RADFORD –Radford University’s Department of Dance will present “Eating Appalachia: Selling Out to the Hungry Ghost” May 1- 2, at 8 p.m., in Peters Hall’s Albig Studio Theatre, Room B112. Admission is free.

This multimedia dance and theatre presentation is based on Appalachia, its culture, and the effects of mountaintop removal and a consumer-driven society. Deborah McLaughlin, RU dance choreographer and director of the project, says, “This is a pilot project with plans to tour the work to communities that have been affected by mountain top removal.”

McLaughlin’s interest in environmental issues began as a dance student in college when she researched the women of Eastern Kentucky who stood strong against coal companies in the 1970’s. Her research became one of the first pieces she choreographed. Internationally, she has taught and presented choreography in Finland and Wales.

Faculty and staff collaborating on the RU project include English professor Theresa Burris, who will serve as assistant producer and storyteller; McConnell Library’s interlibrary loan officer and Appalachian musician Bud Bennett, and Don Hall, string bass instructor in the RU Department of Music. Bennett and Hall are composers for the piece. Also participating is Bristol, Tennessee artist Suzanne Stryk, known for her conceptual nature paintings. Her works are in several permanent collections including the Smithsonian and the Taubman Museum of Art.

To learn more, e-mail dmclaugh17@radford.edu or call (540) 831-5286.