Dickinson College Faculty, Students Present Interarts Concert
Photo by A. Pierce Bounds '71.
Choreography informed by faculty work
by MaryAlice Bitts-Jackson
You’ve likely seen creative works by Dickinson’s talented students and artists-in-residence, but have you seen the work of another group on campus that’s actively creating art, music, dance and writings every day? This stable of acclaimed, accomplished Dickinsonians performs, exhibits and publishes regularly, but rarely takes the spotlight on campus. Until now.
Faculty members in the arts join forces as never before in an interdisciplinary performance, opening Friday, Nov. 22. The 2019 fall dance concert, Art Works, is a collaboration between the art & art history, creative writing, music and theatre & dance departments, the Dickinson College Ballet Certificate Program With Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB), Hypnotic and the Dance Theatre Group (DTG).
Photo by A. Pierce Bounds '71.
Director of Dance Sarah Skaggs, Visiting Instructor in Dance Erin Crawley-Woods and guest-choreographer Christopher Williams created the choreography in response to specific works by faculty members—verse by Poet-in-Residence and Professor of Creative Writing Adrienne Su; costumes and puppets by Professor of Theatre Sherry Harper-McCombs; visual works by art professors Anthony Cervino, Ward Davenny and Todd Arsenault; performances by music professors Jennifer Blyth and James Martin; and a composition by Professor of Music Robert Pound. Student-dancers in DTG and Hypnotic perform these works. A solo dance by Leah Blatt ’22, a student in Dickinson’s ballet-certificate program, brings a balletic touch to the mix.
There’s also a pre-show art happening—an exhibit of the artworks that provided inspiration for the performance. Further blurring the lines between offstage and onstage, all behind-the-scenes gear is fully on view, and the stage is expanded so that the performance reaches into the seating area.
Photo by A. Pierce Bounds '71.
“It’s a very creative, imaginative, provocative space, and it bridges the gap between ‘theatrical magic’ and the audience,” says Skaggs, who directs the production, noting that this immersive approach to performance is fashionable in the contemporary arts scene.
Showtimes are: Friday, Nov. 22, and Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 24, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $7, or $5 with a student I.D.
TAKE THE NEXT STEPS
Published November 21, 2019