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Dance Revolutions
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The University of Minnesota Dance Program presents its annual dance concert, Dance Revolutions, featuring the choreography of nationally and internationally known dance artists Louis Falco, Carl Flink, Laurie Carlos and Colleen Thomas. These influential artists present a thought-provoking breadth of work that pushes the boundaries of dance and tackles a wide range of social issues and human emotions. University of Minnesota dance students along with the 2009 Cowles Visiting Artists and University Dance faculty collaborate to produce works that foster creative inquiry and shape the next generation of dance leaders.
Presented December 11-13, 2009
Rarig Center's Whiting Proscenium Theatre
Friday, December 11 at 8:00pm - Opening Night Reception
Saturday, December 12 at 8:00pm
Sunday, December 13 at 2:00pm
More information about performance pieces and choreographers:
Escargot by Louis Falco – Often considered the essence of a contemporary artist, Louis Falco (1942 – 1993) is most popularly known for his choreography in the 1980 MGM film “Fame”. Yet it is his contributions to modern dance that rocketed him to critical acclaim. Falco first received notice as the principle dancer for the José Limón Dance Company. His technical virtuosity and daring physicality led him to create his own company, the Louis Falco Dance Company, in 1967. During its fifteen-year existence, the Louis Falco Dance Company produced edgy works that were an embodiment of the times. Escargot, a 17-minute adrenaline rush, is a flurry of disco-dance-influenced movement that inspires energy and exuberance in dancers and audience members alike.
2009 Cowles Visiting Artist and former choreographic assistant to Louis Falco, Alan Sener, will stage Escargot on University dance students. Sener, now the artistic director of the Louis Falco Repertory, continues to produce Falco’s work around the world. Sener also serves as a professor of dance at the University of Iowa, where he teaches students improvisation, choreography and modern dance technique.
Fallen by Laurie Carlos– Prolific American theatre artist Laurie Carlos brings her extraordinary talent for storytelling to the University Dance Theatre stage. Carlos has been creating new characters and aesthetics through performance for over thirty years. She is an OBIE Award-winning actress and a Bessie Award-winning choreographer, as well as a dynamic writer and director. Some of her original works include “White Chocolate,” “The Cooking Show,” and “Organdy Falsetto.” Locally she serves as an Artistic Fellow for Penumbra Theater in St. Paul, and is the Program Director for The Naked Stages Performance Art Series at Intermedia Arts.
Fallen is a newly commissioned work that uses gesture and jazz improvisation techniques to explore how we pass myths, both historical and societal, from generation to generation. Using breath and movement students examine memory and how we create our own forms of visual storytelling.
A Fractured Narrative for a Sad Ending by Carl Flink – A Fractured Narrative for a Sad Ending is a deeply personal collage of memories taken from choreographer Carl Flink’s tumultuous relationship with his late sister. The piece follows Flink and his sister from the carefree innocence of childhood to the turmoil and heartbreak of her drug addiction, concluding with the pain of her untimely death.
Carl Flink is the founder and artistic director of the Minneapolis performance group Black Label Movement (BLM). Throughout the 1990s Flink danced as a soloist for the José Limón Dance Company. He is currently an associate professor with the University of Minnesota Department of Theatre Arts and Dance, and has served as the department’s Director of Dance for three years. He is now in his second year acting as the Departmental Chair. In 2008 he received a Boomerang Fund for Artists, Inc. Award and a McKnight Fellowship for Choreography.
Newly Commissioned Work by Colleen Thomas – New York-based choreographer and performer Colleen Thomas began her career with the Miami Ballet and went on to work with renowned contemporary choreographers such as Nina Wiener Dance Company, Donald Byrd/The Group, Bebe Miller Dance Company, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, and The Kevin Wynn Collection. She later founded her own dance company, ColleenThomasDance, which has produced work across the globe. Currently Thomas serves as an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Barnard College of Columbia University.
Rehearsal Photos taken by V. Paul Virtucio:
Escargot:
