The Department of Theater and Dance is pleased to announce the spring performance of the Gustavus Dance Company (GDC). This year’s concert entitled Old/New, Fast/Slow, Movement/Stillness, combines a dynamic compilation of works choreographed and performed by Gustavus dance faculty and students as well as several prominent guest artists. Performances will be held in the Anderson Theater, April 11 and 12 at 8:00p.m. and April 13 at 2:00p.m.
This year’s concert opens with Moonlight, a quartet originally choreographed by the internationally acclaimed artists Joanie Smith and Danial Shapiro who together formed Shapiro and Smith Dance. Laura Selle Virtucio, a long time company member of Shapiro and Smith Dance who has taught at Gustavus for the past two years, has restaged the piece. Performed to Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata the strong and sensual movement combined with the familiar music has made this piece an audience favorite in the Shapiro and Smith repertory.
Past Lost/Past Found is a solo choreographed by Gustavus faculty artist Cynthia Gutierrez-Garner for Melissa Rolnick, who recently joined the faculty of the Gustavus’ Department. The piece is about coming to terms with where we have been, where we are now, and where we want to go next. This piece allows Rolnick, who previously danced with many nationally and internationally known choreographers, to display the depth and grit of what true dance artistry can be.
Transitioning to a much lighter note, in Kaleidoscopic Splendor we are introduced to a sampling of Rolnick’s choreography. Sharp angles, quick directional weight changes and rhythmic syncopations set the tone for this driven and pulsing dance. This dance was originally commissioned by Glendale Community College in Glendale, Ariz., but has been reconfigured to include the creative input from Gustavus students.
Performed by senior Britta Peterson, Wee Violence takes the audience on an eye opening experience of the little violent actions of life and the potential for small violence in everyday life. Originally choreographed by Danial Shapiro and Joanie Smith, the piece has been restaged by Joanie Smith and Laura Selle Virtucio the solo is performed to spoken text accompaniment written David Greenspan and performed by first-year student Christian DeMarais.
Closing the first half of the concert is the premiere of Gutierrez-Garner’s Shiny Things for the Mind, a playful and poignant poke at both the artistic intentions of choreographers and the often dazed and confused response from the audience.
Opening the second half is the colorful and provocative dear diary