Dec. 27, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Maria Junco
Cal Poly Theatre and Dance Department
(805) 756-1248

Cal Poly Orchesis Dance Company to Present 'Metamorphosis'

SAN LUIS OBISPO -- "Metamorphosis," the 36th annual Orchesis Dance Company concert, will showcase the talent of Cal Poly students plus new work from guest choreographers in a variety of dance styles, including ballet, modern, jazz, tap, hip-hop, lyrical and Filipino traditional dance.

Evening performances are scheduled at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28, and Thursday through Saturday, Feb, 2-4. In addition, a 2 p.m. matinee is scheduled on Sunday, Jan. 29. All performances will be in the Spanos Theatre at Cal Poly.

The concert is under the direction of faculty members Maria Junco and Michelle Walter, assistant director. "We have an exceptional lineup of guest artists for 'Metamorphosis,'" Junco said.

They include Orchesis Dance Company founder and Professor Emeritus Moon Ja Minn Suhr; local choreographers Lisa Deyo and Diana Stanton (Stanton also teaches at Cal Poly); Los Angeles tap choreographer Gregg Russell; San Francisco hip hop choreographer Micaya; and Los Angeles choreographers Dennon and Sayhber Rawles.

"We are especially thrilled to premiere 'Witness,'" Junco said. "Mike Esperanza, emerging choreographer and artistic director of BARE Dance Company in Southern California, choreographed this striking modern dance."

Tickets for "Metamorphosis" are $12 for the public and $9 for students and senior citizens. Tickets are on sale at the Performing Arts Ticket Office from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. To order tickets by phone, dial SLO-ARTS (756-2787); to order by fax, call 756-6088; to order online go to www.pacslo.org.

The Orchesis Dance concert is sponsored by Cal Poly's Theatre and Dance Department, College of Liberal Arts, and Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information, call Junco at 756-1248.

Summary of Dances to be Performed:

• Professor Emeritus Moon Ja Minn Suhr, Orchesis founder, director and advisor from 1969-2000 will restage Aurora's Solo from "The Sleeping Beauty." This ballet premiered in 1890 with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Peter Tchaikovsky. In this breathtaking solo, Aurora is presented with four suitors on her 20th birthday and quietly considers which one she will choose.
  
• Mike Esperanza, artistic director of Costa Mesa's BARE Dance Company, will present a moving modern piece, "Witness," with music by Tori Amos and Jocelyn Pook. The dance explores how an individual can be in the presence of others and be a witness for them, while maintaining their individuality.
  
• Orchesis dancers will perform Bay Area choreographer and teacher Micaya's exciting hip hop piece "Disko." The piece draws from her extensive background in jazz, ballet, hip hop and ethnic dance. Her choreography has been featured in events for the NBA, Nike, Macy's and Girbaud Jeans, as well as music videos and touring productions.
  
• Southern California choreographer Gregg Russell will premiere the high-energy tap piece "Steel Tap 9" choreographed to Bucky Don Gun by M.I.A. Russell dances in the new Jason Mraz video, choreographs for the WNBA Spark Kids and kicks up his heels in a Gap commercial. He teaches at the Edge Performing Arts Studio in Hollywood and directs the Los Angeles-based tap club Tapsounds Underground.
  
• Southern California choreographers Dennon and Sayhber Rawles have created an exciting jazz finale for the Orchesis Dance Company to the music "Peter Gunn" by Sarah Vaughn. The Rawles have been working together since 1971 and are well known for their professional work in both film and television, including choreography for "Staying Alive" with John Travolta and "Bugsy" with Warren Beatty.
  
• Cal Poly faculty member Diana Stanton, founder and co-artistic director of Variable Velocity Performance Group of San Luis Obispo, has created a new work to the music of Audio Slave. Titled "Looking Out for Number One," the dance presents a hyperphysical look at the nature of competition. Vigorous, detailed and intense choreography showcases a surprising perspective on societal power struggles and human needs. Stanton earned an MFA degree in dance from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
  
• Local choreographer Lisa Deyo will present her newest ballet, "Degas," inspired by the behind-the-scenes beauty of ballet dancers captured by the famous artist Degas. "Otherworldly in performance, these women are just as lovely, yet far more human, in the more real world in the wings," Junco said. The movement and costumes suggest several Degas paintings with the hope of transporting the audience into the painter's
  vision.
  
• Architecture sophomore Kate Barton collaborated with music senior Chris Conley in the creation of a ballet piece "Quattro," set to Conley's original music. The dance demonstrates the relationship between dancer and music.
  
• Biochemistry senior Sara Galon will perform a lyrical piece using contrasting movements to the a capella song "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap.
  
• "Boiling Point," choreographed by aerospace engineering senior Erin Shaw, explores the many varied emotions in a relationship.
  
• Recreation major Amanda Ball choreographed "Rock Steady," a dynamic and exhilarating jazz piece set to "Black Betty" by Ram Jam.

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(Note to Editors: For a photo, contact the Public Affairs office at Cal Poly at 756-1511 or polynews@calpoly.edu.)