Center Dance Delights with Ghosts Goblins Witches, Oh My!
By: A.A. Cristi Sep. 13, 2017
Just in time for Halloween, Center Dance Ensemble performs a spooky, haunting program, Ghosts & Goblins & Witches, Oh My! October 19 - 21 at 7:30 and Oct 22 at 2:00 pm at the Herberger Theater Center, Stage West. Tickets are $28 adults/$23 seniors/$14 students and are on sale at www.herbergertheater.org or by calling 602-252-8497.
The centerpiece of the Ghost & Goblins & Witches, Oh My! is Artistic Director Frances Cohen's ballet, A Department Store Murder Mystery, based on John Collier's short story Evening Primrose. The mystery surrounds a young man trapped in a department store who encounters strange mannequins that come alive at night.
The program also features Cohen's new work, Sweet Hauntings, which explores how we are haunted by our memories from people who have passed. Rounding out the program are two works from Assistant Director Diane McNeal Hunt, Spellbound and Possessed, as well as two pieces from guest artists Instinct Dancecorps, directed by Angela Rosencrans and independent dancer, Nicole Olson.
"This time of year, particularly around Halloween, always spurs my imagination. The creepy, haunting stories, the masks and personas children and adults take on, the dark legends of what lies beyond in the spirit world. It's so visual and visceral at the same time, a perfect backdrop for telling stories through dance," - Frances Cohen, Center Dance Ensemble Artistic Director.
"Spellbound, is an intimate duet, set on Amber Robins and Emilio Minto, two humans, whose lives finally cross paths. As the audience witnesses this connection, we are spellbound," says Assistant Artistic Director Diane McNeal Hunt, - "This piece will be juxtaposed with Possessed, an ensemble work with 15 of our dancers. Sourced in spirit, these Beings, driven by a core belief, gather to channel their energy bodies and unleash their passions for a better world. It should be a riveting experience."
For more information on Center Dance Ensemble, its performances and outreach programs visit www.centerdance.com.
As the resident modern dance company at the Herberger Theater Center, CDE presents four major productions throughout the season, and partners with the Herberger in producing several special opportunities for students, including the Young Artists' Competition and the Wolf Trap Field Trips.
Dance presentations are created especially for CDE by Artistic Director Frances Smith Cohen and by international and national guest choreographers. Major works include: Slaughter on Tenth Avenue and Light by Cliff Keuter; First Movement/Last Concerto, The Yellow Shark and Songs of My Mother by Donald Dadey; Siyotanka and Footworks by Diane McNeal Hunt; and Snow Queen, Hamlet/the Ballet, Carmina Burana, The Ballad of Barbara Allen and La Llorona by Frances Smith Cohen. The company has also produced major works by Toronto-based choreographer Michael Montanaro and Vancouver choreographer Robyn Allan.
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