Faculty Dance Concert showcases New York artists

The upcoming Faculty Dance Concert combines dance, video dance, original live music and film in an event that also features New York guest artists Gloria McLean and Matthew Nash.

The concerts, presented by the Dance Program, run Nov. 16-18 at 8 p.m. in Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space, Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Ave.

“This fall we have the good fortune of working with two prominent guest artists and teachers from New York,” says Dance Program professor and concert coordinator Claudia Melrose. “Gloria McLean, artistic director of LIFEDANCE/Gloria McLean and Dancers and a leading member of the Erick Hawkins Dance Company for more than 10 years, is our Henry-Bascom Professor this semester. And Matthew Nash, a seasoned professional and energetic, nurturing teacher, is with us throughout the year as guest ballet artist.”

McLean’s work “Soma: Choros for Sappho” celebrates the immediacy and sensuous concreteness of dance. In keeping with the Erick Hawkins tradition, live music accompanies her work, including a new musical score composed by Kevin T. Frey performed by a quintet of violin, viola, cello, horn and percussion.

Known as a highly theatrical and musical choreographer, Nash presents “Lobster Shift,” an investigation of age, ambition, romance and cynicism. He is collaborating with Interarts and Technology student Daniel Feiler to create a rich mix of music, visuals and screenplay excerpts from two archetypal yet different sources: Claude Debussy’s beloved “Claire de Lune” and Warner Brothers’ classic film “All About Eve.”

Student dancers Allissa Brekken and John Miller will join Nash’s performance.

Dancer and choreographer Jin-Wen Yu, recently back from a successful summer Asian tour, adds two new works to the concert. In a tour de force of physical contact and balance between dancers Lori Dillon and Yunchen Liu, Yu explores humorous and serious moods in his duet “Double Feature.”

Set to the music of J. Frazy, E.A. Quelle, Laszlo Sa’ry, Colin Bright, this dance was commissioned by Dance Mission Theater and premiered in San Francisco in July 2000. Yu’s repertory piece “Transmuting” is a sextet set to the music of Ryuichi Sakamoto and highlights intricate spatial designs and dynamic partnering.

Visual artist Douglas Rosenberg presents an experimental dance video that premiered at the Riccione TTV International Video Festival in Italy in June 2000 and was nominated for an award at the Northern California Film and Video Festival. With “choreography” by renowned New York choreographer Gus Solomons Jr. this dynamic work, entitled “Periphery,” has been entirely deconstructed and remade for the space of the camera. It was shot and directed by Rosenberg and danced by Li.

Choreographer Li’s exciting new work, “Residues,” is a hyper-kinetic duet filled with playful and aggressive partnering. It is performed by Li Chiao-Ping Dance company members Lori Dillon and Andrea Harris and accompanied by the Feiler’s driving music.

In “Moon Oracle,” performer and choreographer Peggy Myo-Young Choy presents a folklore piece about Tanguan, Korea’s first ruler. The work, excerpted from Choy’s highly successful multicultural danscape, “Passage of Oracles,” is set to music by Fred Wei-han Ho.

“This concert not only showcases great artistry but also the versatility of our wonderful dance venue here on campus,” Melrose says. “We’re thrilled to be able to offer a unique blend of dance, theater, music, video and film all in a highly diverse, movement-focused program.”