The Department of Theater & Dance at UCSB Presents Spring Dance Concert, 4/12-14

The Department of Theater & Dance at UCSB continues its 2012-2013 season of drama and dance with the Spring Dance Concert - Blood, Thought, Muscle & Grace, under the direction of UCSB Theater & Dance faculty member Mira Kingsley. The Spring Dance concert performs April 12-14, 2013 at 8:00 pm in the Hatlen Theater on the UCSB campus.

Blood, Thought, Muscle & Grace features the choreography of five advanced UCSB Theater & Dance students alongside a piece from UCSB faculty member, Christina McCarthy and a piece by American Master Choreographer, Jose Limon. Descriptions of the original pieces are as follows:

Submarine Races by choreographer Molly McCord, is a fun and quirky exploration of individuality that roots from a deep contemplation of the phrase "when you can fill yourself up to fullness you can overflow with giving to others." Through romance, competition, and a little flare of the 60's pizzazz, the piece highlights five dancer's paths of discovery to conquering self-doubt.

Choreographer Sean Nederlof, creates an epic new work, The Legend of the Form of Harmony. This piece follows the story of a Master of Harmony and her two disciples as we witness empowerment break a lineage and transform into chaos. Street dance blends with more traditional forms of movement in this inventive and theatrical work.

Requiem for Bubbles, choreographed by dance faculty member Christina McCarthy is a fantastical journey through a boy's grief stemming from the death of his gold fish. In a world straddling wakefulness and dreaming, this boy, on the cusp of transformation to adulthood lets go of his feelings of powerlessness and falls into the embrace of his own imagination.

Entropy, by choreographer and scientist Alannah Pique, is inspired by the process of particles interacting and colliding. This highly dynamic dance reveals the expressive quality of the human form as it passes through kinetic states.

Inspired by the women of the G.I. generation, Genevieve Hand's new dance work, Abyssinia (slang for "I'll be seeing you") is a dynamic exploration into the origins of strength and hope when rooted in desperation. This deconstruction of Rosie the Riveter is an abstract look at a scenario that defined a generation and inspired a perpetuating movement.

Choreographer Kelly Marshall was moved by Mark Twain's thought, "The two most important days of your life are the day you were born and they day you find out why." She interviewed people from all different backgrounds in relation to this quote. Her new dance work, And I gave myself to this wild hope that nobody's really certain of, but I felt certain of it, uses these interviews as inspiration to take the audience on a journey of searching for a clear path.

The Senior Company performs a Suite from Psalm, originally choreographed in 1967 by Jose Limon, American Master Choreographer. This work has been designed and re-constructed by Alice Condodina especially for the UCSB Student Company. The suite, which is less than half the length of the original choreography, attempts to capture the essence of this powerful work. Limon's flirtation with the force of gravity resulted in a choreographic work, full of impressive suspensions and dramatic falls and recoveries. For Psalm, Limon turned to the Jewish legend of thirty-six Just Men in whom the sorrows of the world reside. Psalm asks how the outcast or martyr evolves from those whose burden he carries. Limon's structured movements are groupings woven together symbolizing belief, ritual and history, provide a stunning contrast of ensemble dancing with the extraordinary challenge of solo performance. The ensemble reinforces, by its untied power, the contrasting internal conflict, the stark isolation and anguish of the Last Man; the last of the Just.

Tickets for Blood, Thought, Muscle & Grace are currently available at the UCSB Theater & Dance Ticket Office located on the UCSB campus, over the phone and online at www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu. To purchase tickets over the phone, please call (805) 893-7221. Ticket prices are $17.00 for general admission and $13.00 for students, seniors, and UCSB faculty & staff. Online ticket sales begin Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 10:00 am. Visit the Theater & Dance website for more details: www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu.

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