'Into the Current' April 18, 2013

April 18-19 @ 8pm, April 20 @ 2pm & 8pm

The Mills College Dance Department presents "Into the Current," the culminating weekend of shows for the choreographic thesis works of the 2013 MFA candidates. Expressing both the choreographic and performance aspects of the degree, the performances present works in both solo and group choreography and provide an eclectic composition of pieces that defines each choreographer's interests and showcases them in their own light. Over half of the pieces presented have a collaborative relationship with musicians and composers from the music department and/or artists from the fine art department at Mills College.

"Into the Current" will be presented in two programs. Program A will present the work of four choreographers on April 18 and 20 at 8pm. Jeanette Male explores different states of liminality that relate to the physical and psychological boundaries of experience; Garth Grimball's movement inspiration comes from sociobiological studies of EO Wilson and is closely tied to the music; Adrianne Cherry's piece has been inspired by the unconscious communication of the body and the connection of emotion through movement; Erica Pinigis has derived movement from improvisations based on Russian Folk stories and has structured her piece to highlight the dancers both as individuals and as a close community.

Program B will also showcase the work of four choreographers on April 19 at 8pm and April 20 at 2pm. Rebekah Brown's work speaks to significant situations in life that are influenced by change and the perpetual cycle of replacement; Nataly Morales is inspired by the idea of bodies of knowledge, and how they shift, evolve, and reproduce into new and abstracted bodies of knowledge; Rachel Holdt brings schemes of groupthink, social networking, feedback loops, and community into the investigation of the result of multiple agendas; Carmen Roman has developed a contemporary elaboration of an Afro-Peruvian Lando, which is an Afro-Peruvian dance that is seldom performed.

Official Website: http://www.mills.edu/academics/undergraduate/dnc/thesis_dance.php