Emerging dancers and choreographers are showcasing their talents in the upcoming performances of “Kinesis”, an annual dance concert sponsored by the kinesiology department.
Paula Thomson, kinesiology professor, said that “Kinesis” will showcase the performances from students with different backgrounds.
There will be three performances: one on Monday at 8 p.m. and two on Tuesday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. The second performance on Tuesday will also include a special tribute to Dr. Marilynn Filbeck and Dr. Jerry Luedders.
Dr. Filbeck is stepping down as associate dean in the college of health and human development and Dr. Luedders is stepping down as associate director for the Performing Arts Complex.
“In the entire program we have close to 900 students who are taking at least one dance class per semester,” Thomson said. “Some of these students are kinesiology majors with an option in dance, some are enrolled as dance minors and other students just take dance because they love to move and dance.”
Students will display a diversity of dancing talents and techniques. Thomson notes that there will be close to 90 students involved in the creation and production of this event.
“We have many extraordinarily talented dancers in our undergraduate program and several of these students are involved in the professional dance community,” she said.
Performances to look forward to include professional tap dancer Sara Adler, who is involved in many of the numbers and has also created a new work, internationally ranked figure skater Bebe Lang, and professional classical Indian dancer Tharini Shanmugarajah.
Others numbers to look forward to are professional opera singer Amanda Kadlubek, foreign exchange students Fiona Booth and Rebecca Daly from the University of Limerick, and a special performance by Patille Albarian in remembrance of the Armenian genocide.
Thomson said that these students, among others, auditioned in front of a panel of judges that was composed of faculty members and professional members from the community.
“We had 24 dances that were auditioned and 12 dances were accepted into “Kinesis,”” she said. “The other 12 dances that were not accepted will be performed in our studio dance concert, Dialogues in Dance, which will be held on Friday, May 13 in Redwood Hall.”
In addition to the dancers, Thomson, along with Jennifer McKinney and Victoria Jacque, has been training a team of 10 undergraduate students in psychophysiological research.
“We conduct psychophysiological research on the dancers who will be performing in the show,” Thomson said. “We are rapidly becoming recognized as an international center for dance science research.”
The first performance of “Kinesis” will take place in the Plaza Del Sol at the University Student Union. Tickets will cost students and seniors $15 and $20 for adults.
