MFA
students choreograph new works
By
Marissa Pendergrass
On-line Forty-Niner
An
eclectic showcase of new works by student
choreographers of the Cal State Long Beach
dance department's MFA program will hit
the stage Thursday at the Martha B. Knoebel
Dance Theater with their fall thesis concert.
The
concert, titled "Wading," will
include dance works that present new ideas
and perspectives from six graduate students
of the dance department. Each choreographer
was granted a great deal of artistic freedom
in the creation of his or her dance work.
MFA
students Heather Ahern, Filip A Condeescu,
Rogelio Lopez Garcia, Sue Hogan, Willima
F. Lett and Shana Menaker are the six
featured MFA student choreographers.
"Several
of the choreographers will also be performing
in the all-original and independent concert
this weekend," said Shana Menaker,
who choreographed, "Laugh Draft,"
one of the dances in the concert.
"The
concert has no one theme and each performance
was choreographed without any restrictions,"
Menaker said. "I am really looking
forward to the natural audience response
and criticism on the concert."
The
wide range of music, costuming and technical
lighting will also be a very important
factor within this highly innovative concert.
The
choreographers auditioned undergraduate
dancers within the dance department last
semester for this concert. By using undergraduates
the choreographers are hoping to bring
out the boundless and audacious nature
of the dancers to the stage.
"Utopia,"
choreographed by Ahern will open the concert.
By taking a whimsical look at gender,
the dance incorporates the use of steel
hoopskirts. The hoopskirts will be used
as both freestanding sculptures and costumes
during the performance.
"The
Long Beach State Dance Department has
a superior reputation that sends dancers
flocking to the university in search of
instruction from the outstanding teachers
working here on campus," said Marla
McReynolds, an undergraduate dance major.
Hogan's
"Fun With Dick and Jane" and
Condeescu's "Portrait of the World
as a Mirror in Lead" will also be
presented.
The
freedom that was given to the graduates
in the development of this concert allowed
them to go above and beyond even their
own expectations.
Lett's
Beauty Is..." will examine and explore
the discovery, diagnosis, surgery, and
recovery of breast cancer.
"I
believe in the capacity of art to transform
human life as a vehicle for social change,"
he said.
"The
concert does not exist in a vacuum and
it will definitely transform as the night
moves on depending on the audience,"
Menaker said.
Her
dance will close the show with its contemplation
on arguing and laughter through movement
of the body.
EVENTS
LISTING
What:
"Wading"
When: 8 p.m. Thurs.-Sat., 2 p.m. Sun.
Where: Martha B. Knoebel Dance Theater
6200 Atherton St. Long Beach, Ca
Ticket Information: (562) 985-7000
