The Fredonia Dance Ensemble will perform four works in a virtual format as part of the Department of Theatre and Dance’s 2020-21 Walter Gloor Mainstage Series.
The spring performance of the ensemble will be prerecorded works shown through a live hosted online event on Friday, April 30, and Saturday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. The production will stream on ShowTix4U. Ticket prices are $8 for a single viewer and $16 for a household (plus ticketing fees). Tickets may be purchased online.
The Fredonia Dance Ensemble will feature four works of choreography - one each by FDE Artistic Director Paula J. Peters (assistant professor of Dance), Anthony Alterio (assistant professor of Dance), Dale A. Merrill (guest choreographer and dean, College of the Arts, California State University at Fullerton) and Doug Varone (guest choreographer and artistic director of Doug Varone and Dancers).
Peters’ work is entitled “Feels Like Heaven,” Alterio’s work is titled “that BITCH!,” Merrill’s work is entitled “Divided” and Varone’s work is titled “Strict Love.”
Each evening’s performance will be hosted live over an online platform, with a pre-show welcome by Assistant Professor Peters, and feature a question and answer session with dancers from each of the choreographic works.
Peters noted that working under the unique circumstances created by the ongoing pandemic offered students an opportunity to expand their thinking.
“This pandemic required the dance choreography and performance to change instantly. There was no choice,” she said. “I hope that students will take away an understanding that this was a positive. It was an opportunity to expand their thinking about ‘the way things are’ and adapt in ways they never would have imagined. I hope they learned that everything we think of as permanent changes, and to be open and excited about change as an opportunity, rather than something to fear.”
Peters explained the production called for the filming of dances in different locations on the Fredonia campus, both indoor and outdoor. It also led to the use of editing techniques that merged dance with technology, “creating a screendance experience for the viewer.”
The director thinks this experience will offer viewers new insight into the world of dance.
“Dance is so much more than watching people on stage,” Peters said. “It is a reflection of the resiliency of those who choose it for a life path. Everything the audience sees is a fraction of the work that went into the creation and production of the choreography and performance. Dancers, choreographers, theatrical designers and technicians are special people that are leading the charge to leave behind what was in order to continuously create new possibilities for human expression.”
For those who are unable to watch the production on April 30 or May 1, it will be available to rent the during the week of May 2 to 8.
