DANCE 2018

Annual performance brings ideas to life

This year’s Dance 2018 features one of the largest number of performers in the annual ECU School of Theatre and Dance production.

Dance 2018 makes its debut March 22 in McGinnis Theatre, featuring a wide range of performances by East Carolina University students and choreography by guest artists and faculty.

“Each dance is worked on extensively by both the choreographers and the dancers as well the costume designers, lighting designers, stage managers, scene and prop shops in order to bring an idea to life,” sophomore Brittany Good said. “This year we have eight different pieces in the show and each one is unique.”

Good is a sophomore dance education major from Winston-Salem who will be performing.

“My hope is that the audience leaves thinking about the topics we are dancing about and that the movement has a strong effect on how they process it,” Good said.

Marissa Nesbit is an ECU faculty member who helped choreograph the dance concert.

“I think this year’s concert has more overt political themes, with choreographers making work in response to the tumultuous social and political contexts we find ourselves in,” she said. “It is also one of our largest concerts in terms of the number of performers involved.”

Dance 2018 students rehearse one of eight different pieces in the show.

Nesbit’s piece, “Nahodishgish” – what the Navajo call places to be left alone –  is a collaboration with the dancers, designers and composer Adam Scott Neal. Rocks are incorporated on stage for props and to generate sounds.

“I used several images of rocks in desert landscapes and found myself drawn especially to pictures of Bears Ears National Monument,” she said.

Neal used pipe organ recordings to create the music to bring to life the theme of rocks and conservation. Basic and repetitive sounds create a sense of awe and fear, he said.

“I hope the music will support the dance and make it more vivid,” Neal said.

Performances will be held in McGinnis Theatre at 8 p.m. March 22-24, 2 p.m. March 25, and 8 p.m. March 26-27. Tickets are $15 for the general public and $10 for ECU students and youth. Call 252-328-6829, email theatre@ecu.edu or visit www.ecu.edu/cs-cfac/theatredance/Playhouse.cfm for more information.

A variety of performances will highlight Dance 2018, which will run approximately two hours including intermission.