YOUNG CHOREOGRAPHERS'
SHOWCASE AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA
Young Choreographers’ Showcase
Opens the Spring Season
at University Theatre
University Theatre will present a production of innovative,
original dance works from the full spectrum of movement styles created
by select student choreographers from
the University of Oklahoma School
of Dance in Young Choreographers’ Showcase,
opening at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, on the OU Norman campus.
Additional
performances are set for 8 p.m.Friday, Jan. 25 through Saturday, Jan. 26 and at 3 p.m.
Sunday, Jan. 27 in the Reynolds Performing Arts Center, 560 Parrington
Oval. This production is suitable
for all audiences.
OU School of Dance faculty adjudicated students’ choreography to showcase 12 exceptional
dance works for the production. These
dance works are created in collaboration with Helmerich School of Drama
student lighting designers Harrison Best, Lydia Brinkmann, Ian
Evans, Natalie Shipley, Aaron Wade and Brandon Wade.
A brief description of each work highlights a mix of aesthetics and perspectives by the choreographers.
Alexandra Brewster is a modern dance performance sophomore from Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Her piece,
Exploration,
is about investigating the internal and asking the dancers to create choreography that satisfies
their feelings when they hear the music. She wants those watching the piece, to feel the satisfaction without moving a muscle.
Micah Bullard is a ballet performance junior from Houston, Texas. His dance,
Shoulders,
explores
the different sides of one woman’s personality. The dancers contrast
sensuality, strictness and youthfulness and the woman must choose who
and what she really wants
to be.
Daniela
Carvalho is a modern dance third-year master of fine arts degree
candidate from Resende, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. Her piece,
The Same Old Place,
describes how any trip you want to take often leads you to the same place.
Aa modern dance performance and public relations junior from Duncanville, Texas, Alma Cienski, has choreographed
Magic Mountain, which explores change,
and the frustration and joy that inevitably comes
along with it. Cienski was inspired by the following quote, “Change is
the law of life, and those who look only to the past or present are
certain to miss the future.”
by John F. Kennedy.”
Elena Damiani is a ballet performance junior from Westfield, Indiana. Her dance,
Forza #4,
follows
the idea of dance for dance’s sake, showcasing the strength,
musculature and intensity of a dancer. Her goal is to have a high-energy
piece that energizes the audience
and promotes respect for the art.
Hannah Knorr is a ballet performance and minor in health and exercise science student from Dayton, Ohio. Her dance work,
Relinquish,
is inspired by the poem “A
Ballerina Caught in a Dance with Destiny” and the music and her study
abroad in Spain. The feeling she wants her choreography to portray is
inspiration.
Hannah is a junior.
Alexis Leffel is a ballet performance senior from Seattle, Washington. Her dance,
Lonlon,
was
inspired principally by the music and her study abroad experience in
Spain. The feeling she wants the audience and dancers to get from
watching her choreography is one of
empowerment.
Laura Pratt is a third-year master of fine arts dance degree candidate from Edmond, Oklahoma. Her dance,
(un)Silenced,
tells
of the feeling of being silenced or censored and the resistance to
censorship. “As a woman, 2018 has been an emotionally difficult year to
live in, as people in power
consciously choose to ignore women’s rights, stories and lives,” Pratt
explains.
A modern dance performance and psychology junior from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Irandy Reyes has choreographed a piece titled,
Nescio.
This dance work is an abstract look into New York’s commuters and the upbeat lifestyle of the
city.
Cameron Terry is a modern dance performance sophomore from Atlanta, Georgia. His dance work,
Salvaminmondo, is about acknowledging the sorrow and pain that
life can bring, yet finding the strength to fight for your dreams and to
persevere.
Claire Willcutt is a modern dance performance senior from Denver, CO. In her dance work,
Aureate,
she explores the strength and femininity of women.
The production staff consists of Michael Bearden, artistic
director; Brea
Clemons and Tatum Smith, stage managers; Jeff Baldwin, technical director; Kasey Allee-Foremen, associate producer; and Mary Margaret
Holt, producer.
Always an audience favorite,
Young Choreographers’ Showcase
presents talent, imagination and energy in an innovative production of choreographic premieres.
OU’s dance
program was founded in 1963 by Yvonne Chouteau and Miguel Terekhov,
former principal dancers with Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo.
The department became the School of Dance in 1998 with Mary Margaret
Holt as director. Michael Bearden was appointed the third director of
the school in 2017. Undergraduate and graduate dance majors, along with
general education students, total approximately
1000 in dance classes per semester. The School of Dance’s
state-of-the-art facility in the Donald W. Reynolds Performing Art
Center was completed in 2005.
For more information or to schedule an interview call the OU School of Dance office (405) 325-4051.
Advance purchase tickets for
Young Choreographers’ Showcase are $25 for adult; $20 for senior
adult, OU employee and military; and $10 for student, plus handling fee.
Tickets at the door are $35 for adult and $15 for student, cash or
check only.
Tickets also may be purchased online at theatre.ou.edu by
calling (405) 325-4101 or by visiting the OU Fine Arts Box Office in the
Catlett Music Center, 500 W. Boyd St. For accommodations, please call
the box office at (405) 325-4101.