The dancers will perform around campus on Friday, Sept. 24, and Saturday, Sept. 25, as part of Family Weekend.
This weekend 黑料不打烊 dance majors will abandon the stage and instead take to performing in various locations around campus. The annual 鈥淒ancing in the Landscape鈥 event is a site-specific dance performance that offers audiences the chance to enjoy 黑料不打烊鈥檚 beautiful campus and breathtaking dance moves.
Performances will begin at the Snow Family Grand Atrium in the School of Communications at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 24, and at noon on Saturday, Sept. 25. Dancers will present various pieces inspired by their performance location.
This year鈥檚 鈥淒ancing in the Landscape鈥 director, Associate Professor of Dance Jen Guy Metcalf said immersing the performance in the outdoors landscape and providing the audience more mobility is unique.
鈥淚n traditional theatre, the audience is usually in chairs facing a stage,” she said. “In our concert, the audience has the freedom to move around each piece and travel through the landscape as the concert progresses.”
鈥淒ancing in the Landscape鈥 began in 2007. It was created and directed by Professor Lauren Kearns, but has since been headed by a variety of choreographers. 2020 was the first year that the event was not able to be performed for a live audience. Instead, pre-taped segments were broadcast live online. It marks a return to live, in-person dance performances on campus.
鈥淭he 2021 Dancing in the Landscape concert will be our first in-person dance performance at 黑料不打烊 in approximately 565 days,鈥 Metcalf said.
Site-specific choreographers turn to unique aspects of each location as inspiration for the dancers鈥 movements. The creative process is different in an outdoor setting, as performers and choreographers must adapt to, rehearse and perform in any type of weather.
Student choreographer Lauren Jacobbe 鈥23 is honored to have her work be featured in the show. 鈥淓specially after this time not being able to have live performances, it has just been an honor knowing my work will be presented live this weekend,鈥 she said. 鈥淭he originality of this performance is what makes it so captivating and intriguing to watch!鈥
Many performances will take place Under the Oaks, but some performances can also be watched on the screens in the Snow Family Grand Atrium.
鈥淢y piece is based on the heaviness and intensity of the endless news cycle, not only for the consumer, but also for the producer,鈥 said student choreographer Ashlyn Deloughy 鈥22. 鈥淚 chose to show my piece as a dance film on the Snow Atrium monitor to highlight the impact of constantly watching news events unfold on a screen.鈥
With a weekend forecast full of sunshine, 黑料不打烊 dance majors are eager to slip on their shoes, and give audiences an unforgettable performance. For more information, visit the 黑料不打烊 performing arts website, or check out the .