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Connecticut College Dance Department to present ´The Shift to Parallel´ April 10 - 12
March 27, 2008
NEW LONDON, Conn. - The Connecticut College Department of Dance will present four performances of "The Shift to Parallel," featuring original choreography by 11 senior dance majors, a premier work by visiting guest artist and 1994 Connecticut College graduate Nicholas Leichter and a performance of Paul Taylor´s "Aureole," April 10 - 12.
Widely considered one of Taylor´s finest works, "Aureole" had its 1962 world premier at Connecticut College as part of the American Dance Festival presented at the college that year. The 20-minute piece, re-staged by Andy LeBeau, a veteran member of Paul Taylor Dance, will again be performed at the college - this time by a different cast of students at each performance.
This ambitious undertaking underscores the dance department´s commitment to student development, said Lan-Lan Wang, professor of dance at Connecticut College.
"It is very exciting to have our students learn a great piece by one of the greatest living dance makers," she said.
The performance will also include original choreography by all 11 senior dance majors. Those seniors are Halee Beucler, Jacqueline Cousineau, Becca Elias, Ali Hollowell, Zenas Hutcheson, Dasha Lavrennikov, Cyan Maroney, Kaitlin Morse, Jenna Petok, Lindsey Rose and Lisa Rothstein.
The senior performance is the last component of a year-long creative process and a requirement of all graduating dance majors. Students began the process by completing an advanced composition course with David Dorfman, the William Meredith Associate Professor of Dance at Connecticut College. Dorfman and this particular group of graduating seniors share a special connection - Dorfman´s first year as a full time faculty member was also their first year at Connecticut College.
"It´s been great to have watched this class grow over the past four years," Dorfman said.
Performances are April 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and April 12 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in the Palmer Auditorium at Connecticut College. A discussion about "Aureole" with veteran Paul Taylor Dance members Patrick Corbin and LeBeau is Saturday, April 12, at 6:30 p.m. in Palmer 202.
Tickets are $12 for general admission and $6 for students and seniors. For tickets and information, call (860) 439-ARTS.
The reconstruction of "Aureole" was made possible by American Masterpieces: Dance, a program of the National Endowment for the Arts, which is administered by the New England Foundation for the Arts with Dance/USA.
Among the most selective private liberal arts colleges in the nation, Connecticut College enrolls 1,900 men and women from 41 states, the District of Columbia and 71 countries. The college is known for putting the liberal arts into action through interdisciplinary studies, international programs, funded internships, student-faculty research and service learning. Founded in 1911, the college operates under an 86-year-old honor code. The college is located at 270 Mohegan Ave, New London, about two hours by car from Boston and New York. The 750-acre campus is an arboretum overlooking Long Island Sound. For more information, visit www.connecticutcollege.edu.
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For more information contact: Amy Sullivan (860) 439-2526; amy.sullivan@conncoll.edu