An Evening of Dance Celebrates 40 Years in April

Theatre And Dance Department Celebrates 40 Years Of ‘An Evening Of Dance’ with Performances by Dance Students, Faculty, Alumni, and Redfern Artist in Residence Plus a Video Retrospective, Lobby Exhibit, and Outside Installation

This year marks the 40th anniversary of An Evening of Dance at Keene State College and thanks to a groundswell of support from dance alumni the celebration will be an extravaganza of modern dance over four nights with a different alumni group dancing each evening Wednesday to Saturday, April 15 to 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the Main Theatre of the Redfern Arts Center. In addition to the alumni returning to dance, the 40th anniversary concert will include premieres by 2014–15 Redfern Choreographer-in-Residence Adele Myers, dance faculty, and dance majors with a retrospective video introducing each concert. The Theatre and Dance Department also will mount an exhibit displaying the past 40 years of An Evening of Dance through video, text, costumes, and photographs in the Redfern Arts Center lobby. There also will be a pre- and post-show installation projected onto the exterior of the Redfern Arts Center.

Tickets to An Evening of Dance are $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens and youths, and $6 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 www.keene.edu/racbp.

An Evening of Dance was created in 1975 by the late Alta Lu Townes, an English Department lecturer, who also taught dance classes, and went on to develop the college’s dance program. This annual celebration of original modern dance choreography continues 40 years later under the leadership of Dance Program Director Marcia Murdock assisted by Dance Professor William Seigh. Both Murdock and Seigh will premiere new works during the 40th anniversary concert, which will include eight dances with a different alumni dance each evening.

Murdock’s new dance Second Skin for eight dancers explores the adult child’s sense of invincibility, the parent’s need to predict and protect, and the why behind the familial “battle” scars we all wear.

Window on an Old House in Maine by William Seigh was inspired by the Andrew Wyeth painting, Wind from the Sea. Throughout the five person dance, there is a sense of aging, time passing, structures settling, and sea breezes blowing.

The concert features Spotlight created by Redfern Artist-in-Residence Adele Myers in collaboration with five KSC student dancers working with her in November and January. Myers, who performed at the Redfern in October, is artistic director of her own contemporary dance company based in New England.

be my earth, choreographed by KSC dance faculty member Candice Salyers works with a cast of 12 dancers to create a movement meditation on being a metaphorical ocean of love and mercy for another person.

Senior dance major Erin McNulty created In Flight, an original modern dance work that explores the anxiety and excitement people feel when they are on the verge of something new.

Years Come, Years Past, a quartet by senior dance major Samantha Sampaio, uses abstract traditional dance to convey four different paths to acceptance.

Rebound by junior dance major Abbie Brown is a modern quartet that explores defeat and resilience.

Alumni returning to represent the four different decades of An Evening of Dance are Deirdre Marie Lewis and Riley Anne Lynch dancing a duet on Wednesday, April 15; Angie Muzzy performing Robert Battle’s Etude on Thursday, April 16; Aiyana Maye dancing a solo choreographed by Seigh on Friday, April 17; and Paul Besaw, who is on the dance faculty at the University of Vermont, performing a solo on Saturday, April 18.

Cynthia McLaughlin, a Keene State dance faculty member, and photographer Joanna Chattman collaborated to create Falling, an installation of still images to be projected onto the exterior of the Redfern Arts Center before and after each performance of An Evening of Dance.

About Keene State Theatre and Dance Department

The Department of Theatre and Dance is dedicated to providing a comprehensive course of study that balances theory and practice within a sound liberal arts education. The collaborative nature of theatre and dance disciplines fosters an atmosphere in which students work closely with peers and faculty to gain practical experience in all facets or production and critical engagement. As artists and teachers, our primary focus is to encourage and guide our students as they find their creative voices and experience and question the world through the arts. For more information about the Theatre and Dance Department, visit http://academics.keene.edu/tad or call 603-358-2162.