Students in the Department of Dance will perform the 2017 Fall Concert, November 16-19. The diverse program includes contemporary ballet, African-based choreography, and a work inspired by urban street dance, choreographed by guest artist Marcus White of White Werx.
Associate Professor Delia Neil has choreographed two contemporary ballet works for the concert. Las Mujeres Fuertes (“The Strong Women”) is for four dancers and is set to three tangos by Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla. Barcelona Nights is a solo work set to the popular “new flamenco” piece of the same name by the German guitarist Ottmar Liebert.
Two works on the program are rooted in African movement vocabulary. Choreographed by Assistant Professor Tamara Williams, Re-Discovering Cycles highlights the lost tradition of ring shout dances and songs that were created in the Sea Islands of the United States by enslaved African Americans. The students performing this work conducted research and field study in Charleston, SC, with Williams to understand the Gullah culture and traditions from which ring shout was formed. Bonheur et Prosperité (“Happiness and Prosperity”), choreographed by Lecturer Niché Faulkner, highlights two traditional dances from the Mandenga and Temne people of West Africa: “Mamaya” and “Yamama.”
Finis Omnium, by Associate Professor E.E. Balcos, is a contemporary piece for eight dancers. It is set to music by Christophe Beck, a Canadian film and television composer.
Based in Detroit, where he is the artistic director of White Werx performance company, guest choreographer Marcus White spent a week in residency in the dance department this fall creating a new work for UNC Charlotte students. Breaking Pointe is informed by White’s experiences with and embodied investigations of American urban, social dance forms and postmodern contemporary dance. It is created for 10 dancers and includes spoken word by dance major Davian Robinson.
Performances take place in the Anne R. Belk Theater in Robinson Hall at 7:30 pm on Thursday, November 16, through Saturday, November 18, and at 2:00 pm on Sunday, November 19. Tickets are $18 for the general public; $12 for UNC Charlotte faculty, staff, and alumni; $10 for seniors and veterans; and $8 for all students.
The department will also present the program for students from five local middle and high schools in a special Education Concert on Friday, November 17, at 11:00 am.