Jan. 3, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Maria Junco
Theatre and Dance Department
(805) 756-1465
Orchesis Dance Company’s "Echoes
and Accents"
Presented in Cal Poly’s Spanos Theatre in January, February
SAN
LUIS OBISPO -- "Echoes and Accents," the 35th annual Orchesis
Dance Company Concert, will showcase the talent of Cal Poly students
plus new work from guest choreographers in a variety of dance styles,
including ballet, modern, jazz, tap, and hip-hop.
Evening performances are scheduled for January 28, 29, February
3, 4, and 5; curtain time is at 8 p.m. A matinee is scheduled Sunday,
January
30 at 2 p.m. All performances will be held at Alex and Faye Spanos
Theatre at the Cal Poly Performing Arts Center.
The concert is under the direction of Maria Junco, chair of the
Theatre and Dance Department, and assistant director and faculty
member Michelle
Walter. Other faculty guest artists include popular local choreographer
and faculty member Diana Stanton and Orchesis Dance Company founder
and professor emeritus Moon Ja Minn Suhr.
Professional guest choreographers include San Luis Obispo’s
Lisa Deyo
and Ryan Beck, Stacey Printz and Micaya of San Francisco and Gregg
Russell and Dennon and Sayhber Rawles of Los Angeles. Student works
include modern, jazz, lyrical pieces and Mexican folkloric dance
from
Cal Poly’s popular Imagen Y Espiritu Ballet Folklorico troupe.
Tickets for "Echoes and Accents" are $12 for the general
public and $9
for students and senior citizens with ID. Tickets can be purchased
at
the Performing Arts Center Ticket Office from 10 am to 5 pm weekdays
and
from 10 am to 2 pm Saturdays. To order tickets by phone, dial SLO-ARTS
(756-2787); to order by fax, dial 756-6088; to order online go to
www.pacslo.org.
Parking passes for the parking lot immediately adjacent to the
Performing Arts Center may be purchased for $5. Parking passes are
required on other lots on campus Monday through Thursday until 10
pm and
Friday until 5 pm or as marked.
The Orchesis Dance concert is sponsored by Cal Poly’s Theatre
and Dance
Department, the College of Liberal Arts, and Instructionally Related
Activities. For more information, call Maria Junco at 756-1248.
- # # # -
Editors: to receive color jpg images of Orchesis
dancers via e-mail,
please contact Teresa Hendrix in the Cal Poly Public Affairs Office
at
(805) 756-7266 or thendrix@calpoly.edu
More About the 2005 Orchesis Dance Concert
A summary of each of the pieces from guest and student choreographers
to be danced by Orchesis students:
• This year, Orchesis founder Moon Ja Minn Suhr will be restaging
the “Dance of the Swans,” the classical ballet pas de
quatre divertissement from "Swan Lake." The French-Russian
ballet master Marius Petipa and his assistant, Lev Ivanov, premiered
"Swan Lake" in January, 1895, for the Maryinsky Theatre
in St. Pertersburg. It was an immediate success and has since been
treasured in the repertoires of world's renowned ballet companies.
• Printz, founder and choreographer of the San Francisco-based fusion dance company “Printz Dance Project,” presents “0-10 in 17” with music from the Swordfish Soundtrack. According to the artist, “0-17 in 17” is a hard-core, fast-paced piece about Western Society’s ever growing assumption that ‘more plus faster equals better,’ ” she said. The first section is a duet that represents a race to a non-existent finish line. This exhausting section is followed by a group of “society zombies” who go through the motions of trying to keep up with the fast-paced grind. Printz’s company has toured nationally and has recently performed in their first international venue in Kaunas, Lithuania. Printz is currently on staff at San Francisco Dance Center and RoCo.
• Orchesis dancers will also perform Bay Area choreographer and teacher Micaya’s exciting and eclectic hip hop piece “Ting Ting Right.” The piece draws from her extensive background in jazz, ballet, hip-hop and ethnic dance. Micaya’s choreography has been featured in events for the NBA, Nike, Macy’s and Girbaud Jeans, as well as music videos and touring productions.
• Southern California choreographer Gregg Russell, who has choreographed for the WNBA Spark Kids, premieres the high-energy tap piece “Tapology” choreographed to a medley of music by Prince. He is a featured dancer in the new Jason Mraz video and kicking up his heels in a Gap commercial. He was also featured on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and has danced in many movies including “Newsies” and “Clueless.” He is currently teaching at the Edge Performing Arts Studio in Hollywood and directs the Los Angeles-based tap club, Tapsounds Underground.
• The Rawles, two other Southern California choreographers working with Orchesis this year, have created an exciting jazz finale for the Orchesis Dance Company to the music “Let It Whip,” by Dazz Band, Junco said. The Rawles have been working together since 1971 and are famous for their professional work in both film and television, including choreography for “Staying Alive,” with John Travolta, and “Bugsy” with Warren Beatty, as well as hundreds of television appearances.
• Local choreographer Stanton’s new quintet celebrates the mystery and intrigue of the female mind. “Through complex rhythms, intricately woven patterns and subtle shifts in focus, the dance piece creates a kinetic and visual feast for the eyes,” Junco said. Stanton received her MFA in dance from the University of California at Boulder.
• Characters from local choreographer Deyo’s 2003 ballet “Sketches in the Kitchen,” return in a new work by Deyo titled “Those Women.” Deyo combines classical ballet with pedestrian movement to convey each dancer’s evolution as a unique individual. The piece is performed to music composed by Robert Schumann and Leonard Cohen. Deyo’s vast professional activities include membership in the Hubbard Street Dance Company and Los Angeles Chamber Ballet.
• SLO choreographer Ryan Beck joins Orchesis to present the lyrical piece “Those Little Things,” performed to music by Tori Amos. Beck has danced with the Irish company Celtic Fusion and has performed in Disney stage shows and commercials, including Tarzan, Toy Story 2 and Disney Afternoon.
• English senior Kevin Cabaniss presents a modern piece “Without Warning,” which focuses not only on death and how it can come seemingly from nowhere, but on the process that those of us left behind must go through either on our own or together, Cabaniss said.
• BioChem senior Sara Galon's lyrical jazz piece "Beautiful Breakdown" explores finding the confidence necessary to let go of inhibitions and concerns, Junco said.
• Orchesis alumna Kristen Fraisse finds choreographic inspiration for her dance in the guitar sounds of Areosmith’s “Dream On.” In this modern jazz piece the movements of the ensemble parallel the confusion and internal pull expressed by the soloist.
• Cal Poly’s Imagen Y Espiritu Ballet Folklorico de Cal Poly will be performing two dances, both from the region of Vera Cruz, in Mexico. The beautiful signature white lace dresses, lush and exciting music, and complex footwork create an intoxicating visual and auditory experience.
###