Photo Flash: First Look at ANTICIPATE at UCSB Department of Theater & Dance

The Department of Theater & Dance at UCSB continues its 2013-2014 season of drama and dance with the Fall Dance Concert - Anticipate, under the direction of UCSB Theater & Dance Lecturer Christina McCarthy. The Fall Dance concert performs December 6-7, 2013 at 8:00 pm and December 7 at 2:00 pm in the Hatlen Theater on the UCSB campus. Check out the photos below!

This year, the department is pleased to have four senior BFA students creating work for Anticipate, each very different in their approach. Choreographer Sammy Aiello is working incorporates acrobatic dancers to create a fun piece about romance with men in tuxedos and women in coral dresses. It takes a serious turn, but its sheer physicality keeps it accessible and satisfying. Charlie Schnitzer is pushing the boundary of very sophisticated and multi-layered choreography that utilizes not only an intricacy in the movements for each individual dancer, but sets various counterpointing movement phrases against each other in the space as though he is trying to inundate us with frenetic motion. Jessica Stucke sets the mood and an abstract location for her piece about the subconscious mind with the presence of towering illuminated tree like structures. The quirky and punctuated movements bring to mind the firing of synapses. Hillary Bassoff is delving into spatial patterning and liquid counterpoint in her work for four dancers. This year, Michael Klaers is designing the lighting for our choreography students for the first time.

Concert Director, Christina McCarthy is excited to work with a group of gifted student choreographers. In regards to directorial challenges she says, "Each concert is different because the students who are choreographing each year are so different. This year, I have four students who are very self motivated and have very clear pictures in their minds of the kind of work they wish to create. This is the first concert I have directed and also had a piece I was working to present on the same program. Splitting my time between being choreographer and director has been challenging, but I was very eager to do the piece I am working on. I wanted to seize the opportunity to work with two actors who were only available in the fall who are joining my cast of five dancers. I really love combining dancers and actors. They learn so much from each other. I am basing the work on some select images of Rene Magritte and asking the question of myself, 'What would clowns do with these images if they had the opportunity to bring them to life?'"

In true collaborative spirit, artistic crossover carries through from one artistic piece to another. "I just came off working with Irwin Appel on Naked Shakes' Macbeth. The two actors I am using in my piece were part of that production. So there is a nice crossover for the department with the dance and acting side when I get to work on a theater production, and the actors get to work on a dance production," states Ms. McCarthy. This year's concert is particularly special as the department was fortunate to have a guest choreographer work closely with the faculty and students on an original piece. Ms. McCarthy says, " We also have a visiting choreographer, Collin Conner setting a piece on the student company - UCSB Dance Company. It is nice for the larger Theater/Dance season to have this kind of high quality work from a visiting choreographer on our program. It is also wonderful to have our students' work represented on the larger Theater/Dance season. Our BFA students are such strong performers and choreographers and with the two dance concerts each year they have the opportunity to show off their skills in both these areas."

In the selection process for the guest choreographer, careful consideration was placed on the balance between challenging the dance students and accessibility of the movement. Ms. McCarthy says, "Lecturer, Delila Moseley is brilliant about connecting with guest choreographers for the Student Company. Collin was connected to our department through Associate Professor Mira Kingsley, Senior Lecturer Nancy Colahan and Director of Dance and Department Vice Chair Christopher Pilafian. His work for the company is perfect in that it was just beyond easy reach for the dancers to perform easily, so it is challenging them, but they are really starting to take the movements into their bodies and it grows with each rehearsal. It will be our closing piece on the program. It is a soaring, gliding and stunning piece based on the soul and movement of crows."

Anticipate performs December 6 - 7, 2013 in the UCSB Hatlen Theater. Tickets are available online at www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu and by phone at 805.893.7221. Visit the Theater & Dance website for more details: www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu.

Photo Credit: Stephen Sherrill

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