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Faculty
Dance Concert Brings Fresh Moves
This year’s popular dance
program series opens with The Fall Faculty Dance Concert,
with performances Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 16-18, at
8 p.m. each night in Theatre 14, Mendenhall Center for the
Performing Arts.
The annual concert is known for
introducing fresh, original choreography from a spectrum of
genres and styles by the college’s dance faculty and
visiting artists, including Rodger Blum (ballet), Marilyn
Middleton-Sylla (West African), Robin Prichard (modern), and
new guest artist Donna Mejia and her exciting work in tribal
fusion.
Mejia, a choreographer, lecturer,
teacher and performer who specializes in contemporary dance,
is new to the Smith and Five College dance programs as a Guest
Artist in Residence. She most recently spent 10 years on the
Colorado College faculty as a teacher and director. For 12
years, she served as managing director of the award-winning
Harambee African Dance Ensemble of Colorado University-Boulder.
Tribal Fusion is an emerging
dance genre rooted in women’s nomadic dance traditions
of North Africa, the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Asia
-- all linked by the common thread of Arab and Persian influences.
“Tribal Fusion commemorates
the legacy of women’s dances and movements dating back
over 7,000 years to practices of the Goddess traditions,”
says Mejia. “My personal approach is inspired by 20
years of scholarship in nomadic dance traditions coupled with
the highest regard for my teachers and elders.”
Two of Mejia’s works will
be presented in the concert: a Tribal Fusion solo she will
perform herself, and E.K.G. for 10 dancers. The work
explores the idea of the indomitable spirit -- those who choose
to face pain and vulnerability with open eyes. It is danced
to an original score by composer/DJ Matthew Tucker Moore exclusively
for this production. The movement is rooted in the gestures
and symbology of Candomble and the dancers use this athletic,
provocative repertoire to illustrate the heart’s ability
to revive and persevere after bumps, bruises and trauma.
Rodger Blum, associate professor
of dance, has created an original ballet, Helenia, Angelique,
and the Broken Cane, which he describes as “a new
fairy tale for the 21st century.” The work features
a number of classical music pieces and special effects including
video projection.
Marilyn M. Sylla currently is
a Five College lecturer teaching at Smith College, Mt. Holyoke
College, Amherst College and UMass, Amherst. She has performed
and taught in Brazil, Haiti, West Africa, including Guinea,
Senegal, the Gambia and the Casamance, and the United States.
Her traditional West African dance will be performed at the
Mt. Holyoke College Faculty Dance Concert, November 9-11,
and again here at Smith for this concert.
Robin Prichard, visiting assistant
professor at Smith, will present a trio titled Duet for
Three that investigates the landscape of excess. Utilizing
virtuosic movement and formalistic choreographic concerns,
this dance explores the alienation a person inhabits when
she feels superfluous or unnecessary in a relationship. With
music by Michael Nyman and performances by Vanessa Anspaugh,
Aretha Aoki, and Kellie Lynch, this is a vibrant and charged
dance with poignant repercussions.
Tickets can be purchased by calling
the box office, (413) 585-2787, and at the door beginning
at 7 p.m. on the night of the performance: $8 general, $5
students/seniors.
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