contemporary dance

This month, the National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing will host BYU’s Contemporary Dance Theatre (CDT) in a performance of their latest show, “Encounters.” The performance is part of the larger “Chun Hua Oiu Shi” festival, a week of selected performances from arts universities in China. Stephen Jones, Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communications, expressed his appreciation for the opportunity of BYU students and faculty to take part in the event November 13. “Our Department of Dance is honored to be invited to participate with you in this prestigious festival, honoring the growth, the strength, and the superb skills of our students,” Jones said. The invitation to perform at this festival emerges from the relationships that BYU has been building with the Chinese audiences and arts administrators for more than thirty years. “Despite our differences in language and the differences that separate us in geography, the value of the arts, including those human expressions of love, goodness, truth, beauty and excellence that unite us,” Jones said. For Jones, the invitation is a natural outgrowth of not just of the mutual admiration between BYU and its Chinese counterparts but also from the hard work and creativity espoused by BYU’s dance program. “These students and their faculty strive for excellence and regularly receive national and international recognition for the quality of their performance,” Jones said. The NCPA has been host to hundreds of outstanding dancers, musicians and actors since its inaugural concert in 2007. BYU’s contemporary dance team joins this long list of world-class talent with their performance. “The meaning of the title of our concert, Encounters, include the ideas, images and possibilities of all the ways that we might connect, and the notion that every encounter might change us,” said Marylin Berrett, chair of the Department of Dance. The CDT will dance to the music of composers George Gershwin, Ishan Rustem, and others as they portray captivating encounters with people, places and ideas. After exploring all of these encounters, the show will reach its fitting culmination in a collaboration between BYU and the Beijing Dance Academy. “We are so thrilled that the students from the Beijing Dance Academy are joining with the students from Brigham Young University in an East meets West encounter. This is a most remarkable opportunity for us,” Berrett said. Visit dance.byu.edu for more information on BYU’s dance programs.

Equipped with an eight-foot trampoline, benches, and mattresses, Contemporary Dance Theatre will travel this summer to India to perform The Rhythm of Life. The show explores the rhythm of the world interpreted through dance and music–from the simple rhythm of a heartbeat to the rhythm of the street. The last group traveled to India in 2001. The company will be performing for audiences in Delhi, Mumbai, Vishakhapatnam, and Goa–to name a few. Members of the company are excited to share the experience of dance with the people in India. “I am most excited to be exposed to a totally new culture,” said group member Kristin Brown. “I can’t wait to dance and share our light with so many amazing people in India. I know I am going to learn so much about myself and be changed for the rest of my life.” One of the dances, “Chakra,” is choreographed by Ivan Pulinkala, originally from New Delhi, India. The dance applies the principles of balance and energy as a metaphor for the human struggle to regain equilibrium in modern society. The word chakra is derived from traditional Indian medicine, which identifies seven energy craters that reside in the human body. The dance requires an eight-foot, wheel-shaped trampoline that rolls across the stage, symbolizing the cycle of life from birth to death. Each of the members of the company has a favorite. For Jeneca Frederiksen that number is “Woman the Pioneer,” a tribute to women of faith and courage everywhere. The dance depicts a woman who has suffered the loss of a child as she travels across the plains with the Mormon pioneers. “The piece shows her grief and sorrow over losing a child and the process of moving forward despite that,” Frederiksen said. “It is a very moving piece, and one that is difficult emotionally to perform and see. But it is by far my favorite.” Although the tour to India is months away, the group practices 12 hours a week. Contemporary dance is a conglomeration of dance genres molded into one. It requires dancers to move their torsos, fly through the air, and communicate through intricate and abstract movements. Logan McGill considers storytelling a key component of contemporary dance. “Contemporary dance is about allowing the audience to become a part of the dancing experience,” McGill said. “It is about the audience and performers giving and taking from each other to create an experience that is fun, emotional, and, most important, unforgettable.” Source: Performing Arts Management