PD_1540.jpg: Kerry Allan dances in the premiere of "Time Lapse," one of several works included in People Dancing's fall showcase Oct. 4-6. Photo: Tom L. Smith
ANN ARBOR – People Dancing presents its third annual Dynamic Dancing modern dance concert. The event showcases the choreography and performances of company members and guests. Past shows have been lauded by the press: "winning fusion" and "dazzling display of the human form in motion." Each People Dancing concert is unique and stimulating, but a showcase such as this is a once-a-year treat. Shows take place at 8 p.m. Oct. 4-6 at Riverside Arts Center, 76 North Huron Street, Ypsilanti.
People Dancing is multi-arts focused, not-for-profit professional dance company and movement education organization. People Dancing's commitment to modern dance is realized through its vision, mission and programs. Its Vision is to share the joy and artistry of dance within the community and beyond. It aims to enrich lives, expand shared values and foster artistic collaboration within the discipline of dance and between the arts. Its Mission is to produce excellent programming within the contexts of the concert hall and theater, studio, neighborhood gymnasium and public school.
ABOUT THE CONCERT:
The program, which features the work of several local composers who have recorded original scores for the show, includes:
Here Play by Baltimore dance artist and professor of dance, Jaye Knutson, Michigan premiere July 2007. Urban, chic and lively;
Bring on the Rain by company member Suzanne Willets Brooks, Michigan premiere 2002. Witty and fun;
Time Lapse by company member Kerry Allan, premiere. This ethereal, yet organic, trio explores the cyclical rhythms of nature;
New solo work by Corinne Imberski, company member of Detroit Dance Collective, Dance Professor at Hillsdale College, premiere;
Seven Sisters, a new duet collaboration by Corinne Imberski and artistic director Christina Sears Etter, premiere;
Divas, a theatrical quartet reconstructed for the company from Kerry Allan, 2006;
Loading, a solo for University of Michigan dancer Jenny Thomas, created by alex/zan/Dance, a brand-new modern dance company headed by Alexandra Burley and Alexander Springer, with new score by award-winning Jamie Schefman;
In Between, a chamber performance employing dance and new music by Anne Isabella Garratt. This sound and movement composition explores the concept of static on multiple levels. Using excerpts of captured radio static as a compositional component, the score explores the concept of human contact and crossing paths;
Simultaneous Feed is a trio performance exploring the strength of the solo by superimposing three solos over each other. Dancer/choreographers Suzanne Willets Brooks, Silva Laukkanen and Christina Sears Etter craft this experimental piece to music by Yan Tiersen.
ABOUT GUEST ARTISTS AND COMPOSERS:
alex/xan/Dance is a collaborative project-based duo comprised of Alexandra (Xan) Burley and Alexander (Alex) Springer. Together, the two produced, choreographed, and performed in "Tied," their first collaborative show, in September 2006 while students at the University of Michigan Dance Department. Recently, their work was presented at the Arts Collage '07 in Glen Arbor, as well as at the Bates Dance Festival in August 2006, at the American College Dance Festival in 2007, and in numerous productions with the University. Together they have toured nationally to San Francisco and Chicago with the Leopold Group, internationally to Cali, Colombia with Umbigada Dance, and will perform with ChavasseDance&Performance in Ann Arbor in October and again in New York City in December. Their movement quality stems from a visceral center and radiates into a fluid, release technique of sorts, combined with idiosyncrasies and the occasional dance theatre flare. This is the duo's first choreographic project under the auspices of People Dancing.
Anne Isabella Garratt has a background in classical trumpet performance that she polished through the Musical Therapy Program at the College of Wooster in Ohio. She began her explorations in dance and performance art while pursuing a Master's of Expressive Arts Therapies at Lesley University in Cambridge Massachusettes. Garratt has since presented theatrical work at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh and site-specific dance theater work at the Pittsburgh Glass Factory. This is Garratt's second appearance with the company and her first choreographic and sound project.
Silva Laukkanen returns to People Dancing for a second project, having debuted in March 2007 in the collaborative dance-theater work "Three Rings under a Desert Sky" that will continue as a work in progress at a later date. As a dancer, Laukkanen has toured extensively throughout her native Finland, as well to St. Petersburg, Russia. Laukkanen has produced choreography for the concert stage, as well as community dance projects in England, Finland and South Africa.
Jeffrey Willets is a professional tenor from the Ann Arbor area. He received both a B.A. and M.A. in voice and music education from Eastern Michigan University with additional studies at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston. He has performed in numerous operatic, light opera, oratorio and musical theater productions, as well as in the solo recital arena. Local audiences may remember his performances in the recital/dance piece, "The House of Life/To Julia" and "Summer Dances" with Terpsichords Kitchen" at The Performance Network. Willets was also tenor soloist with the Monroe County Chorale and Orchestra's performance of Handel's master piece "The Messiah" last winter.
Elizabeth Wagner, accompanist, is currently an undergraduate student at Wayne State University in Detroit, studying pre-law and music
TICKET INFORMATION:
Ticket are $12 in advance for adults; $15 at the door; $9 for students with ID, seniors over 65 years and children under 10. Group rates can be made for groups of 15 or more. Thursday's performance is offered at a special preview rate: Buy one ticket and get one for your guest at half-price.
Tickets can be purchased in advance at Dancer's Boutique, 2414 East Stadium in the Lamp Post Plaza, Ann Arbor and in Ypsilanti at Quinn's Essentials, East Cross Street, Depot Town.
Tickets may also be purchased on-line at http://www.peopledancing.org. On-line tickets will be held at the theater box office for pick up half an hour prior to performances.
Riverside Arts Center is located at 76 North Huron Street, Ypsilanti. The theatre is within walking distance of Eastern Michigan University and Depot Town, with substantial free parking.
