December 30, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Diana Stanton
Cal Poly Theatre and Dance Department
805-756-2039
Cal Poly Orchesis Dance Company to Present ‘Impact’
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly Assistant Professor Diana Stanton makes her debut as director of Cal Poly’s Orchesis Dance Company with “Impact,” the company’s 39th annual concert.
Evening performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30-31, and Thursday through Saturday, Feb 5-7. In addition, a 2 p.m. matinee is scheduled on Sunday, Feb. 1. All performances will be in the Spanos Theatre at Cal Poly.
“Impact” showcases the talents of award-winning choreographers from the East Coast, Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as those of local professionals and Cal Poly students and faculty. The concert will include modern, ballet, hip hop, jazz and contemporary dance styles.
Stanton, who co-founded and directs local contemporary dance company “Variable Velocity,” has recruited award-winning guest choreographers to set pieces for Cal Poly student dancers in “Impact.”
San Francisco choreographer Robert Moses' "The Soft Sweet Smell of Firm Warm Things" is a stunning abstract work set to the soft beat of Jonathan Norton's "MeloDrone," Stanton said. That work won Moses a Bay Area Isadora Duncan Award (IZZIE) for Outstanding Choreography. Moses has earned a host of awards, including three IZZIES. His work has been commissioned and performed by such major companies as Philadanco, the Bare Bones Dance Company in England, the African Cultural Exchange, and the Oakland Ballet.
Loyola Marymount Assistant Professor Chad Michael Hall’s contemporary modern dance, "DoubleSpeak," is a fast-paced, high-energy, multimedia movement expression that demonstrates what it looks and feels like to be fed up with adversity, public scrutiny and political euphemisms.
Hall toured throughout the United States and internationally with Diavolo Dance Theatre as a company member and master teacher from 2004 until 2006, at which time he founded his own company, M-O-V-E-> Dance Theatre.
Also on tap, internationally recognized Los Angeles choreographers Dennon and Sayhber Rawles will again join forces with Orchesis Dance Company to create the concert’s dynamic finale. Set to the music of Stevie Wonder's "Higher Ground," this high-energy contemporary jazz piece of the same name "suggests the need for action in a world where violence and incompetence create chaos," Stanton said.
“This year’s Orchesis Dance Company concert not only showcases the striking work of critically acclaimed guest choreographers, but it also highlights the diverse talents of the students and the quality and sophistication of Cal Poly faculty and local professionals,” said Assistant Director Maria Junco. Works by faculty and local choreographers will include dances by Diana Stanton, Valerie Kline, Michelle Walter, Moon Ja Minn Suhr and Lisa Deyo.
Tickets for "Impact" are $13 for the public and $10 for students. Tickets are on sale at the Performing Arts Ticket Office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. To order by phone, call SLO-ARTS (756-2787); to order by fax, call 756-6088; to order online, go to www.pacslo.org.
The Orchesis Dance Company concert is sponsored by Cal Poly’s Theatre and Dance Department, College of Liberal Arts, and Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information, call Stanton at 756-2039 or go online to the Orchesis blog at http://calpolyorchesisdancecompany.blogspot.com/.
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(Note to Editors: A full selection of color dance photo jpgs are available. Contact Teresa Hendrix or Scott Roark in Cal Poly Public Affairs at polynews@calpoly.edu to request jpgs.)