The UNLV department of dance presents its first concert of the spring semester - "Cycles of Motion" - at 7:30 p.m. Friday, March 4, and at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 5. in the Judy Bayley Theatre.
Tickets are $18 and can be purchased through the Performing Arts Center website or by calling 702-895-ARTS (2787). Discounts are available.
UNLV dance was one of the first dance institutions in the nation to offer a broad-based curriculum with equal-emphasis study in the classical forms — ballet, modern dance and jazz dance. The goal is to train diverse dancers who are able to perform in various contemporary dance styles. Cycles of Motion brings together six diverse choreographers from around the world to choreograph works for UNLV Dance Company members.
Modern dance faculty member Cathy Allen will present a piece titled "Strangers in the Street" inspired by the book and internet blog sensation, Humans of New York. The author, Brandon Stanton, captures a photo and short comment by random subjects he meets. The stories are surprisingly poignant and varied - literally a small window into their souls. Allen’s choreography represents the ebbs and flow of the many strangers we meet along our day, a concept that Allen says is a common underlying theme in much of her work.
Margot Mink Colbert, ballet professor and Assistant Chair in the UNLV Dance Department presents a three-movement dance suite "Come What May." This work features original musical composition by dance department music director/composer-in-residence, Beth Mehocic.
Richard Havey’s "It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing" is a combination of Lindy Hop and tap and features performance with the UNLV Ballroom Team. Havey is a member of the UNLV Dance jazz dance faculty.
This concert also features works by ballet artist-in-residence James Jeon and jazz artist-in-residence Jason Parsons. Jeon’s "Blow-Out" is a relentless contemporary ballet work revealing the pent-up energy that individuals need to identify and release into the world. This work follows the style of his recent work Rage, which received excellent reviews in the Korean world of Dance. Jeon is the artistic director of the Seoul Ballet Theatre as well as a professor of dance at the Korea National Sport University. Parsons is a choreographer and performer whose works have been showcased on numerous companies around the world. Parsons is on faculty with Nuvo Dance Convention, Steps on Broadway, Peridance and Broadway Dance Center in New York City.