The Department of Dance at Hope College will present Dance 45/ “The Elements” on Friday and Saturday, March 1 and 2, and Thursday-Saturday, March 7-9, at 7:30 p.m. at the Knickerbocker Theatre in downtown Holland.
Dance 45 will feature choreography by guest artists Richard Rivera and Sharon Wong, and faculty members Nicole Flinn, Crystal Frazier, Linda Graham, Julie Powell and Angela Yetzke. Fifty-two students will perform in works ranging in style from hip hop to jazz to contemporary and contemporary ballet, with an additional 20-plus students working on technical and costume crews. Lighting and set designs have been created by Erik Alberg and costumes by Darlene K. Veenstra.
Working within this year’s theme of “elements,” the choreographers and designers tackle a variety of topics through movement, some light-hearted and others contemplative. Whether portrayed in the literal sense or more abstractly, each work offers a kinesthetic response to wind, water, fire, earth or wood.
Featured in this year’s concert will be the reprise of a celebrated work by Linda Graham, “Chair Study 2,” which first appeared on the Knickerbocker stage in 1989. Graham will be retiring in May after serving on the Hope faculty for 36 years and as chair of the dance department between 2005 and 2015. The public is invited to a reception to honor Graham’s years of service and celebrate her many years of teaching, creating and inspiring on Saturday, March 2, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Kruizenga Art Museum. Admission to the reception is free, but those planning to attend are asked to RSVP at hope.edu/lindagraham by Thursday, Feb. 28.
Tickets for the concerts are $10 for regular admission; $7 for senior citizens; $5 for Hope faculty, staff and non-Hope students; and free for Hope students, along with children 12 and under. Tickets are available online as well as at the ticket office in the Events and Conferences Office located downtown in the Anderson-Werkman Financial Center (100 E. Eighth St.). The ticket office is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can be called at 616-395-7890.
The Knickerbocker Theatre Is located at 86 E. Eighth St., between College and Columbia avenues. The Kruizenga Art Museum is located at 271 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets.