Dance
Thesis Concert is Open-Ended
 The
choreographed works of four masters of fine arts in dance
degree candidates will receive their premieres this week
during “Open-Ended,” the
college’s annual MFA thesis dance concert.
Performances take place
Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 22-24, at 8 p.m. in Theatre
14 of the Mendenhall Center for the Performing Arts.
The program will feature
the works of student choreographers Ariel Gonzalez Cohen,
Kellie Ann Lynch, Ching-shan S. Parks, and Fania Maria Tsakalakos.
In “Open-Ended,” explains
Lynch, “the dancers explore a wide open playground
where myth and reality collide and retreat against a backdrop
of shifting shadows and light creating a mood that vacillates
between nostalgia and a sense of unknowing.”
SPEW, a modern
dance by Lynch, explores irony, sarcasm, and the throwing
off of inhibitions – “speweing” -- in a
world of boundaries. Cohen’s modern dance Mapping looks
at the passing of time and the memories that stay stored
in our bodies like ghosts.
Parks says her dance Where
to?, which combines modern and ballet, was inspired
by “the first Chinese man to travel along the Silk
Road -- a journey of determination and self-motivation
that opened a long cultural exchange between China, India,
and central Asia.”
Tsakalakos describes
her work Pieces of Home as a combination of fusion,
theater, and musical. “Although our search for ‘home’ is
ever changing, it always leads us back to our self,” she
comments. “A fusion of the passionate forms of flamenco,
Argentine tango, and Greek rebetika provide the premise for
this open-ended experience in which one must, and always
does, participate.”
Tickets for “Open-Ended,” available
by calling 413-585-ARTS (2787) or at the door beginning at
7 p.m., are $8 for the general public, $5 for students and
seniors.
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