Dan Nonte, University Relations
Contact: (336) 334-5371
Posted 3-13-07
Elizabeth Lane performs in "Birdsong."
GREENSBORO, NC – Lacy James presents her MFA dance concert, “OSMOSIS,” a “dream-work of environmental and existential imagery,” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 13 and 14, in the UNCG Dance Theater.
Tickets are $10 for general admission, $8 for seniors and students, and $6 for UNCG students, and can be reserved through the UNCG Box Office at (336) 334-4849. The Dance Theater is at Walker Avenue and Kenilworth Street on the UNCG campus.
A musician as well as a dancer and choreographer, James composed much of the music for “OSMOSIS.”
A native of Winston-Salem, she moved to New York to study at the Martha Graham School and, while in New York, formed her own dance company, Mereminne Dancers, which has performed her choreography extensively throughout the New York metropolitan area.
For a cast of 14 core dancers and an additional crowd of still undetermined size, the evening is comprised of three pieces woven together through sympathetic themes and shared allusions.
The opening piece, “Birdsong Sketches,” is set to Messiaen’s seminal work “Petites ésquisses d’oiseaux” (“Little Bird Studies”). This dance reflects James’ research about the birds referenced by the composer and transposes traits of these unique species into choreographic terms.
The birds represent hope, timelessness and a sense of being purely in the moment.
“Birdsong Sketches” was begun during a residency at Swarthmore College and officially premiered in a guest appearance by Mereminne Dancers at Salem College in December 2005. The dance has been recast and reworked for this performance.
“Oracle,” the second work in “OSMOSIS,” is, like “Birdsong Sketches,” inspired by nature. In this case, five women clustered tightly at the center of the stage are conduits of a dark force or growing threat that the choreographer senses in the world today.
Drawing on her experience in the repertory of Martha Graham, James sees the trained body as a conduit of energies, and in “Oracle” she transforms this core belief into a dramatic narrative of warning and foreboding. “Oracle” premiered at the UNCG Dance Theater in May 2005.
The third and final dance of the evening, “disSolve subMerge,” is constructed upon images of water and the idea that we are both made of and surrounded by water. We enter the human realm in this work – no longer investigating birds or semi-divine creatures – but it is here that the evening is woven together as themes and images from before seem to float through the dance, dream-like, as signs, cautions, omens, and, also, hope for the six main dancers of this piece. With her computer-generated sound score, and the interlaced layers of movement that she choreographed in collaboration with her dancers, James creates a surreal universe of deeply resonant allusions.
James is a teaching assistant in the UNCG Department of Dance. Her choreography has been presented in New York, Philadelphia, North Carolina and Germany.
Her company Mereminne Dancers, formed in 2000, has appeared at many NYC venues, including the International Dance Festival NYC-2002, the 92nd Street Y, and the Dancers Responding to AIDS Remember Project. In 2005, Mereminne Dancers performed at Salem College and Swarthmore College.
James is a former member of the New York City-based Isadora’s Dance Legacy Company and has performed with Coyote Dancers, the Martha Graham Dance Company’s “Panorama,” and Maureen Fleming’s Mandala project, among others. James is also a singer-songwriter and composes music for some of her dances.
Material for “Birdsong Sketches” was developed at The Swarthmore Project, a residency program for choreographers and dancers sponsored by Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Penn., with additional support provided by a summer assistantship from UNCG.
For more information about the Department of Dance, visit www.uncg.edu/dce or call (336) 334-5570.
