Dance Returns to the Stage
After a year and a half of virtual performances, the Department of Dance returns to the stage to presents its first live concert, Fall Dance Festival, Oct 14, 15 at 7:30PM and Oct 16 at 2:00PM in Bondurant Auditorium in Preston Hall. The concert will feature performances by over 40 dance majors as well as 6 local students from the Radford University Ballet Youth Company.
The Cookie Crumbles, choreographed by faculty member Deborah McLaughlin, performed as part of a webinar performance last Spring, reflects on the absurdity of capitalism and the human condition, offering up humor in the midst of darkness.
“I wanted to give the dancers the opportunity to perform it live onstage,” says McLaughlin. “It is a luxury to be able to continue to refine a work, and for the dancers to have time to go deeper in their performance of it.”
Faculty member James Robey will present Tie that Binds, a contemporary dance duet that subtly satirizes traditional gender roles set to the music of the McGuire Sisters from the 1950s. Robey originally created and performed this work with his wife, Melissa Gerth, but the piece will now be performed by a different couple each night.
“The process of restaging this work on the dancers here has been fascinating,” says Robey. “I love seeing what each couple uniquely brings to this work. The nuances and details reveal so much about their personalities and add to the dynamic of the duet.”
The concert will also include dance majors performing Bridesmaids from the ballet Swan Lake restaged and adapted by Inessa Plekhanova after the original by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov; Dawn, a contemporary dance by Ji-Eun Lee, and The Silence is Deafening by Amy VanKirk.
For the first time, high school students from the Radford University Ballet Youth Company will perform in the concert. They will present Luminous, choreographed by Melissa Gerth and set to music by Max Richter.
“We are excited to have the Ballet Youth Company perform alongside the dance majors at Radford University. Being part of Fall Dance Festival offers our younger dancers an opportunity to grow in professionalism and experience,” says Gerth.
Tickets for Fall Dance Festival, Oct 14, 15 at 7:30PM and Oct 16 at 2:00PM in Bondurant Auditorium in Preston Hall are $7 for general admission, $3.50 for 12 and under, and free with an RU ID. Masks are required for attendance. To get your tickets, call the box office at 540-831-5420.