Candice Salyers Performs 7 Solo Dances Exploring Sainthood

Acclaimed choreographer and performer Candice Salyers returns to Keene State College’s Redfern Arts Center with A History of Levitation II, a unique concert of seven solo dances that explore female sainthood and prophets on Thursday, October 29, at 7 p.m. Candice Salyers begins the performance outdoors near Brickyard Pond where she dances surrounded by lighted candles. She leads the audience into the Main Theatre where the performance continues, with production design by close collaborator Kathy Couch. Narration by Salyers about the inspiration for each piece will be interspersed throughout the program. Joining her for the final piece will be the Keene State College Concert Choir, who also performed with Salyers last season with the performance of Voice: If Music Be the Food of Love.

Tickets to Candice Salyers’ contemporary dance performance are $15, $13 and $5 for KSC students. For tickets, contact the Redfern Box Office, open Monday to Friday, noon to 6 p.m., call 603-358-2168 or order online at keene.edu/arts/redfern. See a video clip and more information about Candice Salyers’ performance and the free activities surrounding this event at keene.edu/arts/redfern.

With A History of Levitation II Candice Salyers is continuing to create and commission a total of 100 solos that explore different physical and conceptual perspectives on female sainthood. According to Salyers, “These works celebrate the humanity of female saints, who shared their devotion of the natural world as well as the spiritual world through love and good deeds. By learning and performing this number and range of solos, my body becomes a living archive for physical research into spiritual experience.” Taking inspiration from historical figures, popular culture, and their own lives, Salyers and her collaborators investigate what it means to purify the soul and elevate the consciousness through the body’s actions.

Salyers has performed solo dances in the past at the Redfern; she premiered A History of Levitation I on the Redfern stage in November 2012 and most recently danced with the British ensemble VOICE last February.

This second round of solos features work by both U.S. and international choreographers. Two of the choreographers in this incarnation of the project are Megan and Jessica Kennedy, co-artistic directors of one of Ireland’s leading dance companies, Junk Ensemble. This collaboration between Salyers and the Kennedy sisters has been additionally supported by NEFA/National Dance Project and Dance Limerick.

Candice Salyers has enjoyed performing with a variety of choreographers, including Li Chiao-Ping and Victoria Marks. Her solo choreographic work has been shown in the U.S., U.K., Estonia, and the Czech Republic. For her current project, A History of Levitation, she is creating and commissioning a total of 100 solos that embody different physical and conceptual perspectives on female sainthood. Her Ph.D. work explored intersections of dance performance and environmental philosophy, and she also recently completed a Masters of Divinity. Her publications include contributions to Tanz, Bewegung, und Spiritualität and *The Journal of Environmental Philosophy.

There are several free activities surrounding the Candice Salyers performance.

A Dance Masterclass with Candice Salyers takes place at noon, Tuesday, October 27, in the Mabel Brown Room of the Young Student Center. The class is for KSC dance students but anyone may watch if interested.

A Pre-show Solo Dance by Candice Salyers on Thursday, October 29, at 6:30 p.m. takes place outside the Redfern Arts Center near the Ashuelot River. People can view the dance from the Redfern’s Harry Davis Room or up close from the lawn.

A post-show reception and discussion with Candice Salyers follows the October 29 concert in the main lobby.

A Participatory Workshop and Discussion with Candice Salyers on Friday, October 30, at 12:30 p.m. in Redfern Room 232 as part of the Cheshire Academy of Lifelong Learning Redfern Arts Encounters class. Salyers discusses and asks people to participate in her dance making process. Free and open to the public.

For questions or more details on these activities, please contact Redfern Assistant Director, Sharon Fantl, sfantl@keene.edu.

The Candice Salyers performance is sponsored by The Kingsbury Fund.

About Redfern Arts Center at Keene State College

The Arts Center is named in honor of Dr. Leo F. Redfern, Keene State College President from 1969 to 1979 for his vision, commitment and eloquence on behalf of the arts that made funding and construction of the facility a reality. In 1981, KSC inaugurated this new performing arts center, with the goal of providing unforgettable artistic encounters for the campus and community. Now in its 34th year, the Redfern Arts Center presents and fosters dynamic, multifaceted arts experiences through performances, residencies, and related programs that deepen the connection between the arts and audiences, both from the campus and the greater Monadnock region.