The Department of Dance at Hope College will present its major annual concert, Dance 47 this year, as two fully produced, pre-recorded films on Friday and Saturday, April 9 and 10.
Titled “Reset,” Dance 47 will be shown on Friday, April 9, at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, April 10, at 2 p.m. on the college’s YouTube channel, which can be accessed through hope.edu/dance47 via the “join stream” link at the upper right of the page. The event is free. Out of an abundance of caution due to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, there will be no in-person audience.
In addition, there will be a Facebook live Red Carpet Event on Thursday, April 8, from 6:40 p.m. to 7:25 p.m. The event will be held on the Department of Dance’s Facebook live page, and will feature interviews with the dancers, choreographers, faculty, design team, and staff of the department and Dance 47. Viewers who join the Facebook Live Red Carpet event will be given exclusive access to a link with a preview of Dance 47, which they can watch alongside the Department of Dance on Thursday, April 8, starting at 7:30 p.m.
The program will feature seven works created by Hope College dance faculty and guest artists and performed by students who are studying dance at the college. Multiple cameras — including a 20-foot jib — and crews were used to film the concert.
The pieces range from ballet, to modern, to body rhythm, jazz and contemporary. The works and their choreographers are: “Merci,” by Julie Powell; “ONE,” by Sharon Wong; “Not Another Zoom Call,” by Jasmine Mejia in collaboration with the dancers; “(I)dentity,” by Kara Madden Brems in collaboration with the dancers; “Oasis,” by Lindsey Hanson; “...to the moon,” by Tracy Dunbar; and “Okwami,” by Heather Cornell.
Some of the pieces have more than one cast, so the content will vary across the two presentations. Both videos will remain on the website for three months following their launch dates in case viewers wish to watch the concerts a second time, or can’t make the premiere dates.