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diversions
'Eye' hits stage
with diverse program
By Alisha Gomez
On-line Forty-Niner
The Graduate Dance
Group from the Cal State Long Beach dance department will
begin its master's of fine arts thesis concert, "Before
Your Eye," Thursday at the Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theatre
at the end of this week.
The pieces are developed entirely by five continuing graduate
choreographers: Teresa Chapman, Holly Clark, Heather Kemp,
Carrie Oleson and Leah Sandor. About 25 to 30 graduate dance
students will perform at the concert.
"The concert is an impartial fulfillment for our graduate
students," said Judy Allen, chairperson in the dance
department. "These thesis concerts are part of a 60-unit
program, and there is also written component."
Chapman will be performing a solo act, "Back in the Beginning
with a Little More Light," a story of transformation.
Because the story involves Jung's concept of the shadow, the
light and the dark sides of the personality, Chapman decided
to collaborate and work with distinguished lighting designer
Andrew Milhan.
Milhan has worked for the Lewitzky Dance Company and with
artists such as John Pennington, Diana MacNeil, Jeff Slayton,
and Casey Carney.
Chapman's second group work is entitled "From the Dreamer's
Dictionary," which will incorporate sleep in various
ways. The motifs were inspired by the ways in which we subconsciously
work out our daily issues while sleeping.
Holly Clark, a third year graduate student, will also be presenting
two works. The first, "Another Night," incorporates
jazz elements with cha-cha and salsa rhythms.
Clark's second work, a solo entitled "Facing Yesterday,"
looks at the emotional distress incurred when searching for
strength, acceptance and peace within oneself.
Heather Kemp, a third-year graduate student, will conclude
her thesis project with "Room for Waiting," which
involves the anticipation, frustration, boredom, and impatience
while waiting for a desired outcome.
"Pecking Order," by second-year graduate student
and CSULB alumna Carrie Oleson, was inspired musically by
Tuva, the throat singers of Mongolia. Aside from its musical
inspiration, Oleson deals with laws of nature as demonstrated
by Richard Bach's book, "Jonathan Livingston Seagull,"
and Native American dance to investigate life's metamorphoses
in all living forms.
Third-year graduate Leah Sandor will explore the possibilities
in minimalist movement while juxtaposing it with pedestrian
and modern vocabulary. Sandor will be using unconventional
means of entering and exiting the stage.
The MFA concert happens once every semester, and graduate
dancers are required to do four semesters of this during their
six semesters of residence.
Dance graduate faculty adviser Keith Johnson said to expect
mostly modern pieces.
"There are some beautiful solos," Johnson said.
"Some are lighter in nature and some are darker at the
seam."
Johnson said the concert is a representation of how the graduate
students have evolved. He also added that many students come
from a jazz or ballet background, and have had to work that
in with contemporary dancing.
"It is a very diverse concert," Johnson said. "Some
are more innovative in nature and some are direct one-on-one
concerts."
The concert begins Thursday at 8 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday
at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $12 for general,
$7 for students, CSULB faculty and staff, seniors and Dance
Resource Center members.
Christine Shin contributed to this story.
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Kip Polakoff
Heather Kemp will conclude her thesis project
with "Room for Waiting," at the MFA thesis concert.
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