SUU Faculty Choreographed Dance Concert Explores Wading Below

Published: October 31, 2021 | Author: Ashley H Palmer | Read Time: 4 minutes

After a long pandemic hiatus from the stage with a live audience, SUU’s Dance Program is thrilled to premiere Wading Below Dance Concert on November 5, 6, 8, and 12, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. and matinees on November 6 and 13, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. Please note that due to COVID-19 we will be offering limited seating capacity and masks are expected. It is recommended that you purchase your tickets in advance. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for alumni with card, and $5 for youth. SUU faculty/staff (and one guest) and students can attend for free with a valid ID card. Tickets can be purchased at the America First Event Center Box Office, at the door the night of the performance, or online at www.suu.edu/arts.

Summer Halley, freshman Dance Education major states, “The process of working with Andrea Vazquez-Aguirre has been one of the most unique, beautiful, and illuminating experiences. She taught me the depth of meaningful choreography and bringing life into it. It didn't occur to me that the beauty of movement and dance could bring a piece of art to life. I really got to explore my personal movement quality, textures, and motives within myself and learn to dance within the same energy as others.”

Andrea Vazquez-Aguirre, SUU Dance’s newest faculty member, choreographed The Creation of the Birds – after a painting by Remedios Varo, who meticulously painted the unconscious through symbology that operates as a roadmap into a visionary world. Nick Blaylock, in collaboration with the performers, will share five micro-studies on the various emotions experienced - in harmony or conflict - that may be recognized within a person at any given moment. Frische Luft, a new dance work by Alexandra Bradshaw-Yerby, draws inspiration from the German practice of letting fresh air into one’s home daily to sustain happiness and health. Literally and figuratively, this piece is an opportunity for the performers to take a deep breath, process their ongoing personal experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and relish the joy of dancing in wide open spaces in front of live audiences. Danielle Lydia Sheather in collaboration with the dancers will also present a new work Oflimininal Noise. The piece plays with elements of German Expressionism, Dadaism, and Realistic Surrealism. The piece features 25 dance majors all with an individualistic approach towards a communal ideology. Steeped in their stories, the work offers the audience members a chance to gaze into the abstract expression of those experiences, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the indifferent.

Transfer Dance Education major, Emilio Noriega, says of his work with Sheather, “In this piece we touch on many issues that can be too hard to talk about. We give a visual representation and allow the viewers to see how they feel based on the experiences they have gone through. The dance has become a group project and we have all been put on this equivalent standard that is set very high and you can truly see everyone excel. No one is judged for any mishaps. To feel everyone putting in their all, presents a good energy in the room which is something I enjoy quite a bit.”

The performance will include a silent auction 30 minutes prior to the performances and a Post-Show Talk Back with the artists after the 7:30pm November 6, 2021 performance. The silent auction features artwork from last year’s performance of the The D.A.W.N Act Suite. Patrons are encouraged to walk around the lobby and bid on multiple canvases created by spontaneous movement during the pandemic. All proceeds will go towards Southern Utah University’s Dance Program events which help to bring guest dance artists to Southern Utah, provide training equipment to our students, and enhance the current resources available. The Post-Show Talk Back will provide the audience insight into the creation of the works and a Q&A to follow. Wading Below will also be available on the Virtual Theatre Page beginning November 13, 2021 through to December 17, 2021. To access the SUU TDAA Virtual Theatre Page, please visit https://sites.google.com/suu.edu/tdaavirtualtheater/

Embrace the experience of Wading Below SUU Faculty Choreographed Dance Concert on November 5, 6, 8, and 12, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. and matinees on November 6 and 13, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. in the Randall L. Jones Theatre. For more information about the SUU Dance program, please visit www.suu.edu/pva/ta.

About the College of Performing and Visual Arts

The College of Performing and Visual Arts (CPVA) at Southern Utah University comprises 26 academic programs including liberal arts (BA/BS) and professional (BFA, BM, BMEd) degrees in art, design, dance, music, and theatre. It includes graduate programs in the fields of arts administration (MFA, MA), music education (MME), and music technology (MM). More than 60 full-time faculty and staff are engaged in teaching and mentoring over 900 majors in the College. CPVA presents over 100 performances, lectures, presentations, and exhibitions each year and is affiliated with the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA), Utah Shakespeare Festival, and the Center for Shakespeare Studies. Southern Utah University is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art & Design (NASAD), National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD), National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and the National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST) making SUU the first public university in the state of Utah to be accredited by all four associations. For more information about the College of Performing and Visual Arts, visit www.suu.edu/pva.

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Tags: Theatre Arts and Dance College of Performing and Visual Arts

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