Date: Apr 07, 2011

Hofstra Dance Performs Annual Spring Dance Concert, Featuring Choreography from the 1930s Through Present Day, In Honor of Hofstra's 75th Anniversary

Thursday, April 14, to Sunday, April 17, 2011, at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … Hofstra University’s Dance Program will present its annual Spring Dance Concert, at the John Cranford Adams Playhouse, April 14 to 17, 2011. Show times are 8 p.m. Thursday and Friday; 2 and 8 p.m. on Saturday; and 2 p.m. on Sunday. The concert is part of Hofstra’s 75th anniversary celebration, and the featured choreographed works form a timeline of dances from the 1930s through present day, including early and contemporary modern dance, tap and hip hop.

Tickets are $12; $10 for senior citizens (over 65) or matriculated, non-Hofstra students with I.D. Members of the Hofstra community receive two free tickets upon presentation of a current HofstraCard. For tickets and more information call the Hofstra Box Office at (516) 463-6644, Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.

One of the featured performances is Into Sunlight, choreographed by Associate Professor of Drama and Dance Robin Becker. When Professor Becker read David Maraniss’ book They Marched Into Sunlight, a nonfiction account of two days in October 1967 at the height of the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, she responded “immediately to the timelessness and universality of the themes and events he documented.” She then embarked upon choreographing a dance, Into Sunlight, through which she hoped “the universal language of the body would reflect the sense of healing and peace that David’s words evoked in my heart.”

Into Sunlight, features the talents of Professor Becker’s professional dance company, Robin Becker Dance, as well as Hofstra dance students.  More than half the members of Robin Becker Dance are alumni from Hofstra’s dance program.

The Spring Dance Concert also features a number of other performances including:

Cage meets “Bojangles”, choreographed by Assistant Professor Anita Feldman, is a tap dance, in honor of Hofstra’s 75th anniversary. It is inspired by the wealth of artistic innovation in the 1930’s, from Swing to experimental classical music, from the upright tapping style of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, to the earthy syncopated rhythm tap of John Bubbles. Tap dancers will perform on specially designed stairs, and on The Tap Dance Instrument, a multi-timbral floor of various woods and metals.  Music will be performed live by a seven-piece ensemble.

Steps in the Street is an excerpt from one of Martha Graham's antiwar pieces, the 1936 Chronicle. The work is a reflection of Graham's feelings about the Spanish Civil War.

That Which Is Revealed, choreographed by Professor Stormy Brandenberger, explores geometric proportions in human interactions. If one body may be measured in such divine increments, what designs naturally occur when two or more bodies interact?

It Was All A Dream, choreographed by adjunct instructor Devin Pullins, is about a fierce troupe of dancers invading a young girl’s dream. She is intrigued but also intimidated by their dancing.  After studying the complexity of their movement, she gives it a try. Ultimately, she realizes that she is able to do the dance but, when she joins in, she realizes, it was all a dream.

The Hofstra University Department of Drama and Dance provides its students with the opportunity to develop and hone their skills as performers, and deepen their appreciation for the arts, on their way to careers in the theater and beyond.  The Dance Program offers two undergraduate degrees: a B.A. in Dance, and a B.S. in Education, Dance Education.

Note: In addition to the Spring Dance Concert, there will be a special performance of Into Sunlight, introduced by David Mariniss, on Friday, April 15, at 3 p.m. as part of the Hofstra University conference Into Sunlight: The Impact of War and Violence on the Social Body, From the Vietnam Era to the Present, three-days of panel discussions, performances, an art exhibit and presentations coordinated by Professor Becker, Professor of Drama and Dance Cindy Rosenthal and Assistant Professor of Drama and Dance Robert Westley.