Dance Minors leap into spring

The Georgia College & State University dance minors are ready to dance their way into your heart.

The GC&SU dance minor program presents “The Dance Minor Spring Concert” Saturday, March 15 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, March 16 at 2:30 p.m. in Russell Auditorium.

The program includes a variety of different styles of dance, as well as pieces choreographed by several different choreographers. Choreographers include Amelia Pelton, Kora Radella, Jennifer Fallin and Cynthia Pipkin-Doyle.

“There is a large variety of dance numbers in this concert from modern to jazz to a romantic pas de deux,” said Pelton, dance instructor for the department of music and theatre.

Radella, dance instructor, emphasizes the importance of performing within the dance minors program.

“We try our best to challenge the dance minor students by creating works for them especially for this concert,” said Radella. “Dance is a performance art and we believe it is extremely important for our dancers to get the experience of performing. They learn what goes into creating a piece and getting it to the stage.”

Pelton will be premiering “Parya de Baile,” a sultry duet with tango music as well as “Rejoice!,” a work in three sections with uplifting gospel music.

Radella will be presenting a new work, “No Matter the Style,” which utilizes the same basic phrase performed in different dance idioms: ballet, modern, jazz and post-modern. Dr. Richard Mercier will accompany this piece on the grand piano. Radella also choreographed “Boogie Stop,” an energetic piece performed by 10 dancers, which will be accompanied by the GC&SU Jazz Combo.

Fallin, a senior mass communication major and dance minor, will premier “Bacchae,” a theatrical work in the style of two pivotal figures of modern dance: Isadora Duncan and Mary Wigman.

Pipkin-Doyle was invited from her position at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Ill. to perform at the concert as a guest artist.

“Since our concert was taking place during Women’s History Month, I began to think of ways to link a guest artist with that theme,” said Radella. “I have seen Pipkin-Doyle perform and knew she had recently put together an evening of solos by female choreographers spanning three centuries. She is a very fine performer and teacher, so I also felt she would be an inspiration for our dance minor students.”

Pipkin-Doyle will perform six solos throughout the concert. “La Cachucha” is considered a signature work for Fanny Elssler, one of the brightest stars from the Romantic Ballet era. “Dido” is a short reconstructed arrangement of an actual Baroque choreography with Purcelle’s “Dido” and “Aeneas.” Ruth St. Denis, a choreographer and a modern dance pioneer, who based many works on exotic dances created “Palace Nautch.” A Nautch is an Indian street dance in which the dancer begs for coins. Contemporary choreographer Beverly Blossom, who has received a New York Dance and Performance Award for sustained achievement, created two of the six solos. “Black Traveler” and “Stylish Girl” both utilize interesting soundscapes and Blossom’s trademark hats. “Retro Reality” is a piece by Pipkin-Doyle that uses video imagery within the solo.

“I have clear memories of her rendition of some of the solos she will be performing here,” said Radella. “She can go from a very sensual solo, to one that is quite comic, and then to another that is more formalized and make each moment of the choreography shine. Pipkin-Doyle is able to wear many hats as a dancer. She can be very balletic, she is adept in Baroque dancing, she is great with jazz and theatre dance, and she is able to perform modern works. She is a good example of a dancer who has not gotten stuck in only one genre but has found works that have helped her expand her repertory as a performer and a dancer.”

Pipkin-Doyle will present a special lecture-demonstration entitled, “Les Femmes Explored: Dance Through Time,” Friday, March 14 at 2 p.m. in the Arts & Sciences Auditorium. The event is co-sponsored by the Department of Music and Theatre and the Women’s Studies program in honor of Women’s History Month. Pipkin-Doyle will teach a ballet class in Russell Auditorium, which applies Alexander technique principles Saturday, March 15 at 11 a.m. Those with some ballet training are welcome to take the class and other people may observe.

Pelton started the GC&SU dance minors program six years ago.

“The program has changed tremendously in the past six years,” said Pelton. “The caliber of technique has really improved. Students
interested in dance come to GC&SU because of the dance program now.”

Fallin has been involved in the dance minors program for four years and agrees that the program has evolved.

“Now that we have two faculty members it’s easier to have a more diverse curriculum,” said Fallin. “They each bring their own unique styles and techniques.”

Pelton encourages anyone interested to attend the Dance Minor Spring Concert.

“Anyone interested in dance, from children to adults should come to this concert,” said Pelton.

Fallin agrees with Pelton.

“This concert offers a performance opportunity that is not available anywhere else in Milledgeville because we have all these different styles of dance and dancers from everywhere,” said Fallin. “It will broaden your horizons as far as a liberal arts education goes.”

The concert is approximately two hours long and admission is free.

For more information, contact the Department of Music and Theatre at 445-4226.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Mar 14 2003. Filed under Other. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry