FACULTY CHOREOGRAPHERS SHARE CREATIVE PROCESSES

Jan. 19, 1999

Contact Ruth Heller (541) 346-3387 or John R. Crosiar 346-3135

EUGENE–The University of Oregon Department of Dance will present "Culmination" at 7 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 1, at the Dougherty Dance Theatre in Gerlinger Annex, 1484 University St. on the UO campus.

The concert is the third in a series of informal showings of new works created for UO dance students by faculty choreographers. The dances were presented in two earlier showings as works-in-progress. Audiences who attend "Culmination" will see the completed versions of the dances and hear the choreographers describe their creative processes.

Adjunct instructor Rita Honka developed "Michael’s Theme" from images associated with a dear friend and fellow dancer. Her minimalistic dance is based on the vocabulary of two short movement phrases.

Sherrie Barr, associate professor of dance, has created a quartet to music by Arvo Pärt. "Out of Dad’s Basement" is concerned with the ways in which individuals can simultaneously be observers and members of their own families.

Watching her son’s and daughter’s track and field competitions inspired associate professor Jenifer Craig to create "John’s Track." Five dancers will perform to an original score played by percussionist David Burrow and the choreographer’s son, electric bassist John Craig.

"6 Seconds" is a dance about memory. In choreographing the dance, associate professor Steven Chatfield focused on the daily incidents that can stimulate memory. Chatfield describes the dance as "an excursion through pedestrian movement into the abstract."

The concert also will feature dances by two new members of the dance faculty, assistant professor Amy Lynn Stoddart and visiting artist Pamela Geber.

Stoddart’s "Octet," a ballet in three movements, was choreographed to Paganini’s "Centone di Sonate, Op. 64, No. 1" for violin and guitar. According to the choreographer, the dances’ distinct rhythmic patterns "sometimes mirror the rhythms of the violin or guitar, but more often interweave and circle them."

Nine women will dance amidst a row of folding chairs and metronomes in Geber’s "Click Song," set to two hauntingly melancholy works by Meredith Monk. The dancers will begin to set the metronomes in motion as they explore the tensions between formal and informal relationships.

The Dougherty Dance Theatre is housed in the third floor studios of Gerlinger Annex. Currently the studio/theater is undergoing renovations. The first phase of the project–the installation of a new dance floor–was completed last summer. The second phase–installation of a new seating system–should be completed by the end of 1999. Until then, temporary seating will be used for dance department concerts.

Tickets for "Culmination" are $3 and may be purchased at the door. Ticket sales will begin at 6:30 p. m. Seating is limited.

For further information, call (541) 346-3386 weekdays during business hours.

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