The Hamilton College Department of Theatre and Dance will present its annual spring concert on Saturday, March 9, at 8 p.m. in Wellin Hall, Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts. The Spring Dance concert will feature both contemporary and classical works choreographed by Hamilton dance professors Bruce Walczyk and Leslie Norton, as well as guest artist Vanessa Paige.
Leslie Norton opens the performance with a work titled "Grand Tarantelle" danced to Lois Moreau Gottschalk's Grand Tarantelle for Piano and Orchestra. The tarantella is a folk dance of Italian origin that was named for the tarantula, a spider commonly found in the south of Italy. According to local folklore, a tarantula bit could be cured by dancing fast and furiously to sweat the venom out. "Grand Tarantelle" is an allegro blend of classical ballet and Italian folk dance. Costume design and execution is by Kate Thiele, former costume mistress for Oakland Ballet, and lighting design is by Bill Burd. Leslie Norton is an associate professor of dance, teaching ballet and dance history.
"It's Like the Moon Through Winter Branches" appears second on the program. Choreographed by Bruce Walczyk, "Branches" is a piece about sensing time, duration and evolution of family. Originally created in 1985, the work moves slowly through time, repeating images, emphasizing the importance of every moment. The use of live vocals and music of Laurie Anderson add to the contemplative atmosphere.
Bruce Walczyk is an associate professor of dance, teaching contemporary technique, martial arts and dance, choreography and kinesiology. He spent last spring in Malaysia and Indonesia researching silat.
Closing the program is Vanessa Paige's "Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board" or "It's Just that Simple" which is a humorous exploration of gender roles in the dance world. The piece is based on research done by the Gender Project, an organization that facilitates constructive dialogue about gender and explores career strategies for female artists. The Gender Projects' research indicated what most female choreographers already suspected-that though women far outnumber men in the dance world, men garner more income, are produced more frequently and on grander scales, are recognized by the media and by funding institutions at a higher rate, and overall achieve much more career success than do their female peers.
Paige graduated from Hamilton in 1988 and is currently in New York as the director of Soundance Inc. and also on the executive board of the Gender Project. "Light as a Feather..." has been reviewed by various NY critics such as Faith Pilger (Dance Insider) who calls it "a true evening of ideas, clearly communicated through dance and theatre. The 13 sections are woven together with circus-like transitions in which all performers passed through the space in ways unique to their own styles."
Performers for the Spring Dance Concert include Hamilton students: Eric Boyce, Nicole Caporusso, Katie Dunkel, Michael A. Edwards, Julie Elmuccio, Colleen Fenity, Laura Fortinsky, Kaylan Hubbard, Samantha Ioia, Ashley Jaffe-Anechiario, Catherine Klein, Heather Koniz, Patrick Link, Kelly Moran, Tanya Namad, Kerry Needham, Katharina Plumb, Heather Shapiro, Laura Spaziani, Katryna Swartwout, Meredith Talbi, Alez Venizelos, Erin Voyik, and Allison Willbanks.
This event is free and open to the public. For more information, call the performing arts ticket office at 859-4331.
