Enjoy contemporary and classical dance by guest artists, faculty and students in a sophisticated and cutting edge program at the Colorado State University Dance Division's Spring Dance Concert on Friday and Saturday, April 20 and 21 at 8:00 pm and on Saturday, April 21 at 2:00 p.m. in the Lory Student Center Theatre.
The Spring Dance Concert displays the versatility and depth of the Colorado State dance program featuring dance and choreography by students and faculty members Chung-Fu Chang and Melissa Corr, in addition to choreography by distinguished guest artist, Gabriel Masson.
About Guest Artist Masson
For the Spring Concert, celebrated guest artist Gabriel Masson's unique choreographic vision is back by popular demand. Known for creating dances that fill the stage with movement, Masson has crafted a new large-scale work for twelve student dancers with a much-anticipated appearance by faculty members Chung-Fu Chang and Jane Slusarski-Harris. The dance, "Of Another Place," deals with the concept of memory and how easily human beings can float between the past and the present. With a score by British composer Graham Fitkin that alternates between driving intensity and imperceptible calm, Masson has created a world within a world, where time is relative and what seems real could just as easily be a memory.
Gabriel Masson's career as a choreographer, performer and teacher spans 20 years. Since 1989, he has choreographed over 30 pieces for professional and repertory dance companies and from 1997 to 2002 he served as artistic director of his own national touring company. Masson has an international reputation as a teacher, has taught and performed at festivals worldwide, and is on the rotating faculty of several prestigious dance festivals.
After receiving an M.F.A. from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts he was on faculty there from 1990-1995 and from 1997-2001 he served as artist-in-residence at the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Currently, Masson is a guest artist at the University of Colorado/Boulder for the 2006-07 academic year.
Dance Faculty
In addition to choreography by guest artist Masson, audiences will also experience choreography and performance by Colorado State's distinguished dance faculty. Assistant Professor of Dance Chung-Fu Chang will present a dance, "Ash Wind" by six dancers that draws inspiration from musician Alan Hovhaness's "Visionary Landscape." The piece fuses rich, poetic, ritualistic, and profoundly spiritual Chinese cultural heritage with Western dance tradition to portray life as a grain of sand that disappears traceless in the wind.
"In/Out," also choreographed by Chung-Fu Chang, uses Chinese calligraphy, a work of art conveys the moral integrity, character, emotions, spatial awareness and esthetic feelings, as a metaphor for kinetic space. In this piece, the dancers and movements abstract from Chinese writing characters and transform into an infinite universe.
The solid talents of the dance program will also be displayed as five Colorado State students perform "Bonne Amies," a contemporary ballet piece choreographed by faculty member Melissa Corr that she explains reflects the "wonderful playfulness and friendly warmth" she witnessed between this group of dancers, which influenced the movements and groupings she selected.
Spring Dance Concert audiences will also see the faculty selections of the most innovative and highest quality dances from the department's "Studio Night," an entirely student-run production held in early April featuring a diverse selection of student choreography and dance with both solo and group dances ranging from ballet to hip-hop and from modern to tap.
Ticket Information
Ticket holders are invited to compliment their evening of dance with lunch or dinner at Fish, a sponsor of all of the Colorado State Dance Division's Dance Month performances, which includes the Spring Dance Concert on April 20 and 21, and "Mind Body & Soul" - the Spring Senior Dance Showcase on April 26 and 27.
Fish, located at 150 West Oak in Old Town Fort Collins, is offering all Dance Month ticket holders 10 percent off the entire food portion of their bill during April. Tickets are $6 for CSU students, $10 for seniors, and $12 for the general public, plus a small campus box office service charge. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.csutix.com or by calling (970) 491-4TIX. Performances are popular and advance ticket purchase is highly recommended.
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The School of the Arts at Colorado State University provides an enriched venue in which the study and practice of Art, Dance, Music and Theatre are nurtured and sustained by building the skills and knowledge needed by future generations of arts professionals to become contributors to the essential vitality of our culture and society.
For more information, visit http://www.CSUSchooloftheArts.com or contact the Department of Dance at (970) 491-6330.
Contact: Jeanna Nixon Email: Jeanna.Nixon@colostate.edu Phone Number: (970) 491-1584
