Kent State University’s School of Theatre and Dance will continue its 2012-2013 production season with the “BFA Senior Dance Concert/Student Dance Festival “Cre-8-tivity.” Performances will take place on Friday and Saturday, March 15-16, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 17, at 2 p.m. in the Louis O. Erdmann and William H. Zucchero Theatre (E.Z. Theatre) located in the Music and Speech Center.
Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for Kent State faculty and staff, $12 for seniors, and $8 for students with valid ID/under 18. Tickets can be purchased by calling 330-672-2787 or online at www.dance.kent.edu. Tickets for Kent Campus students are free with a valid student ID through the box office. The box office is open weekdays from noon to 5 p.m. and one hour prior to each performance. Visa, MasterCard, checks and cash are accepted. Free parking is available and the theatre is fully accessible.
“Cre-8-tivity” showcases new choreography by junior and senior dance performance and dance education majors and minors at Kent State. In addition, dance performance major and B.F.A. candidate Lauren Kengla-Graber will perform a solo created for her by Assistant Professor Erin LaSala. These premiere performances will offer audience members the opportunity to view original works that showcase the versatility and creativity of the choreographers.
The concert will present a dynamic array of works about overcoming adversity, recognizing important relationships, finding stillness within chaos and looking for control. Thirty-six dancers will perform in nine different pieces of modern and contemporary choreography
“The Unknown,” choreographed by Kengla-Graber, contrasts two couples as their relationships transpire and change as they grow. One relationship will evolve as the couple begins their lives together after college, while the other will experience the dark emotions that come with a break-up. The dance reflects the contrasting emotions present in this life-changing experience.
“Color Me,” choreographed by student director of the senior dance festival Emily Perrott, encourages the dancers, as well as the audience, to identify the things or people in their lives who keep them going through all of life’s continuous battles. Each dancer receives their sense of strength and life through the piece’s soloist, who is there to lift them, encourage them and give them their color. Every dancer gets their push from the soloist, just as the color white reflects all colors, giving color to the universe.
In “Game Changer,” choreographer Stacey Ubelhart illustrates the meaning of silence in loud chaos. Eight dancers fill the space with large, quick, fragmented movements, searching for a moment of stillness in an abundance of motion.
Choreographer Shayna Fischer was inspired by her experience as an intern at a dance therapy workshop. “Under the Sun [a time to dance]” strives to show the audience that dance can bring light to the darkest of places and that everyone has dance in their heart.
The BFA Senior Dance Concert/Student Dance Festival offers audiences a diverse selection of modern and contemporary dance. Audience members are sure to find something that inspires, entertains and moves them.
Click here to watch a video about the BFA Senior Dance Concert.