“Inaugural,” the fall dance concert at Case Western Reserve University, celebrates the transition of dance on campus from a program to a department. The concert will feature an exciting mix of choreography, music and multimedia technologies by faculty and guest artists.
Performances are Nov. 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. and a matinee Nov. 13 at 2:30 p.m. at Mather Dance Center (behind Guilford House).
In January, the dance and theater programs split to create separate departments.
Making his debut as the newest faculty member of the dance department is André Megerdichian. The choreographer and dancer has reconstructed his dance, Game of Thorns. Megerdichian also will perform in Kitchen Sink by guest artist Rebecca Levy from B. E. Productions Dance Co. in California.
Kitchen Sink, a piece choreographed by Levy and performed by Megerdichian and Levy, portrays a couple who explore the dynamics of detachment as they unconsciously move through their relationship.
Set within a 1950s framework, Kitchen Sink uses imagery evoked by this iconic period to examine invasive stagnation of gender roles as a loss of self brings the end to communication. The dance is costumed by Allison Steadman and set to music by Patsy Cline and Pann Sonic.
Megerdichian’s Game of Thorns delves into the voices of subconscious personalities and the manner in which inner lives are transformed from chaotic impulses to investigatory conversation. Set to music by Zoe Keating, the dance will be performed by four undergraduate dance majors.
Rounding out the program will be a remounting of Edges, a collaborative multimedia project created by Gary Galbraith, associate professor of dance, and his longtime collaborator Kasumi, who recently won the 2011 Guggenheim fellowship award and is professor at the Cleveland Institute of Art. Edges explores the convergence of dance and video art to create a singular artistic expression.
Also on the concert program is Views of the Fleeting World by noted New York choreographer Pascal Rioult, former member of the Martha Graham Co., where Galbraith danced before coming to campus. Galbraith and Karen Potter, chair of the new department, will produce and work with the dancers in this piece.
Tickets are $5 for students, $7 for seniors and CWRU personnel, and $10 for general admission. Reserve tickets by calling 216.368.5246. Tickets are also available at Mather Dance Center before each performance. For more information, visit dance.case.edu.