The University of Utah School of Dance presents “Dinner Party,” an evening of original choreography that represents the culmination of study for three Master of Fine Arts students. In this concert, MFA Candidates Constance Anderson, Emma Capen, and Roxanne Gray will present choreographic work with the intent to start a conversation—the type you may find at a dinner party.
“Graduate Program Director and mentor, Eric Handman, once told us that research should feel like a dinner party—a gathering of minds, each discussing their points of view and contributing to the conversation,” the three students wrote in a statement.
The evening will begin with “Waxing Poets,” a piece choreographed and directed by Constance Anderson. “Waxing Poets is a series of abstracted narratives, layered on top of one another to illuminate the dancers' relationship to performance in a proscenium theatre style space,” says Anderson. “Audiences can expect theatrical stints of expressive movement true to the dancer's personalities and unusual uses of theatre technology.”
Next on the program is “Vantage Pointe,” choreographed by Emma Capen. “The piece highlights the significance of the symbiotic relationship between a dancer and their pointe shoes and how pointe shoes impact a dancer’s movement capabilities and artistry,” says Capen. The piece will explore pointe-shoe movements both historical and contemporary.
The evening will end with “Nepantla,” choreographed by Roxanne Gray, which Gray says “explores labor, community, and joy in the borderlands of identidad.” The piece combines elements of both modern dance and Mexican Folklórico, and features a cast of all BIPOC performers from both the U and the larger Salt Lake City community. In this piece, Gray says “the dancers find meaning and belonging through movement that is both multilingual and sin fronteras.”
Performances will take place October 24 at 5:30pm, October 25 at 7:30pm, and October 26 at 7:30pm. Admission is free, and the performances will also be live-streamed at dance.utah.edu. We hope you will join us this weekend for this expansive night of dance.