'WinterDance '18' features original choreography, multiple dance styles
Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018
MANHATTAN — Original choreography featuring jazz, tap, contemporary and other dance styles will be showcased at "WinterDance '18," presented Thursday, Nov. 29, Friday, Nov. 30, and Saturday, Dec. 1, by Kansas State University's School of Music, Theatre and Dance.
Showtimes will be 7:30 p.m. Nov. 29-30, and 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Dec. 1, all in the Mark A. Chapman Theatre in Nichols Hall.
Tickets are $11 for students; $14 for faculty, staff, military, and seniors; and $16 for the public. Tickets can be purchased online at ksu.edu/mtd/tickets/, by calling 785-532-6878, or at the Chapman Theater box office which opens one hour before showtime.
Works to be presented included "Fragmented Cognition," an original jazz piece choreographed by Julie Pentz, associate professor and director of the dance program. The piece explores fragmented musical phrases and movement that become connected. Dancers will use the stage space to perform at multiple levels while moving at fast and slow tempos.
"TapCracker," also choreographed by Pentz, features the K-State Tap Dance Ensemble and classical music from the ballet "The Nutcracker."
"Yaa Yaa Kole," directed by Neil Dunn, production manager, and Pentz, is a social dance from the Dagara ethnic group in Northern Ghana, West Africa, that features dancing to the music of the African xylophone, the gyil. This dance, which is categorized as a recreational dance in the Dagara culture, is part of a larger style that celebrates life and is often playful.
"The Western Passage," choreographed by Stephen Loch, instructor of dance, is a narrative contemporary ballet piece split into three sections. The piece juxtaposes narrative ballet and postmodern chance procedures utilized throughout the creation process.
Loch's "Empowered" is a contemporary dance piece that emphasizes the strength and support found in a community of women.
"With an Open Hand," by Kate Digby, assistant professor of dance, focuses on an aspect of Digby's research that investigates how a performer's physiological signals combined with changes in lighting or sound impacts the viewers' connection to the performance. This dance will feature the real-time heartbeat of a soloist, who will wear a biosensor while dancing.
"We're It," also choreographed by Digby, encompasses playful innocence, oddball antics and eerie possibilities as women learn to rely on the strength of their community and the power of their sensuality.
Other faculty and staff from the university's School of Music, Theatre, and Dance assisting with the production include River Shields, assistant stage manager; LaVonne Canfield, stage management coordinator; Ben Stark, technical director; Jo Sanburg, lighting coordinator; and Melissa Neville, costume coordinator.
The following Kansas State University students are dancers or crew members for "WinterDance '18":
Jazlyn Kingsolver, dancer, Assaria; Tara Sitzmann, dancer, Basehor; Andrea Klepper, dancer, Ellinwood; Bobby Chavez, understudy, Great Bend.
From Greater Kansas City: Donovan Watts, stage crew, Kansas City; Mariah Rogers, lighting designer, Leawood; Lauren Gasiorowski, dancer, Olivia Mangual, dancer, and Ellie Ward, dancer, all from Olathe; and Allison Griffin, dancer, and Danielle Mitchell, dancer, both from Overland Park.
Reba Kreider, dancer, Horton.
From Hutchinson: Elissa Bergmeier, rehearsal assistant; Kris Cruz, sound board operator; and Josh Marshall, lighting designer.
Phoebe Smith, dancer, Junction City; Morgan Grote, stage crew, Lansing; Natalie Longhurst, dancer, Lawrence; Gabrielle Henry, lighting designer, Leavenworth; Abigail Svoboda, dancer, Lincolnville.
From Manhattan: Grace Harms, dancer; Emily Katzenmeier, dancer; Madison Long, rehearsal assistant; Emily Nicholson, dancer; and Kendra Truitt, dancer.
Taybor Smith, dancer, Marysville; Hannah Stecklein, dancer, McPherson; Allie Deiter, dancer, Meriden; Taylor Curtright, dancer, Milford; Christy McKissick, dancer, Minneola; Zoe Abner, dancer, Riley.
From Salina: Hanna Leiker, dancer; Emma Snyder, dancer; and J.D. Warren, dancer.
Addison Price, wardrobe crew, Scott City; Alison Davids, stage crew, Spring Hill.
From Topeka: Tressa Dekat, dancer; Jacob Edelman-Dolan, stage crew; and Bree Tiffany, dancer.
From Wichita: Brandon Lies, lighting designer; Hailey Price, dancer; Jessica Woody, lighting designer; and Kim Wong, light board operator.
From out of state:
Victoria Whitmore, dancer, and Chelsie Yokum, dancer, both from Greeley, Colorado; Liz Kritikos, dancer, New Lenox, Illinois; Jenna Henderson, dancer, Plainfield, Illinois; Kimberly Coussens, dancer, Zionsville, Indiana.
From Missouri: Tim Rodden, lighting designer, Belton; Karly Kinsey, wardrobe crew, Independence; Daisy Ralston, lighting, Rocky Mount; Emma-Quin Smith, dancer, Springfield; and Sydney VanDyke, dancer, St. Joseph.
From Oklahoma: Nicole Boulanger, dancer, Bartlesville; and Emma Hochman, dancer, Norman.
Christine Odom, dancer, Memphis, Tennessee.
From Texas: Kenedi Kelley, dancer, Addison;Katelyn Gehrt, dancer, Cypress; and Sarah Pitzer, dancer, Haltom City.
From out of country: Jan Bednar, dancer, Czech Republic; Vatsal Patel, lighting design, India; and Jazmin Royg, dancer, Paraguay.
