THE MELANGE SERIES To Be Presented at The Florence, March 23-24

The Mélange Series will be presented at The Florence, March 23-24, 2024, Saturday at 5:00 pm & 7:30 pm and Sunday at 3:00 pm.

Mélange: concoction, mixture, combination. In this new series of performances, audiences will experience art coming to life in front of their eyes in an intimate theatrical setting. Each series will feature a musician (a vocalist or instrumentalist), a dancer (from Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre), and a visual artist. Together they will create art at The Florence (Carmel's newest black-box theatre space), in a collaborative and organic manner. The singer will present a set of songs, while the dancer creates choreography inspired by the music, as the visual artist creates art inspired by the movement of the dancer and the music of the vocalist. Audiences will experience live art in a new manner, bringing groundbreaking and creative art to Central Indiana.

The premiere performance of The Mélange Series will feature the talented and versatile vocalist, KATIE SCHUMAN. Katie holds a BM in Musical Theatre from Florida State University, where she played Edwin Drood in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and served as musical director for All-Night Yahtzee, the school's premiere coed a cappella group. Since then, she has taught and performed around Chicago and Central Indiana. Her favorite roles include the premiere of LA CASA AZUL (Lupe) with GHDT, Spamalot (Lady of the Lake) and Little Women (Marmee) with the Booth Tarkington Theatre, and My Faur Lady (Ensemble) with Actors Theatre of Indiana. Most recently Ms. Schuman appeared in The Music of La Casa Azul with The Carmel Symphony Orchestra at The Palladium.

GHDT company dancer, Camden Lancaster will be the first dancer in the new series. Camden received her Bachelors in Dance Performance at Anderson University. While at Anderson she had the opportunity to perform at The Kennedy Center where she twice received the Allen Choreographer Award. With GHDT Camden has captivated audiences for several years. Some memorable performances include “The Mother of The Chosen” in EXODUS, “Cinderella” in ONCE UPON A TIME, “The Backyard Girl” in UNDER THE BIG TOP, and most recently as the “Mischievous Djinn” in ANGELS AND DJINN. Camden's dynamic dancing will enthrall audiences in this new series.

Mirvia Sol Eckert is a Puerto Rican painter living and working in Indianapolis. Celebrating beauty is the fundamental concept that unifies all her work. Common themes are her Puerto Rican heritage, love of family and friends, spirituality, and her fascination with nature. Miriva's beautiful art has been featured in numerous shows throughout Indiana. She is a recipient of a Creative Renewal Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis and Lilly Endowment. She co-founded the Indy Latina Artists group and designed its logo. She is also a member of Indiana Artists Club, Inc. Mirivia's paintings and prints are in homes across the US, Puerto Rico, and Spain. During the Mélange performance she will create art inspired by the movement of the dancer and the music of the vocalist. The art created during the performance will be available for purchase as well as some of her other works. The Mélange Series at The Florence has been created by GHDT, Executive Artistic Director, Gregory Glade Hancock and is presented by Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre.

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