DeSales University Act 1 Presents the Annual Dance Ensemble Concert
The School of Performing Arts presents its annual Dance Ensemble Concert featuring choreography by internationally recognized choreographers and accomplished DeSales dance faculty members.
The concert opens on March 21 in the Main Stage Theatre of the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts and runs through March 23.
“This year we are bringing six premieres to the Labuda Main Stage,” said Julia Mayo, artistic director for the show and chair of the dance department. “It has been a challenging and rewarding creation process for our students, who get to embody these choreographic works for the first time and leave their own mark on the roles for future dancers.
“The program showcases diversity of movement aesthetics and choreographic approaches. From garnering inspiration from generative AI, to virtual texture with the use of projection, this Dance Ensemble Concert really highlights a wide range of creative processes.”
Guest choreographer Clifford Williams will premiere “AR4TS,” a work that has the theme of human connections created during our lives. Williams received his dance training from the School of American Ballet, The Ailey School, Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, and The Juilliard School.
He was awarded a 1998 National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts award. He has set numerous Dwight Rhoden works on schools and has assisted the choreographer on projects for professional companies as well as the television show “So You Think You Can Dance.”
Guest choreographer Blake Krapels, who is currently the co-founder of Sonder Space, a collaborative dance project based in Philadelphia alongside Andie Yorita and Zachary Kapeluck, choreographed a work for the senior class, titled “Shadow Self.” The dance asks to look inward—to the parts kept hidden and the parts shared.
Krapels has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Keigwin & Company, GroundWorks Dance Theatre, Emery LeCrone Dance, Konverjdans, DanceAspen, and South Dakota Ballet, where he is the current associate director. He spent four years with Philadelphia’s BalletX, where he performed at The Vail Dance Festival, Joyce Theater, The Kennedy Center, and The Belgrade Dance Festival.
Lawrence M. Jackson, guest choreographer, is a professor of dance at The George Mason University School of Dance. Before joining GMU, he served at the University of Alabama as associate chair of dance, director of graduate studies, and artistic director of the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre. His piece is titled, “I remember when….”
As a performer, Lawrence spent several years performing with the internationally renowned Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble. His research focuses on the intersection of Dance and Africana Studies. Lawrence currently serves on the editorial board of “Siyabonana: The Journal of Africana Studies” and has been recognized with the University of Alabama’s President’s Faculty Research Award for his outstanding contributions to research and scholarship in dance.
Aleesa D. Tucker-Parks, instructor of dance and choreographer, will premiere “Library of the Banned,” a work inspired by the ongoing battle against censorship and the power of literature to provoke thought, inspire change, and amplify silenced voices.
Angela Sigley Grossman, associate professor of dance, in collaboration with the dancers, choreographed “Penny Candy,” generated in response to input/output from generative artificial intelligence tools. Meanwhile, Mayo will present “we were ourselves” that explores the fickleness of memory, moving between who we are and who we believe we were.
The Dance Ensemble Concert runs March 21 at 11:00 a.m. and 7:30 p.m., March 22 at 7:30 p.m., and March 23 at 2:00 p.m. on the Main Stage of the Labuda Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets for the performances are $20 for adults and $17 for seniors and students.
Students who attend DeSales or any other Lehigh Valley college or university can purchase tickets for $8. Group discounts are available for all performances. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Labuda Center Box Office at 610-282-3192 or by going online at tickets.desales.edu.