her troupe, the Surfscape Contemporary Dance Theater, she worked with ACDC dancers to create “Moving Still.”
“The dance is athletic, charged and aerobic,” says Fike. “Without giving up a single beat, ‘Moving Still’ features high movement and pounding rhythms. The energy doesn’t stop until the piece ends. Our dancers are very privileged to have worked so intensely with Kristin.”
Each piece in the concert uses large casts creating dynamic and thrilling choreography, says student dancer and Midland junior Tyler Sheets.
“As a student dancer, what I like most about this concert is that every single piece is an original work,” he says. “In the past, you would have seen a concert with some form of ballet or dance that you might have recognized, but this time you won't. You are seeing the pure talent of our professors and the Alma College Dance Company.”
Posted: Wed, November 3rd, 2010 at 9:34AM
