University of Iowa Department of Dance BFA and Undergraduate Concert at the Space/Place Theatre -- April 27 through 29.
Wednesday, April 27, through Friday, April 29, 8 p.m.
University of Iowa's Space/Place Theatre, 20 Davenport Street, Iowa City IA
Works by gifted undergraduates and this year's class of graduating BFAs from the University of Iowa Department of Dance will be presented at Iowa City's Space/Place Theatre from April 27 through 29, the evenings a collection of eight stunning dance vignettes choreographed by an octet of wondrously talented students.
Among the works in this spring's UI Department of Dance event is Every Step, a collaborative dance piece choreographed by Emily Jane Yin Gumal that is the culmination of hours of hard work, dedication, patience, and rehearsals at all hours and in all kinds of weather. All the dancers had their input in certain sections of the choreography and tell their own story, not only through the movements, but also through their words which have been recorded for this piece. While Every Step is in many ways Gumal’s journey, it is also the journey of the other dancers; without them, says the choreographer, "this piece would not exist."
With its choreography by Cami Rezabek, Still Trying is a reflection on the sacrifices that dancers and other creatives make to please others, often at the expense of their own well-being. Shutout, choreographed by Brittlyn Taylor, is about facing uncertainty and isolation which manifests as frustration and defeat, the choreographer stating, "When decision-making is unsettling and questionable, finding the importance of relinquishing 'perfection' can help restore a sense of self with acceptance, breath, and growth." Meanwhile, Percept, with its choreography by Danielle Luettel in collaboration with her dancers, is a physical investigation into theoretical principles of perception by combining our own realities to find commonality.
Choreographed by Margaret Steimel, Internal Affairs is an original work inspired by an episode of The Happiness Lab, a podcast hosted by Dr. Laurie Santos, in which dancers Alyssa Alber (who enacts negative emotion) and Mia Nagl (who dances cognition) bring to life through movement. With Yearning is a piece choreographed by Amya Lopez, and she and her dancers worked in collaboration using task-based exercises and then turning the results into choreographic components. Using their own relationships as humans as a catalyst, they created movements that represent a relationship between two specific bodies and those bodies only, resulting in a journey of bodies in space. And rounding out the Space/Place Theatre's program are Lost… Are We?, with choreography by Maggie O’Gorman, and Emily Trapnell's It Depends, the choreographer stating that she "is interested in how people are composed of water yet are still so dependent on it as a resource."
The University of Iowa Department of Dance BFA and Undergraduate Concert will be presented at the university's Space/Place Theatre April 27 through 29, admission to the 8 p.m. performances is $8-14, and more information and tickets are available by calling (319)335-1160 and visiting Hancher.uiowa.edu.
