CSULB Dance in Concert

4/30/2014 Daily 49er : CSULB Dance in Concert

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Students and faculty collaborate in a dance show featuring six different pieces.

Sean Mosley, Staff Writer • November 13, 2013 • Leave a Comment

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Courtesy of Gregory R.R. Crosby

A piece choreographed by Keith Johnson is one of the six to be featured in next week's show.

The College Of The Arts and the Department of Dance have been hard at work, gearing up to present Cal State Long Beach’s Dance in Concert.

The Dance in Concert showcases faculty choreography performed by dance majors from a myriad of styles and skills.

The faculty choreographers include John Beasant III, Colleen Dunagan, Keith Johnson and Andrew Vaca. The show will also feature guest artists Alex Ketley and Sarah Swenson. There will be six dances drawing upon a wide range of dance styles, themes, and musical inspirations.

“Rhizomes,” choreographed by Colleen Dunagan, represents aspects of nature and integrates Capoeira, a brazilian martial art, and contact improvisation, a type of modern dance that relies on a single point of contact for movement, in effort to create a dynamic interplay of colliding bodies. http://www.daily49er.com/diversions/2013/11/13/csulb-dance-in-concert/ 2/5 4/30/2014 Daily 49er : CSULB Dance in Concert According to Dunagan, the dance is abstract, and the audience may perceive her inspiration for the choreography differently.

“I see the dance as a representation of bodies being thrown around inside a tornado with points of calm, similar to the eye of a tornado,” Dunagan said.

Dunagan said Rychard Cooper will compose an original score using a digital Berimbau, a traditional lead Capoeira instrument.

Keith Johnson’s “Slam,” choreographed to a driving score by Julia Wolfe, will present a movement dance based on bodies crashing, both physically and emotionally.

Sarah Swenson, Vox Dance Theatre Director, will show an excerpt from her signature work “Fimmine.” The dance is set to music by Philip Glass and contains striking visuals and a heart pounding rhythm.

“Fimmine” reveals the sisterhood, passion, and indomitable strength of women, according to the press release.

Alex Ketley, chorographer and director of the Foundry in San Francisco, has created “The Span” to explore the complexities the landscapes of our bodies can reveal in performance.

“Getting everything organized, and having practice is like a well-oiled machine at this point, Dunagan said. “The Faculty enjoys sharing pieces of work with each other and the community.”

The CSULB Dance in Concert opens Wednesday in the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theatre, near the Walter Pyramid, and runs through Sunday, Nov. 23. Tickets are $16 for students and $20 for non-students.