[NEohioPAL]Kent Dance Ensemble opens "Neing Young" a week from today

[emadden]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
KENT DANCE ENSEMBLE: =93NEIN YOUNG=94
Kent State University=92s touring dance company presents its annual concert


=09Kent, OH =96 Kent State University=92s School of Theatre and Dance will proudly 
present the Kent Dance Ensemble=92s 2003 main stage concert, =93Nein Young=94 on 
April 4, 5 and 6, 2003.  Nine dancers representing the Bachelor of Fine Arts 
programs in dance performance and dance education make up the 2002-2003 
pre-professional student company.  =93Nein Young=94 will feature works by Darwin 
Prioleau, former faculty member Tommy Parlon, artist-in-residence Chung-Fu 
Chang and guest choreographers Wayne M. Smith and Sabatino Verlezza.  The 
concert will be performed in E. Turner Stump Theatre of the Music & Speech 
Center on the main Kent State University campus with performances Friday and 
Saturday at 8:00 PM and Sunday at 2:30 PM.

=09CROSSLAGGED, a duet choreographed by Tommy Parlon, explores the tactile and 
emotional relationship between two people.  The choreography unfolds in 
organic layers of gesture and images that are punctuated by explosive 
movements of motion and emotion.

=09Wayne M. Smith=92s solo work, THROUGH TO THE FLOW OF A THOUGHT, came out of an 
improvisation based on a simple jazz dance phrase combined with the 
motivational impulse to manipulate the movement in the moment and respond to 
the musical score.  This piece is a form of stream of consciousness through 
the human body in motion, in time and in space that flows from one thought to 
the next.  Performed to a recording of unaccompanied cello music exquisitely 
played by the brilliant artist Yo-Yo Ma, composed by Johan Sebastian Bach, the 
music sets the tone for this introspective piece.

ROCK STEADY ROCKIN', Wayne M. Smith=92s quartet, is an eclectic mixture of jazz 
dance movements strung together with a modern dance twist, a bit of retro 
meets new.  It is a dance steeped in pop culture and is greatly influenced by 
the musical score, an updated rendition of classic rhythm and blues (funk) 
tune =93Rock Steady=94 by Aretha Franklin, remixed by technical wizard Arif 
Mardin.  This dance work exudes the personalities of the contemporary young 
women performers in the piece who are fun, bright and who love to move, pulse 
and groove.

=09Chung-Fu Chang=92s IN A BRIEF ENCOUNTER draws inspiration from a Chinese 
lecture phrase =93Chiu-Chiu, Je-Je,=94 meaning =93winding path or course.=94  IN A 
BRIEF ENCOUNTER uses the phrase =93Chiu-Chiu, Je-Je=94 as a metaphor for a journey 
taken for the sake of the trip itself, rather than a journey taken just to 
reach a destination.

DIALOGUE AMONG US is a piece expressing loss, burden and love.  Choreographed 
by Chung-Fu Chang, it is performed in three sections by three dancers.

=09Guest artist Sabatino Verlezza, artistic director of Dancing Wheels, presents 
his second piece for the ensemble, excerpts from SONGS FOR THE JAGUAR.  This 
piece from Verlezza=92s repertoire reflects on devotion and spirituality.  
Jaguar is choreographed to music by Ariel Ramirez and draws its inspiration 
from the Aztec and Mayan cultures.  The jaguar was considered one of the high 
spiritual beings that guided their daily lives and their hope of thousands of 
new years.  The Kent Dance Ensemble dancers learned SONGS FOR THE JAGUAR 
during a one-week residency in January.

=09Closing the concert will be Darwin Prioleau=92s ANDY'S HAT, a multi-media/dance 
creation, which draws from a sound design and concept created by musician Ron 
Jarvis.  Prioleau uses the modern and jazz dance idioms to explore a personal 
journey of isolation, assimilation and self-discovery.  Each section of the 
piece represents a stage of development of an individual from childhood 
through adulthood.  The full ensemble will perform this finale.

=93Nein Young=94 will be performed in E. Turner Stump Theatre, located in the 
Music and Speech Center on Kent=92s main campus.  Performances are Friday and 
Saturday, April 4 and 5 at 8:00 PM; and Sunday, April 6 at 2:30 PM.  Tickets 
are $10 for adults; $8 for Seniors, KSU Alumni and KSU Faculty/Staff; and $7 
for students with any valid school ID or under 18.  Groups of ten or more can 
receive discounted tickets by calling 330-672-2497.  Box office hours are 
12:00 Noon to 5:00 PM, Mondays through Fridays; Saturdays during the run of 
the show from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM; and one hour before performance times.  
Tickets may be purchased by calling the box office at 330-672-2497. Tickets 
purchased by phone must be held with a credit card; the box office accepts 
Visa, MasterCard and Discover.  For more information on the Dance Division and 
the School of Theatre & Dance, please visit us at www.dance.kent.edu.

Contact Information:

Elisabeth Madden
Managing Director
emadden at kent.edu
330-672-0103 (Phone)
330-672-2889 (Fax)


-###-

Elisabeth Madden
Managing Director
School of Theatre & Dance
Porthouse Theatre
330-672-0103
emadden at kent.edu