dANCEpROjECt, an affiliate company of the department of dance at Hope College, was featured during the "Member Preview Days" grand reopening celebration of the Detroit Institute of Arts that took place during the weekend of Friday-Sunday, Nov. 16-18.
The weekend's activities were planned for the museum's members. The reopening celebration for the general public is running Friday-Sunday, Nov. 23-25.
dANCEpROjECt presented a total of three performances on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 16 and 17. The company was also invited to participate in the Nov. 23-25 celebration but was unable to return at that time because of the Thanksgiving holiday. Instead, dANCEpROjECt will perform at the institute on Friday, Dec. 14.
For the Preview Days, the company performed a mixed program of several short works in the museum's Rivera Court surrounded by the famous murals of Diego Rivera. "It was quite inspiring and we proved to be a huge success," said Steven Iannacone, who is artistic director of dANCEpROjECt and an associate professor of dance at Hope.
On Friday, Dec. 14, the company will present "De Tuin der Lusten" ("The Garden of Earthly Delights"), which has been performed at Hope several times as well as in Belgium and Mexico and on tour throughout the United States. The piece was produced with support from the Hope College Patrons for the Arts, Hope Cultural Affairs Committee and the Holland Area Arts Council.
dANCEpROjECt, previously known as Aerial Dance Theater, is a diverse movement experience which is dedicated to creating and presenting stimulating sophisticated works that entertain Holland-area audiences and audiences beyond the local community; developing serious movement and dance artists who are able to establish themselves in the professional dance community; and providing opportunities for both emerging and established choreographers to create and present their work.
The Detroit Institute of Arts opened in 1885 and moved to its current site in 1927. The renovation and expansion project that preceded the reopening had started some years ago. Additional information about the institute is available on the organization's Web site at www.dia.org.