By Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 1-17-07
Prime Movers. Photo by Danielle Hazen.
GREENSBORO, NC – The annual Prime Movers Concert will showcase the best of student dance Jan. 19-20 in the UNCG Dance Theatre.
Admission to the performances, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan.19-20, and 2 p.m. Jan. 20, is $5 for UNCG students with valid ID, $10 for other students and seniors, and $12 for general admission.
Prime Movers, an organization of dance students, and the Department of Dance will host a reception after Friday’s performance. The choreographers will take part in a discussion after Saturday’s matinee.
For tickets, visit the UNCG Box Office online or call (336) 334-4849.
The UNCG Dance Theatre is located at the intersection of Kenilworth Street and Walker Avenue. Paid parking is available in the Walker Avenue Deck. A map of the university is available online.
For more information on this, other dance events, or information on the Department of Dance, visit the department's web page or call (336) 334-5570.
The choreographers include graduate students Sarah Downs, Julia Y. Edwards, Sara Ruth Geffert, Jen Guy and Madeleine Reber; and undergraduate students Shaina Birkhead, Kathleen Kerner, MJ and T.W. Newkirk.
Shaina Birkhead’s “Get Up and Be Starting Again” is an exploration of the many ways that people push and are pushed both physically and emotionally. Set to a score created by the manipulation of four pieces of music, the movement was created largely through partnering exercises performed by the dancers exploring how bodies can be forced into movement by internal and external forces.
The dance is constructed in three sections that can be performed in any order, beginning at any point and can be continued indefinitely. This structure further explores the constant cycle of internal and external manipulation, in both its positive and negative forms, that occurs throughout life.
“In Moment of Encounter,” a study of contrast by Sarah Downs, we see the progression into homogeny and trace the process and result of standardization when five individuals meet and explore various relationships, eventually becoming indistinct.
A duet choreographed by Thomas W. Newkirk in collaboration with Kathleen T. Kerner, “innocent bliss … or lack thereof” explores the connections and energies between two people through partnering and moments of synchronization, discord, and resolution.
Inspired by the situation faced by Adam and Eve, the work becomes an extraordinary journey of temptation and deception that results in the downfall of one's self and loved ones.
“Fault Line,” choreographed by Madeleine Reber, is a dance in two sections, set to Portuguese fado music by Madredeus. Danced by 10 women, the piece juxtaposes jagged movements that seem to break through the dancers’ bodies with sweeping glides and jumps through the space as the dancers weave in and out of each other.
The theme of breaking, or the “fault line” where things break apart, is seen in moments of movement that fall stutteringly to the floor and in the splitting of the large group into smaller ones that seem to alternate between confrontation and resolution.
Julia Y. Edwards’ work explores the experience of two duets. This version of “Pete’s House” combines two casts and expands upon research Edwards did this past summer in film and choreography. In this work, she explores the ideas of witnessing human expression and being trapped inside your own experience while simultaneously sharing it with the people living the moment with you.
“5’4 and Waiting” is a piece based on images of women in various stages of a single event choreographed by Sara Ruth Geffert. This two-sectioned work explores the emotional turmoil that occurs in seeking to understand a partner’s daily behavior.
Each of the women embodies different emotional and physical aspects of a single relationship. The movement flows in and out of physical contact and ranges between soothing motions and aggressive gestures.
“Gaggishly Beautiful” is pure pleasure without a story. The song moved MJ, and she wanted to do it justice with movement; hence the title. Hopefully the song and movement will make the audience gag in a beautiful way.
Jen Guy’s “Insomnia” is the revision of a work commissioned by Bodiography Contemporary Ballet Company in the fall of 2003. The music, “Rod and Cones” by the Blue Man Group, does little to relieve the driving tension behind the movement. Jen has explored the movement one might embody while experiencing insomnia and has made a formal representation of her exploration.
