The Illinois State University School of Theatre and Dance will wrap up the spring 2024 semester with the Spring Dance Concert, Transcend!, with artistic direction from Laina Reese. The concert will consist of five unique pieces, featuring choreography from Kyle Ayers, Greg Merriman, Reese, Sarah Semonis, and guest artist Will Gill.
Ayers’ piece is titled Lamentum Maleficarum. According to Ayers, the choreography in this piece is in dialogue with, and in some way challenges, José Limón’s legendary dance The Moor’s Pavane (1949). Ayer extracted and manipulated styling choices and passages of movement directly from Limón’s dance to repurpose them for this new context. Lamentum Maleficarum speculates what may have happened to Limón’s character, Emilia, after the end of the original piece. In Ayer’s work, a coven of witches represents women who “choose to process their pain by seeking their inner power.”
Merriman’s piece is titled The Assignment. This contemporary ballet was loosely based on a story written by the piece’s soloist, Kailey Eaheart. Eaheart wrote the story as a part of an assignment that asked her to reflect on events that she experienced and grew from in the last four years, and she also helped Merriman in his choreographic journey of creating The Assignment. Part of the difficulty was telling the story without being too literal. Merriman wanted to leave room for the audience’s interpretation. According to Merriman, he would like the audience to take away from the piece the idea that “humans are resilient and can overcome huge obstacles placed into their lives.”
Reese’s piece is titled Catalogue of Dreams, and as the title may suggest, was inspired by our dreams. Reese’s creative process stemmed from questioning where dreams come from; their randomized order, intersectional qualities, and significance; and the manifestation of dreams in our waking reality. Reese says that she strives to balance character identity, improvisational scores, and dancer agency. “These structures are crafted into choreography that highlights my movement quality by the uniqueness of each of my dancers,” says Reese.
Semonis’ piece, Here, is based on the ever-evolving support structures with those that are nearest and dearest. The choreography is contemporary in style and focuses on the watchfulness, care, and connection between the dancers. Semonis wants to thank the performers and rehearsal assistants for their artistic insight, commitment, and positive energy through the rehearsal process, and she is incredibly excited to see the work come to life.
Gill—the Dance Program’s spring 2024 guest artist in residence—is a Chicago native who has taught professionally throughout the U.S. and internationally for over twenty years. He was on campus March 18-22. During this residency, he taught in Jazz and Modern dance classes and led a class for the Dance Association Company RSO. It was also during his residency that auditions were held for his piece for this semester’s dance concert, and he began working with his dancers to choreograph the piece.
Gill’s piece is titled The Beat and showcases the energy, technique, and showmanship of the dancers, highlighting the love and fun of dance. His creative process includes choosing the music before coming up with phrases that best fit the music then finally adapting the movements to the dancers he is working with. Gill says that the choreography was a collaborative effort with his wonderful cast who were present, open, and hard-working through the entire process. Gill wants to give a special shoutout to his rehearsal assistant, Julian Fonseca.
Transcend! will be performed in the Westhoff Theatre on April 25-27 at 7:30 p.m. and on April 27 at 2 p.m. The performance run time is approximately one hour.
Tickets can be purchased in person at the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office on the campus of Illinois State University, by calling (309) 438-2535, or through the box office website.
If you need an accommodation to fully participate in this program, please contact the Center for the Performing Arts Box Office at (309) 438-2535. Please allow sufficient time to arrange the accommodation.
