Studio 115 Dance Concert Explores Grace, Athleticism and Artistry May 5-7

The University of Southern Mississippi Repertory Dance Company members will explore grace, athleticism and artistry at the Studio 115 Dance Concert May 5 – 7 in the intimate setting of the Theatre and Dance Building's Studio 115.

This concert will feature new works by three faculty members and two students. Each dance is performed by Southern Miss Repertory Dance Company members, comprised of dance majors and minors selected by audition at the beginning of the semester. Tickets are $5 for general admission and will be sold at the door. Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Friday, May 5 – 6 and at 2 p.m. Thursday, May 7. A post-show discussion with the choreographers follows Thursday night's performance.

Dance program director and professor Stacy Reischman presents, “The Pick Up,” a take on a classical pas de deux. In this version, the dancers are alternately coy and curious as they get to know each other. The dance concludes with a breathtaking duet the shows trust between two people with soaring lifts and gentle touches.  Music is by Tomaso Albinoni and Nine Inch Nails.

Associate professor Julie White's contemporary ballet, “Partita” features the music of the same name by J.S. Bach, played live by flutist Rachel Ciraldo. White's seven dancers walk the line between the precision and form of classical ballet and the idiosyncratic movement possibilities of modern dance.

“Where I'm @” is assistant professor Meredith Early's exploration of the dancer's relationship to performance space and the spectator. This solo investigates the balance between more "dance-y" movement and deconstructed/manipulated gestures that are typically not put on display for performance purposes: loud sniffing/wiping nose, sticking a finger in one's ear and spitting. 

Additionally, Early explores the space generally not used by the performer, giving the audience a new perspective on and a new relationship to the soloist, providing insight into his/her habits, implied insecurities, and offering an unpredictable kinesthetic experience.

Two student works round out the evening. Elizabeth Warshauer's junior choreographic work, “From Dusk Breaks Dawn” has both grace and athleticism. It is a journey of a perplexed being who, at dawn, breaks away from her light, flowy companions to experiment with the edgy sun guards. It is a dance of struggle that travels between East and West and asks questions about where we truly lie. Warshauer is a native of Picayune, Miss.

“Society's Form,” created by junior Bethany Cline of Weson, Miss. in collaboration with her seven dancers, was inspired by an anthropological study about the components of a society and how they naturally interact.

This piece includes six dancers expressing the authentic interactions of their tribal ties and the basic fixed structure in which we all live. This fixed structure is broken down into a three-level hierarchy, featuring six main characters. In order from highest/most powerful to lowest, these characters are: High Chief, Religious Leader, Religious Leader's Apprentice, Enforcer, Rebel and Servant.