Spring Dance Concert 2021
Alicia Laumann’s piece in the Spring Dance Concert
ECU dance faculty and students are preparing for the annual Spring Dance Concert, which will stream April 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. and April 11 at 2:00 p.m. The concert features a variety of styles, including ballet, tap, jazz, and modern.
Associate Professor Teal Darkenwald is the coordinator for the concert and one of the choreographers. “We are back after a year without mainstage dance concerts for our biggest show of the year,” Darkenwald says. “This year we will be offering a unique opportunity for patrons globally to view our dance concert as we capture the dancers through a multi-camera video shoot that will culminate with the streaming concert.”
In addition to Darkenwald, the concert contains works by four dance faculty, as well as two guest artists and one student choreographer. Assistant Professor Jessica Teague, in collaboration with recently retired Professor Galina Panova, staged an excerpt from Marius Petipa’s classical Russian ballet La Bayadére. Jayme Host choreographed a contemporary piece titled “inter nos lumen” as part of the Loessin Playhouse season for the first time in her tenure as Director of the School of Theatre and Dance. Dance Area Coordinator Tommi Overcash Galaska’s jazz number, “Spotlight,” features the graduating dance majors. And dance faculty newcomer, Teaching Assistant Professor Alicia Laumann, has created a multi-media piece featuring original projections.
Liza Eller’s piece in the Spring Dance Concert.
Liza Eller, the senior dance student selected to choreograph a piece for the concert, says “It has been an honor to choreograph for the mainstage. This work is a representation of the closing of many chapters and I am sad my time at ECU is coming to an end, but I could have not asked for a better experience.“
Guest artist Lindsey Shephard is an alumna of the ECU Dance Program and choreographed a tap piece last winter that has been remounted for this production. Andrea Guajardo also returned virtually this semester to re-cast and re-stage her piece.
“Being a versatile dancer with the ability to interpret a diversity of ideas and concepts is an essential skill for anyone wishing to enter today’s professional dance field,” says Jessica Teague. “Therefore, an important element of our program is to provide students with opportunities to work with a variety of guest artists, like Andrea Guajardo who are currently forging new pathways as leaders in the dance world. Investigating dance through different perspectives and processes with professional artists not only strengthens the technical level of our students but also develops their understanding of the historical roots and stylistic elements in global dance trends that they can apply to their own artistic practice.”
Tickets to this and all virtual ECU/Loessin Playhouse performances are $10 and available online at theatredance.ecu.edu or by calling the box office at 252-328-6829. Tickets for ECU students available for $5 by calling the box office.
Andrea Guajardo’s piece in the Spring Dance Concert
The ECU/Loessin Playhouse virtual season will continue with Lysistrata, adapted by Ellen McLaughlin, April 30 – May 2.