Hope College's annual major dance concert, Dance 35, will run Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 26-28, and Friday-Saturday, March 6-7, at 8 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.
Hope College's annual major dance concert, Dance 35, will run Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 26-28, and Friday-Saturday, March 6-7, at 8 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.
The program will present works created by Hope's dance faculty as well as guest faculty/choreographers Anne-Rene Petrarca, Dorrell Martin and Richard Rivera.
Rosanne Barton-DeVries will present her piece "Clap Hands" with music by Tom Waits as well as "Swing Low Sweet Chariot," and "Get Happy" by Ella Fitzgerald. Barton-DeVries says "'Clap Hands' is about the dance of life; sometimes it's extravagant, sometimes it's pure work, yet it goes on." This tap dance alternates between orchestrated and chorus tap with three sections: the first of lament, the second of a tacit spiritual, and the third that moves toward escapism with Ella Fitzgerald's "Get Happy." Dancers are costumed in traditional chorus garb, complete with fringe and a kick-line included.
Linda Graham will present "Ondegierra" with music from Saint-Saens, Tsabropoulos and Pink Martini.
Steven Iannacone will present a 20th-anniversary presentation of his 1989 work titled "Tribal Suite." The work originated in a movement workshop in Como, Italy, and was finalized in rehearsals in Brugge, Belgium.
Guest artist Dorrell Martin will present his work with help from Lindsay Lochner as assistant director and Maxine DeBruyn as rehearsal director. Martin was a soloist for the national touring company of a "Few Good Men...Dancin." He is a faculty member at the JoffreyBalletSchool and Dance New Amsterdam. Martin has performed in musicals such as "Lion King," "Aida," "Swing" and "West Side Story." He has worked with recording artists such as Emma Bunton, Jennifer Lopez and Pink. From Texas, Martin is former artistic director of Houston Metropolitan Dance Company in Houston, Texas. In 2003, the company made its first international debut performance in Veracruz, Mexico. He received honorable mention for choreography at the World Jazz Congress.
Amanda Smith-Heynen will present "What the Fluff?!" set to "Winter" and "Summer," by Vivaldi, and "Beautiful Freak," by The Eels. "What the Fluff?!" gives a glimpse into the mind of a ballet dancer; yearning to be free, yet confined by structure and discipline, pointe shoes and tutus. The piece follows her on a journey as she shatters expectations and explores new boundaries on the path to find her "inner dancer."
Guest artist Ann-Rene Petrarca will present her work with music by Balanescu Quartet and Chris Lancaster. Petrarca lives in New York City, where she is on the faculty at Dance New Amsterdam and assistant faculty at The Juilliard School. This past fall she was a visiting artist at SarahLawrenceCollege and was commissioned by Long Island University-Brooklyn to set a choreographic work on the dance department. Petrarca maintains a private Alexander technique practice in Manhattan, where her student base is primarily made up of performing artists.
Guest artist Richard Rivera will present his work "212?," commissioned by Dance New Amsterdam in 2006. Rivera's goal was to create a physical projection of three states of matter. He said, "Re-exploring this piece has been as challenging as creating a new work. There were constant questions surrounding existing structures and implementing new structures." In an effort to remain in the present, he chose to be guided by the existing material in the beginning but arrive at a new conclusion with the new set of bodies. Rivera hails from the Bronx, N.Y., and has experience performing, teaching and choreographing in the U.S. and internationally. His primary dance training is from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center with additional classical training from Peridance Studios and David Howard Ballet Studios. Rivera was a member of Ailey II and has danced for Donald Byrd, Sean Curran, Kevin Wynn, Shen Wei, Fred Benjamin and Arthur Aviles.
Tickets are on sale at the ticket office in the main lobby of the DeVos Fieldhouse, and cost $7 for regular admission, and $5 for students, senior citizens, and Hope College faculty members and staff. The ticket office is open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at (616) 395-7890.
The DeVos Fieldhouse is located at 222 Fairbanks Ave., between Ninth and 11th streets. The Knickerbocker Theatre is located at 86 E. Eighth St.