Dance Showcase 2018 – 9.21 & 9.22

BU DANCE PROGRAM PRESENTS:

DANCE SHOWCASE – September 21 and 22, 2018

(Boston, Mass.) – The Dance Program at Boston University is pleased to present DANCE SHOWCASE 2018 featuring work by faculty and guests, including BBII courtesy of Boston Ballet. Performances are Friday and Saturday, September 21 and September 22, at 8 p.m. at the Boston University Dance Theater, 915 Commonwealth Avenue. There are several premieres.

The concert includes teen and seasoned performers in works by BU faculty choreographers Margot Parsons, DeAnna Pellecchia, Marin Orlosky Randow, and Liz Roncka; excerpts from BBII’s repertory by Sam Kurkjian and Mikko Nissinen’s version of the original Swan Lake Act 1 pas de deux by Petipa/Ivanoff; and two pieces from BU’s summer teen apprenticeship program, Reach, one by Wendy O’Byrne and the other by Brian “Mirage” Washburn. Lighting design for the concert is by Lynda Rieman.

Boston University has an extensive dance program offering traditional technique classes as well as social and contemporary forms for students and the general public. The concert roster reflects the diversity of the curriculum and takes an inclusive look at what constitutes concert dance.

Courtesy of Boston Ballet, BBII will perform an excerpt of Rachmaninoff Suite 2 by Sam Kurkjian. A former principal dancer and resident choreographer during the early seasons of Boston Ballet, Kurjian went on to form his own company, Boston Repertory Ballet, serve as ballet master at the Basel Ballet, Switzerland, and teach for 34 years in the dance department at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in Natick, MA. Kurjian and Boston Ballet artistic director, Mikko Nissinen, had a close friendship and this marks the first Kurjian ballet mounted by BBII. BBII will also perform the haunting pas de deux from Swan Lake Act I. Boston Ballet’s version by Nissinen after the original Petipa/Ivanoff version has been hailed as “glowing” by the Boston Globe.

Dance Visions’ Margot Parsons will be presenting a trio on company members Christine McDowell, Marin Orlosky Randow, and Kate Penner. Parsons’ contemporary ballet pieces are known for their striking sculptural and architectural designs.

Under the direction of DeAnna Pellecchia, KAIROS will present Timber, an excerpt from KAIROS Dance Theater’s MINISTRY OF ♀, an evening-length contemporary dance-theater performance piece that asks what it means to act, talk, live, cry, laugh, run, fight, breathe, and simply be female in today’s world under the pressures of femininity objectified. This particular excerpt incorporates the use of 7″ platform stiletto heels, one per dancer, with masks by fashion designer Carlos Villamil.

Going Forward is an aerial silks trio choreographed by Marin Orlosky Randow, an exploration of communal strength and the grace with which we support our communities and loved ones, in large and small ways. Dancers are Anna Guastella, Dana Hammarstrom, and Randow. Randow will also perform a solo.

Liz Roncka will present a structured improvisation titled In the Flesh featuring the music of Jack Rose. While listening to the wisdom and responsiveness of the body, the dance is revealed.

The concert will also include two pieces that enthralled audiences as part of Reach, BU’s Summer Outreach Teen Apprenticeship Program. Reach faculty Wendy O’Byrne choreographed a contemporary quartet titled Can I Be? and Brian “Mirage” Washburn choreographed a Hip Hop group piece, About Me. Both pieces are danced by Washburn, O’Byrne, and several teen apprentices.

Boston University Dance Theater is at 915 Commonwealth Avenue with the entrance on Buick Street; the theater is wheelchair accessible.

Tickets are $20 general public; $18 (Boston Dance Alliance card holders and seniors); $10 (students and Boston University community, with ID).

For reservations: 617/358-2500.

For more information: call 617/353-1597 or visit www.bu.edu/fitrec/dance

EVENT LISTING

What: DANCE SHOWCASE 2018

Works by faculty and guests:

Margot Parsons, DeAnna Pellecchia, Marin Orlosky Randow, Liz Roncka, and Wendy O’Byrne, Brian Washburn, with members from BU’s Reach program.

With guest artists from BBII performing excerpts of works by Sam Kurkjian and Mikko Nissinen’s version of Petipa/Ivanov’s Swan Lake pas de deux, courtesy of Boston Ballet.

Where:           BU Dance Theater, 915 Commonwealth Ave. entrance on Buick St.

When:             Friday and Saturday, September 21 and 22, 8 p.m.

Tickets:         $20 general public; $18 (Boston Dance Alliance card holders and seniors); $10 (students and Boston University community with ID)

Box Office: 617-358-2500; danceshowcase2018.eventbrite.com

Presenter:    Boston University’s Department of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance,

Micki Taylor-Pinney, Director of Dance

Information:  617/353-1597 or www.bu.edu/fitrec/dance

The concert includes teen and seasoned performers in works by BU faculty choreographers Margot Parsons, DeAnna Pellecchia, Marin Orlosky Randow, and Liz Roncka; excerpts from BBII’s repertory by Sam Kurkjian and Mikko Nissinen’s version of the original Swan Lake Act 1 pas de deux by Petipa/Ivanoff; and two pieces from BU’s summer teen apprenticeship program, Reach, one by Wendy O’Byrne and the other by Brian “Mirage” Washburn. Lighting design for the concert is by Lynda Rieman.

More events at the Dance Theater.