Swirl:Wells College Faculty dance Concert

Photo/design: Steve Stull

Wells College Presents the Annual Faculty Dance Concert

Four performances by students and faculty will be accompanied by live music

The Wells College Theatre and Dance Program is pleased to present their annual faculty and guest artist dance concert, on Friday and Saturday, April 8 and 9 at 7:30p.m., in Phipps Auditorium, Macmillan Hall. This year's concert will feature choreography by faculty member Jeanne Goddard and guest artist Elizabeth Wilmot Bishop, with live music by baritone Steven Stull and four-piece band.

This year's concert promises an eclectic mix of new dances performed by the Wells College Dance Ensemble of students and faculty. The four dances are entitled "Blizzard," "Surface," "Never Give Up" and "That's Amoré!" Focusing on the bonds among lovers, friends, community and strangers, this work brings out the complicated, yet often humorous and uplifting, moments in relationships through the use of narrative and reflection. On stage, dancers create juxtaposing images, playfully wrestling with pillows and stealing glances at each other over drinks in light-hearted romantic vignettes, while achingly dividing themselves from one another in pulsating narratives that speak of a darker, distant past. Musical accompaniment ranges from songs by Judy Collins and Yolanda Adams to classical/African fusion from the Kronos Quartet. Jazz, pop, music theatre tunes and Italian art song will be performed live by Steven Stull and an ensemble of professional and student musicians, with a chance for the audience to sing along. The performances are complimented by simple, yet aesthetically striking, set and lighting design by resident designer Joe Deforest.

Here's what the choreographers say about their work:

"Blizzard" evokes the turmoil of the human heart-an inner "storm" that needs to be quieted. We realize that our lives can sometimes feel as variable and uncertain as the weather, with periods of turmoil and periods of calm.

"Surface" is really about what goes on below the surface-the layers of life and meaning that maintain their own reality despite being hidden from the outside view. There are suggestions of past generations, the movement of time, cycles of life and loss, memory and constant change. The underlying energy is always ready to break through and spill into the present.

"Never Give Up" encourages us to believe in ourselves and your dreams. Trust what you have been given to do with your life and follow that path, whatever obstacles or stumbling blocks you may encounter along the way.

An old Dean Martin recording reminded me of the perennial appeal of the love song. "That's Amoré" celebrates love in all its crazy, confusing, confounding and exhilarating aspects, its various and changeable moods: excitement, sensuality, longing and entanglement. A live band with singers will heat up the theatre with such popular tunes as "Let Me Go, Lover," "Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On" and of course the title song, "That's Amoré," during which the audience will be invited to sing along.

The Wells College Dance Program seeks to offer diverse, vibrant concerts of both new and repertory works that communicate to a wide audience. Many of the performers are not dance majors but share a deep and abiding dedication to the art form of dance.

Ticket prices are $5 for students and $7 for adults, and can be purchased at the door or by calling the Phipps Auditorium Box Office at 315.364.3456. Children are admitted free. For information, contact Professor Jeanne Goddard, 315.364.3213, or email jgoddard@wells.edu

Transformations: Wells College Faculty Dance Concert

photos from "Antique Regrets" by Steven Stull

The Wells College Performing Arts program presents its annual faculty dance concert, entitled Transformations on Friday and Saturday, April 9 and 10 at 7:30PM in Phipps Auditorium on the Wells College campus. Exploring themes from myth, memory, fairy tales, and magic, Transformations offers an eclectic range of choreography by Wells College faculty member Jeanne Goddard and guest artists Michelle Iklé and Elizabeth Wilmot Bishop. Admission is free for Wells College students, $5.00 for the Wells community, other students, and senior citizens, and $7.00 for the general public.
The full cast of Transformations includes Shaday Baker, Brittany Bouchard, Dominique Britten, Megan Claxton, Jeanne Goddard, Mary Gooding, Eden Kostick, Sarah Malena, Catherine Marshall, Hayley Messenger, Jennifer Miller, Tonille Watkis, and Tara Wild. Lighting design is by Joe DeForest, with projections by Steven Stull, and scenic and costume design by Roberta Kolpakas.

Dancing Room, a studio dance concert

photo: Chuck Stull

Dancing Room: Alternative Dance Concert at Wells College

The Wells College Theatre and Dance program is pleased to present Dancing Room, an informal studio concert conceived and directed by Robert D. and Henrietta T. Campbell Professor of Dance Jeanne Goddard. Performances are Monday and Tuesday, April 13 and 14, 2009 at 7:00pm in the Schwartz Center dance studio, Wells College, Aurora, New York. There is no admission charge. Refreshments will be available before and after the performance.

“When I was awarded the Campbell professorship, I was both honored by the award and inspired to create a particular type of dance concert that would provide for the Wells community an alternative to our more formal productions in Phipps Auditorium, “ Goddard says. She says this year’s concert will be the first in a series of five.

Dancing Room, performed in the studio where Wells College students take their daily classes, places the emphasis on community, on dance and creative process as a part of the college experience. As Goddard says, “This room, this floor, is an inclusive space, a familiar space, a comfortable space.” Audiences will experience original dance works “up close and personal’ and have an opportunity to talk with the choreographers and the performers.

The concert showcases both student and faculty choreography, including a number of premiers. Students from the Women Making Dance seminar, Sarah Clark, Rebecca Danis, Catherine Marshall, Khadeja Merenkov, and Shannon Sass, will show “Where I Come From”, a suite of original dance studies on the theme of character and place. Goddard will premier “And so…”, a bittersweet quintet set to Max Bruch’s haunting “Kol Nidre” that she describes as “a gift” for dancers Arianna Bickford, Heather Frost, Eden Kostick, Iivy Murphy, and Tiffany Orellana. She will also restage her absurdist piece, “Those Ducks Aren’t Bobbing for Golf Balls” with baritone Steven Stull and pianist Russell Posegate performing the songs of Franz Schubert and Ralph Vaughan Williams. Mr. Posegate and Mr. Stull will perform additional music on the program, and Ms. Goddard promises a choreographic tribute to her dog, Hazelnut.

For more information about Dancing Room, please email jgoddard@wells.edu
or telephone 315.364.3213.