Photo Credit: Ian Hurdle
The Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Dance and Choreography will present KNOTS & CURLS, the 2013 Student Concert, on Friday & Saturday, January 25 & 26 at 8:00 pm at the Grace Street Theater, 934 West Grace Street, Richmond, VA. Tickets are $15/$10 students with valid I.D. and are available now at Showclix.com or by calling 804-828-2020.
This professionally produced concert adjudicated by VCU Dance faculty and two students will feature new work choreographed and performed by VCU Dance majors from freshmen to seniors. Choreographers Chloe Bowman, Sanchel Brown, Chelsea Jones, Quincie Hydock, Christie Klach, Charlie Maybee, Johnnie Mercer Jr., Kelly Oakes, Rachel Rinehardt and Kiana Wood have drawn inspiration from the art world, personal journeys, and studies in contrasts.
Chloe Bowman’s Internal Repartee investigates the figures and colors depicted in Henri Matisse’s painting Deux fillettes, fond jaune et rouge (Two Girls in a Yellow and Red Interior). Through gesture, Bowman creates a delicate analogy infused with the painter’s sensibilities.
Other End of the Rope by Sanchel Brown reinterprets the never-ending losing struggle that ensues when society continues to separate itself along racial lines.
Inspired by Mary Oliver’s poem The Rabbit, Chelsea Jones’ work Hands Won’t Heal includes a live vocalist as the instrumentation to create a deeply humanistic world.
Exploring the mental push and pull that occurs when faced with two conflicting ideals, Quincie Hydock’s Catch and Release sets dancers Rachel Landrum and Quincie Hydock on a journey of discovery of deterrents that is only resolved when the driving force that inspires success is relinquished.
Christie Klach’s The Only Numbers That Matter uses strong staccato movement paired with fluid articulations revealing a full spectrum of physical and mental boundaries that are indicative of reaching the edge of one’s comfort zone.
Music To My Eyes, a tap dance by Charlie Maybee and Chelsea Jones, showcases the musical complexity of tap and the visuals that extend from the music. The work is a compilation choreographic ideas that has evolved over several years of artistic collaboration.
“buried{empty}” by Johnnie Mercer Jr. transports the audience into a post-apocalyptic realm where up is down, right is left, the past is lost and the future does not seem to exist. Driven by each dancer’s thoughts, the dance explores “living in the moment” as the performers are forced to search for common ground amidst suffocating darkness.
An introspective work about personal experiences and the desire to persevere, Kelly Oakes’ Armor examines the complex interplay between strength and vulnerability.
Rachel Rinehardt’s psychobabble studies personalities and decisions to accept or reject our strengths and faults. Whimsical and lighthearted, psychobabble is a study of self-exploration.
Stand Up, a lively solo work by Kiana Wood, entertains the audience with combinations of intricate rhythmic tap and dynamic beat-boxing.
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KNOTS & CURLS is the fifth event in the 2012-2013 VCU Dance season. Recognized by professional dancers and choreographers as “a place where things are happening,” Virginia Commonwealth University’s Department of Dance and Choreography offers a vibrant and stimulating atmosphere where students prepare for careers in dance. VCUarts is ranked the #1 public university arts and design program in the country according to US News & World Report.