Artistry and athleticism are two words that describe dance. They are also a few words to describe the dance program at Keene State College.
This spring the Theatre and Dance Department is celebrating 40 years of installation at the college with four decades of dancers, choreographers and performing artists passing through the halls and stages of the Redfern Performing Arts Center on Brickyard Pond. The celebration is being marked by an extra special presentation of the annual showcase event called, An Evening of Dance.
Professors Marcia Murdock and William Seigh are serving respectively as director and associate director of the shows that will span all of this weekend, April 15 to 18. They described An Evening of Dance at its beginnings as a showcase for the senior projects.
This idea was promoted by one of the department founders, Alta Lu Townes, in 1975. This year the program is structured with three pieces created by dance majors, three pieces created by faculty members, a premiere piece by the 2014-2015 Redfern choreographer in residence, Adele Meyers and additional pieces created and performed by KSC alumni.
Contributed Photo / Peter Roos
Throughout the four-night concert series, the performances by alumni will be from men and women who span all of the decades the department has been present on campus. Murdock described the addition of the alumni work as “evolving” the already unique show. Some of the alumni will be returning to perform in pieces that they created while students at KSC, while others will be presenting new work that reflects their contribution to the professional realm.
Murdock said, “[It is] beautiful to watch dancers really search and re-envision, as opposed to just duplicating because they’ve changed.” There will be new alumni work added to the program each night while An Evening of Dance runs. Seigh said that this will add new dimension to the show because, “When you change one piece in the concert the whole feel of the concert changes.” Murdock went on to add that these additions will make it seem as though every night is the first night.
The rundown of the dance program is as follows: Wednesday, April 15 at 7:30 p.m. kicks off the concert series and the alumni piece being showcased is called “Sideways Rain.” The piece is choreographed by Deirdre Marie Lewis and Riley Anne Lynch. On Thursday there will be a piece titled “Etude” that was choreographed by Robert Battle, who is a choreographer and artistic director at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (also known as The Ailey School). The piece was originally performed by a quintet, but will be performed by alumnus Angie Muzzy and current dance student Abbie Brown. This piece also promises a special surprise that Murdock and Seigh could not reveal, but they promised is quite the spectacle.
Friday night will feature a solo piece performed by Aiyana Maye that was choreographed by William Seigh when she was a student in 2003. The piece is called “I Forget Just Why,” and in 2004 it was performed in Montreal as part of the New Hampshire/Quebec Cultural Exchange. S
eigh said he is pleased to watch Maye recreate the piece for Keene audiences 10 years later. On Saturday night, choreographer and dancer Paul Besaw will perform a new and original work called “Pastor of Souls.” Besaw is a graduate of the class of 1988 and now serves as the director of the dance program at University of Vermont.
Murdock also added that Paul Besaw and Angie Muzzy will be conducting a talk about their professional lives and what they have accomplished since leaving Keene. Murdock believes that this will be useful because, “It’s a chance for current majors and cast members to just ask questions of, ‘Where do we go next?’” In addition to this Q&A there will also be masterclasses taught by Besaw and William Seigh and a closing night reception for all alumni who return to Keene State for the fourtiewwth anniversary.
“This is a celebration of the beginning of this dance program and where we’ve come over four-hundred-and-fifty dances later,” Seigh said, and the proof of this celebration is all over the Redfern. The lobby will be covered in a special display featuring old posters, programs and photographs, as well as a retrospective video featuring performances throughout the years.
Murdock and Seigh credit the orchestration of the display work to alumnus Adam Berube, who has also helped with contacting alumni to come back for this event. In addition to every night’s performances, each show will also begin with another retrospective video edited by senior Film major and Dance minor, Katie Shaw. This video is called “40 Years in 7 Minutes” and the directors said that it truly sets the tone for the rest of the evening.
Senior Dance major Erin McNulty is one of the featured choreographers in An Evening of Dance, as well as a dancer in three pieces. McNulty is this year’s recipient of the Alta Lu Townes Memorial Dance Award and Seigh said her piece opens the show.
She said that this particular piece, called “In Flight,” had its beginnings in the Research in Choreography class this past fall semester.
Then, she continued to work on the dance and it was selected in March to be performed at Rhode Island College, as it hosted the American College Dance Association Conference. McNulty is also featured in resident choreographer Adele Meyers’ piece in the showcase.
In regards to working with Meyers, McNulty said, “She [Meyers] brought the dancers into the process of creating this work. We got to work with her in creating movement and then she took it and manipulated it from there and structured the whole piece.”
McNulty said she is proud of all of the work she has accomplished as a part of the dance program, especially the work she has done this year. “It feels really good to be where I am now,” she said.
An Evening of Dance is a showcase of talent at KSC. This year’s series of concerts are running Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, all beginning at 7:30 p.m. in the Redfern Main Theater.
“There is just so much more going on this year. It’s a very big event for us,” Seigh said. Both he and Marcia Murdock promise that you will not regret attending any one of the amazing shows.
Rebecca Costanzo can be contacted at bcostanzo@kscequinox.com
