Twenty-eight of SUNY Fredonia’s most talented dancers will grace the Robert W. Marvel Theatre stage in the Fredonia Dance Ensemble’s third annual concert that encompasses styles ranging from classical ballet to contemporary dance to classical jazz.
The performance, which continues the Ensemble’s mission to provide campus and community audiences with a rich and diverse dance experience, will be presented Thursday through Sunday, March 5-8. All shows except Sunday's start at 8 p.m.; Sunday's matinee performance starts at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $14 for seniors and $13 for students, and are available at the Fredonia Ticket Office and at the door.
Seven new or re-staged choreographic works by Ensemble co-directors Samantha Kenney and Helen Myers, faculty choreographers Terry Beck and Paul Mockovak and guest artist Leslie Wexler, co-director and choreographer for Buffalo Contemporary Dance, will be featured in the Ensemble’s largest production to date.
Costume and lighting design for the concert has been done by students enrolled in the Department of Theatre and Dance’s Production Design program, supervised by professors Todd Proffitt, Dixon Reynolds and Laurel Walford. Scenic elements have been designed by Gregory Kaye, also of Theatre and Dance.
The choreographic works to be presented are:
- “Inishmann,” choreographed by Ms. Kenney and based on J.M. Synge’s fireside tale, “A Dream of Inishmann,” is a window into a young man’s dream of irresistible, unearthly music and a natural world come to life.
- “Cuentos Del Popol Vuh (Stories from the Popol Vuh),” choreographed by Ms. Myers, is a Mayan text containing the creation myth of the Maya, followed by mythological stories of the Hero Twins and other historical information. It is often considered the most important piece in Mesoamerican literature. The Mayan pantheon is rich with gods of the overworld and underworld, in addition to animal gods. This dance is inspired by these magical stories and abstracts five excerpts from Mayan mythology.
- “Concerto Vivaldi,” choreographed by Angelika Summerton, features complex classical ballet technique, with individual dance sections that address the dynamic of the music and give the dance student a variety of performance opportunities in classical ballet technique.
- “Gate of Dreams,” choreographed by Paul Mockovak, is a mood piece with a score that is a delicious combination of orchestra and jazz, creating images of a dream or water ballet. The dancers are separate in time and space, yet come together at a musical calling and celebrate their sharing through movement and dance.
- “Per Mia Amore,” choreographed by Ms. Kenney, is a visceral celebration of love in all its forms, set to a trio of lush and haunting medieval long songs.
- “With My Arms Around Wyoming,” choreographed by Terry Beck, is an intergenerational work dealing with loss, hope and one’s own mortality. Originally choreographed for the dance company Terry Beck Troupe in Philadelphia, it has been re-choreographed for the Fredonia Dance Ensemble.
- “Mendelssohnia,” choreographed by Leslie Wexler, is a wild romp for seven dancers. The dance phrases, both large and lush, create a feeling that space is infinite, while small idiosyncratic gestures throughout the dance give it a tongue-in-cheek flavor. Ms. Wexler taught dance at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, a magnet school for grades 5-12, for more than 20 years, has served on the faculty at SUNY Brockport, the University of Buffalo and the New York State Summer School of the Arts.
The 28 students performers include: Erika Agnello, Alison Ahearn, Joe Corallo, John Crampton, Joey Crescimanno, Jessica Cumbo, Rick Doetterl, Jaime Fast, Crystal Gramkee, Randy Hample, Owen Hughes, Samantha Johnson, Briana Kelly, Alessandra Kivinen, Katie Latson, Brian Moe, Katherine O’Keefe, Danielle Pelcher, Michael Pugliese, Jacqueline Rosenthal, Amanda Sahr, Julie Schillaci, Jennifer Sharlette, Jessica St. George, Sammy Torres, Christina Tucker and Amy Van Deusen.
