The Ohio State Department of Dance will showcase both student dancers and choreographers in its winter performance series, which runs through Sunday.
Rosalind Pierson, concert coordinator and associate professor in dance, said the concert offers something for everyone.
“If people have never seen a dance show before, they should come to this one because it is such a range,” said Ashley Friend, a graduate student in dance and technology and one of the show’s choreographers. “There will be some things that challenge you, and then there will be some things that you fall for and love.”
The department has a strong emphasis on choreography, preparing many graduates for the professional world.
“It’s important for us to put our art form in front of an audience,” Pierson said. “It’s important for (the students) to have a chance to show their work as they go through the program.”
The performances offer four chances for viewers to see the students in action, as the show is broken down into two programs – each will be presented twice.
Program A features the choreography of Marcela Giesche, Ashley Friend, Tiffany Rhynard, Michelle Stortz, Kristin Hapke, Blake Beckham and Joe Alter.
Giesche’s “Autumn Gambol” is a group piece about the joy of dance and movement. It includes an engaging combination of full body movement and gesture.
Friend explores the beauty of awkward movement with her piece, entitled “Amorphosis.”
“I was looking at how beautiful awkward movements can be and how to create a different way of moving for the dancers,” Friend said.
The often conflicting notions of shame are explored in Beckham’s solo piece “Apologetics.”
Stortz’s “Sleep Slowly Dream Walking” is a surreal piece featuring wandering maidens and fierce fairies.
Program B displays the choreography of Megan Sipe, Amiti Perry, Tiffany Rhynard, Kristin Hapke, Michael Estanich, Abby Wey, Ben Wolff and Joe Alter.
Sipe’s “Death of a Toad” is an active artistic collaboration between dancers, live musicians and visual artists.
Estanich said his inspiration for his group piece “The Angel and the Albatross” was the weightless beauty of birds. He uses video to draw images of the lonely bird against the vast sky.
Estanich said this is the largest piece of the concert, featuring eight dancers.
In “Time Flies in 3 Pieces,” Wolff humorously looks at finding perfect love in a rural setting, while farm animals frolic.
Hapke’s “Tracking” puts four dancers in a fierce visceral ride, building tension through their struggles.
The students – both dancers and choregraphers – said the concert challenged them.
Dance performance graduate student, Kathryn Padberg, comes from a ballet background and had to focus more on character development in Friend’s “Amorphosis,” where the movements are more grotesque than graceful.
“It is new for me,” Padberg said. “It’s stretching me as a performer.”
Performances of program A are at 8 p.m. today, and performances of program B are at 8 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday – all of which will be at Sullivant Theatre, 1813 N. High St. Admission is $5 at the door.
