Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia department of dance will present its spring 2011 concert April 14 to April 16 at 8 p.m. each day and April 17 at 3 p.m., in the new dance theatre of the campus’ dance building. The concert will premiere staged work by Jacques Heim, artistic director of Diavolo Dance Theatre.Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for students and seniors and are available at the Tate Student Center box office Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and by calling 706/542-8579.
The concert will feature the work of five choreographers in addition to Heim, who recently spent time at UGA working with students in the department of dance. The collaborative project with Heim was made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the UGA Center for Humanities and Arts. Performing concerts at UGA in fall, 2010 Diavolo Dance Theatre was founded in 1992 in Los Angeles by Heim to create large-scale interdisciplinary performances which examine the funny and frightening ways individuals act within their environment.
The spring 2011 concert also features the work of Joan Buttram, Daryl L. Foster, Rebecca Gose Enghauser, Alix Miller and Janet G. Robertson. Buttram and Enghauser, faculty members in the UGA department of dance, are artistic directors of the ballet ensemble.
Robertson’s Avenging and Bright highlights the strength and spirit of Scottish women, past and present; Buttram’s Vivaldi in G is set to a Vivaldi concerto for mandolin, featuring original costuming by Canadian designer Evan K. Ayotte; Foster’s All The Things I’ve Lost focuses on the range and intensity of loss, from car keys to departed loved ones; Miller’s Work’s Cited weaves together a tale of 200 years of the history of dance performance; and Enghauser’s Penumbra is an abstracted work inspired by the light and dark aspects of childhood and family.
The new work by Heim for the department of dance draws on the mythology of Pandora and the use of hollow boxes that are manipulated into mazes and puzzles as dancers navigate the obstacles through syncopated movements, various shapes and tight spaces to discover their power over adversity.
“This season’s concert offers a great deal of inspiration and variety from our choreographers and dancers, at the very high artistic level enhanced by our collaborations with Diavolo and Jacques Heim,” said Buttram.
For more information about the UGA department of dance, see http://www.dance.uga.edu/.