The annual Fall Dance Concert in the NIU School of Theatre and Dance always puts an entertaining capper on the semester’s worth of productions. The talented dancers perform in a variety of styles sure to appeal to a broad range of audiences.
This year’s Fall Dance Concert premieres Thursday, November 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the O’Connell Theatre in NIU’s Stevens Building. Tickets are on sale online, and NIU students can attend for free with a reserved ticket.
The program includes Napoli – Act III, created in 1842 by August Bournonville whose choreography of this ballet was inspired by a year of exile in Naples, Italy.
States of Change was choreographed by Michel Rodriguez Cintra, instructor in the School of Theatre and Dance. He says that “the idea of water continued to resurface” early on in the creation process and that both the choreographer and dancers focused on “their different states as a starting point to convey emotion and tension.”
Remembering Who We Are is, according to choreographer Sarita Smith Childs, assistant professor in the School of Theatre and Dance, “a journey to remember who we are, what we stand for, what we can be to each other and ourselves, and how we can reclaim our joy and personal power.”
On to the Other was choreographed by guest choreographer Elijah Motley and combines street dance styles, contemporary forms and theatrical storytelling to explore how those experiences can be embodied, interpreted and transformed on stage.
Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. from Thursday, November 20 through Saturday, November 22 with 2 p.m. matinees both Saturday, November 22 and Sunday, November 23.
An audience talkback with the cast and choreographers will be held following the 7:30 p.m. performance Saturday, November 22, hosted by Richard Grund, professor in the NIU School of Theatre and Dance.
See the full program, complete with cast and crew biographies.
