[NEohioPAL] Oberlin Dance Company submission

[Jennifer Gaeng]

THE OBERLIN COLLEGE THEATER AND DANCE PROGRAM PRESENTS
Oberlin Dance Company
In Oberlin College's Hall Auditorium
May 1-2, 2009
8pm, Friday and Saturday
*
**OBERLIN, OH*— For Oberlin Dance Company’s annual spring performance, four
talented choreographers will present their work in an eclectic evening of
dance, including an ensemble-created piece, the tragic romance of four
acclaimed poets, and two collaborations with Oberlin College’s renowned
TIMARA department.  Featuring thirty-four dancers and four live musicians,
Oberlin Dance Company showcases the choreography of Guest Artist Bill Young
’75, Visiting Assistant Professor Ashley Thorndike, Guest Artist Eric
Handman, and Visiting Artist Holly Handman-Lopez.  The pieces range from
traditional to experimental, displaying both Oberlin talent and dancers from
around the country.

    The first piece of the evening, *Pass the Time*, was developed over
Winter Term 2009 by Guest Artist Bill Young and fifteen Oberlin students
during a two-week intensive residency.  Each dancer created a style of
movement and activity unique to their personal identity, culminating in an
exciting one-of-a-kind group performance utilizing both dance and spoken
word.  Young, an Oberlin graduate who first discovered his love of dance
during his freshman year, is “thrilled” to create what he deems “truly a
reflection of the specific chunk of humanity that is the sum total of the
incredible individuals on stage.”  *Pass the Time* was first previewed
February 7, 2009 in Oberlin’s Warner Main Space.
    Ashley Thorndike, a visiting assistant professor in the dance program,
and Peter Swendsen, a TIMARA professor in the conservatory, will premiere
their latest collaboration, *coldness and lightness*.  Danced by three
Columbus-based dancers, this new work, as Thorndike explains, "explores the
contrast between emotional and physical edges, both within and between
dancers.”
    Eric Handman’s *Voce* was previously performed at Oberlin last fall as
part of the yearly Fall Forward dance concert.  Featuring a trio of dancers,
*Voce* is described by Handman as “a dense interplay between dancers that is
intensely musical without being musically redundant.”  The six-minute dance
manages to chart the seemingly organic evolution of complex and dynamic
relationships between its performers.  “I'm always striving for visceral
intensity, complexity, coherence and a sense of purposefulness in the work,”
says Handman, who enjoyed a weeklong guest artist residency at Oberlin last
September with his wife Pamela Geber.
    The final piece, *Despite All Marriages*, tells the true story of poets
Sylvia Plath, her husband Ted Hughes, his lover Assia Wevill, and her
husband David Wevill.  Choreographer Holly Handman-Lopez was haunted by the
tragic tale for two years before creating the piece, a blend of theater and
dance that features dialogue and recognizable characters as well as original
music composed by TIMARA major Meade Bernard and cellist Teddy
Rankin-Parker.  Handman-Lopez is excited to utilize the talents of four
actors, eight dancers, and two live musicians, all Oberlin students, to
create a performance she hopes will be both fascinating and moving.
“There’s no message or moral,” Handman-Lopez says.  “We're telling a part of
the story that has been largely ignored.  It’s sordid, it’s sad, it’s
heart-wrenching.”

Oberlin Dance Company will be performed at Oberlin College’s Hall Auditorium
Friday and Saturday May 1-2 at 8 pm.  A reception will follow the
performance on Friday, May 1.  Hall Auditorium is wheelchair accessible.
This production is sponsored by the Oberlin College Theater and Dance
Program.  Hall Auditorium is located on 67 N. Main St. on Rte. 58, between
the Oberlin Inn and the Allen Art Museum. Free parking is located in the
rear.

*GENERAL ADMISSION *
$4 Students
$6 Seniors, Alumni, Staff
$8 Public
All $3 more at the door

*CENTRAL TICKET SERVICE *
440-775-8169
1-800-371-0178
Located in the lobby of Hall Auditorium
Open Noon to 5 PM
Monday – Friday
Door sales begin one hour prior to performances.

*HALL PUBLICITY*
440-775-8171
http://www.new.oberlin.edu/theater-dance/

*OTHER UPCOMING DANCE EVENTS*
*Glimpses*
Micheline Heal’s Senior Dance Concert
South Bowl
May 9, 2009
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