The Middlebury College Dance Program offers samples of faculty choreography on Thursday, April 19, 8 p.m., in the Dance Theatre of the Mahaney Center for the Arts. This year’s new works from Julian Barnett, Christal Brown, Karima Borni, Laurel Jenkins and Lida Winfield offer a wide range of aesthetics and artistic voices, representing the breadth and depth of the college’s resident dance scholars and creators.
“Slow Dance,” choreographed by Barnett in collaboration with the performers, is focused on the lives of three bodies and a storyteller. Performed by fifth-grader Kian Amadora, Sam Kann ’20.5, Anja Kuipers ’18, and Lida Winfield, “Slow Dance” opens up other spaces for reflection and gratitude by using the characters’ reliance on each other, as well as the themes of time-travel, friendship, desire and nature.
Brown, assistant professor and dance program chair, has made a new work showcasing the talents of dancers Esteban Arenas-Piño ’18 and Esme Fahnestock ’21.
Borni, scholar in residence, presents “Crossroads Revisited,” an investigation into the unfolding intersections of people, events and time. Her dancers are Asia Myles-Funches ’18, Tess Weitzner ’18.5, Nick Zelle ’18.5, Maduabuchukwu Udeh ’21, and Ami Furgang ’20.
Jenkins, assistant professor of dance, collaborated with Chi Chi Chang ’18, Deborah Grace Leedy ’18, Matea Mills-Andruk ’18.5, and Vermont performer Hanna Satterlee to create a retro science-fiction inspired work with live original music by Fiona Roth Sullivan ’19.
Visiting assistant professor of dance Winfield presents a piece based on her expertise in storytelling and improvisation.
Expand your mind at this annual faculty concert on Thursday, April 19. A discussion will follow the performance. Tickets are $15 for the general public; $12 for Middlebury College faculty, staff, alumni, emeriti, and other ID card holders; $8 for youth 18 and under; and $6 for Middlebury College students, and may be purchased by calling 802-443-MIDD (6433) or visiting go.middlebury.edu/arts.