Sept. 26 2006

Contact: Gordon Ovenshine: 724-738-4854; gordon.ovenshine@sru.edu

OCT. 24  ‘FACULTY AND GUEST ARTIST’S DANCE CONCERT’                                  AT SRU TO FEATURE VARIETY OF DANCERS, STYLES

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Slippery Rock University dance faculty, students and guest artists will present modern, ballet, classical Indian and Chinese dance as part of the annual “SRU Faculty and Guest Artist’s Dance Concert” at 8 p.m., Oct. 24 in Miller Auditorium.

 New this year is the variety of the dancers – from 19-year-old students to SRU’s Wilma Cavill, a faculty member for more than 40 years, who will dance in “Transmission,” a dance choreographed by SRU dance faculty Nola Nolen-Holland that symbolizes the passing of knowledge from professors to students.

Tickets are $5 general admission; $3 for students. They will be pre-sold from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. at the Morrow Field House
lobby on Oct. 10, 12, 17, 19 and 24. Tickets will also be available on the day of the show at Miller Auditorium, beginning at 6:30 p.m. Call 724-738-2036.

The concert will present chorographic works by SRU dance faculty Nolen-Holland, Jennifer Keller, Ursula Payne, Melissa Teodoro and Jaya Mani.  Visiting faculty Tom Truss, who has toured the U.S. with his own company, will also participate as a choreographer. Guest artists Licia Perea and Eva Tessler of the Latina Dance Project and SRU alumnae Teena Custer andShih-Ming Li Chang, associate professor of theater and dance at Wittenberg University,choreographed pieces as well.

The concert will include:

•         Payne’s “Swimming Upstream,” examining how women experience the loss of identity, bodily integrity, language and social interaction;

•      Teodero’s  “If Only,” about the playful qualities of youthful relationships;

•       Nolen-Holland’s “Transmission,”a ballet homage to teachers and celebration of what is transmitted to successive generations;

•       Keller dancing to the music of Frederic Mompou (1893-1987), with video footage depicting clouds moving at 1,000 times their natural speed;

•         Mani’s “Bharata Natyam” classical Indian dance;

•       Li Chang’s “The Spirit of the Drum,” which fuses traditional Chinese martial arts with hip-hop break dance;

•         Tessler’s “New Moon over Juarez,” about a sister's quest for her younger sibling.

Teodero said 14 SRU dance students will perform.“It is a wonderful opportunity for students to share the same stage with their teachers, mentors and other professional performers,” she said. “This will really prepare them for future professional challenges.”

The SRU Hispanic Cultures Month Committee, women’s studies department and dance department sponsored the Latina Dance Project participation.

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