DANCE @ WRIGHT
Event showcases student performances, choreography
East Carolina University’s School of Theatre and Dance is starting off the 2016-2017 ECU/Loessin Playhouse series with the Dance @ Wright showcase, a production featuring the choreography of three students.
Ballet, jazz, tap, modern and contemporary dance performers will take center stage Sept. 16-18 at Wright Auditorium.
Last year was the first year that students choreographed their own work for the show. It was so successful that organizers decided to do it again this year, according to the theatre and dance website.
John Dixon, associate professor, event coordinator and choreographer, said it’s a great way to begin the fall season of productions. Dixon is “confident and proud that the choreographers are ambitious and want to be on the main stage,” he said on the website.
On Wednesday night, ECU students rehearsed for the annual Dance @ Wright production, which will be held Sept. 16-18.
“You want them (students) to learn what they are after and hone in on what they want, all while figuring out a more realistic and pragmatic sense of how to achieve (their) goals,” he added.
Student choreographers Stephanie Watterson and Arelia Hoy were chosen to present their piece, “Begending,” in the show.
“We created it as a final composition project, and we were so honored and elated when we had been selected,” said Watterson. “Our piece is entitled ‘Begending’ because it explores how the earth began and how it will end.”
“We are excited to be able to see it on the Wright stage,” said Hoy. “We hope that after watching this piece, the audiences will explore their feelings about the origins of the earth and will appreciate the different motifs and symbols throughout.”
Katherine Corbett, another dance student, was also chosen to present her choreography.
“My piece is entitled ‘Wicked Child’s Play,’ which I created last semester for the final showcase in my junior composition class. Things that were happening in my personal life inspired my work. Audience members can expect to see athletic, emotionally charged movement that represents human experiences that we can all relate to,” said Corbett.
There will be shows at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday as well as 2 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for ECU students and youth.
Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.ecuarts.com, calling 252-328-6826 or going to the box office located in the Messick Theatre Arts Center, open weekdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Dancers rehearse for the upcoming Dance @ Wright showcase, which opens tonight at 8 p.m. Three ECU students’ choreography will be a featured part of the performance.