Grace Street Theater, Virginia Commonwealth University - February 2014
Directed by Scott Putman
Costumes by Damian Bond, Chloe Bowman, Karl Green, Nathan Trice, and Christian von Howard
Directed by Scott Putman
Costumes by Damian Bond, Chloe Bowman, Karl Green, Nathan Trice, and Christian von Howard
VCU Dance NOW annually features new work by VCU Dance faculty and guest artists, performed by Dance majors. This year, the department was pleased to present choreography by faculty members Martha Curtis, Autumn Proctor, Melanie Richards, Judith Steel, and Christian von Howard, a video film by Courtney Harris in collaboration with VCU Kinetic Imaging MFA Candidate Charli Brissey as well as a new work choreographed by Fall 2013 guest artist Nathan Trice.
Nathan Trice's Conversations investigates intimacy and passionate exchanges among four couples through an exploration of contemplative, reflective movements. Trice creates a uniquely intricate style of partnering that is the expressive, physical sign language underlying the confrontational, vulnerable and unresolved.
Adventures Portside, a new work by Martha Curtis, follows a group of strangers as they board an airplane embarking on what is to be a routine flight that morphs into a wildly perilous journey through the sky ultimately falling into the sea. A whimsical look at the culture of air travel evolves into a kinetic expedition with passages of flight, falling, drowning, rescue, and bonding over a shared experiences.
A new ensemble work by Christian von Howard, The Point At Which Everything Closes In, is a physically aggressive work exploring the unknown and the idea of fearlessly entering a situation full speed ahead regardless of the possible outcome. Together with the forceful soundscapes of UK artists Raime, von Howard creates a prolonged sense of anxiety.
Robbie Kinter's Trouble is an action packed movement landscape. Strong partnering and kinetic puzzles create a breathless image reminiscent of martial arts and spy movies. The high energy and constant forward momentum of the six dancers is mirrored in the incandescent music of Rattlemouth.
Through unique spatial and structural design, Autumn Proctor's work Mind the Corners abstractly frames and explores the ideas of perception and what often becomes the hidden barrier and reason for conflict or misunderstanding within human relationships.
Resonating images of travel through Sicily, Italy are the inspiration for Stone to Ashes, a new work by Melanie Richards. The ever-changing landscape of crumbling ancient ruins engulfed by modern suburbia deeply impressed the poignancy of impermanence and the unyielding forces of change upon Richards who creates in her work a metaphor that reflects the intangible shift from substance to spirit and from life to illusion.
Breath taking Shape by Judith Steel integrates four dancers and live music, an impassioned song written by noted world music artist Lhasa de Sela embedded within an original music score composed and performed by musicians Antonia and Jonathan Vassar, and guitarist Andrew Lewis. The union of accordion, guitar, and voice is embodied and shaped through weight, time, and breath by dancers who respond to the textures and quality of the sound environment.
Nathan Trice's Conversations investigates intimacy and passionate exchanges among four couples through an exploration of contemplative, reflective movements. Trice creates a uniquely intricate style of partnering that is the expressive, physical sign language underlying the confrontational, vulnerable and unresolved.
Adventures Portside, a new work by Martha Curtis, follows a group of strangers as they board an airplane embarking on what is to be a routine flight that morphs into a wildly perilous journey through the sky ultimately falling into the sea. A whimsical look at the culture of air travel evolves into a kinetic expedition with passages of flight, falling, drowning, rescue, and bonding over a shared experiences.
A new ensemble work by Christian von Howard, The Point At Which Everything Closes In, is a physically aggressive work exploring the unknown and the idea of fearlessly entering a situation full speed ahead regardless of the possible outcome. Together with the forceful soundscapes of UK artists Raime, von Howard creates a prolonged sense of anxiety.
Robbie Kinter's Trouble is an action packed movement landscape. Strong partnering and kinetic puzzles create a breathless image reminiscent of martial arts and spy movies. The high energy and constant forward momentum of the six dancers is mirrored in the incandescent music of Rattlemouth.
Through unique spatial and structural design, Autumn Proctor's work Mind the Corners abstractly frames and explores the ideas of perception and what often becomes the hidden barrier and reason for conflict or misunderstanding within human relationships.
Resonating images of travel through Sicily, Italy are the inspiration for Stone to Ashes, a new work by Melanie Richards. The ever-changing landscape of crumbling ancient ruins engulfed by modern suburbia deeply impressed the poignancy of impermanence and the unyielding forces of change upon Richards who creates in her work a metaphor that reflects the intangible shift from substance to spirit and from life to illusion.
Breath taking Shape by Judith Steel integrates four dancers and live music, an impassioned song written by noted world music artist Lhasa de Sela embedded within an original music score composed and performed by musicians Antonia and Jonathan Vassar, and guitarist Andrew Lewis. The union of accordion, guitar, and voice is embodied and shaped through weight, time, and breath by dancers who respond to the textures and quality of the sound environment.
