By Sean Olson, University Relations
Duane Cyrus. Photo by Werner Sandhaus.
The UNCG Department of Dance is renowned for its innovation, and the department will showcase that innovation in a concert of new works by faculty members Nov. 10-12.
The Department of Dance will present a concert of works by faculty members at 8 p.m. Nov. 10-12 and 2 p.m. Nov. 12 at the UNCG Dance Theatre. Tickets are $5 for UNCG students with valid ID, $7 for other students and seniors, and $10 general admission.
Participating faculty members include Duane Cyrus, John Gamble, Robin Gee, B.J. Sullivan and guest artist Gerri Houlihan.
The event will include:
• “1934-EXCERPTS-1937,” choreographed by Gamble and performed by the John Gamble Dance Theater. Featuring music by Django Reinhardt and Tampa Red recorded in the mid1930s, the dance is structured in six sections, featuring modern dance and classic Lindy Hop.
• “4/4,” choreographed by Houlihan. Described by Jennifer Dunning of the New York Times as a “high-energy dance made up of sharp fragments of movement that fit together like pieces of a large puzzle,” this piece is set to the music of the New Percussion Group of Amsterdam and will be performed by two casts of UNCG dancers.
• “Traveler,” a dance about the crossroads between waking and dreaming states, is both choreographed and performed by Cyrus. “Traveler” is performed with music by AKA Pygmies, and is an original multimedia work featuring sound, video and scenic elements designed by Cyrus. "Individual Stroll: The Other Side," set to the music of John Coltrane, will be performed by Cyrus and UNCG dance students Teran Brown, Lindsay Leb, Thomas Newkirk, Aymen Robertson, and Virginia Sowards.
• B.J. Sullivan will perform her own choreographed work “skipped gems rough edges revealed sheen uncovered,” originally staged in 2003. This work, set to music by Michael Gordon, reveals a female perspective on social pressures and the struggle to achieve balance, acceptance and understanding. Sullivan will perform with dance alum Tracie Foster.
• Graduate student Alex Houston will perform a new work-in-progress, choreographed by faculty member Robin Gee and set to music of Fela Kuti with text by Leopold Sedar Senghor, poet and former president of Senegal. This new work was inspired by a string of social and political events in recent months, beginning with Gee’s return to West Africa and culminating in the natural disasters of recent weeks.
The UNCG Dance Theatre is located at the corner of Walker Ave. and Kenilworth Street. Paid parking is available in the Walker Deck. Click here for a map of campus. For tickets, call the UNCG Box Office at 336-334-4849. For more information on the UNCG Department of Dance, call 336-334-5570 or visit their web site.
