January 11, 2012
Contact: Diana Stanton
805-756-2039 or 805-756-1465
dstanton@calpoly.edu
Cal Poly Orchesis Dance Company to Present Five Performances of
‘Immersion’ in Jaunary and February
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cal Poly’s Orchesis Dance Company will presents its 42nd anniversary concert, “Immersion,” during January and February in the Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre at Cal Poly.
Evening shows are scheduled at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 27-28, and Thursday through Saturday, Feb. 2-4. A 2 p.m. matinee is scheduled on Sunday, Jan. 29.
“Immersion” is a high-powered performance of contemporary choreography, live music and a new company of dancers. It features the work of nationally acclaimed and local choreographers, Cal Poly faculty members, and selected top dance students. The dances this year embrace current trends and explore new perspectives on classic forms.
Guest choreographers include Holly Johnson, director of Ledges and Bones Dance Company in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Johnson was named one of Dance Magazine’s coveted “25 to Watch in 2007,” and according to the Los Angeles Times is capable of “turning the body into a dangerous machine.”
Johnson hints that her dance for Orchesis “unites a terrain of moving bodies through space-time creating a visceral experience of shifting human emotions.”
Mike Esperanza, director of Southern California’s Bare Dance Company, presents the Orchesis Dance Company’s finale, “Our Plan.” According to Orchesis Director Diana Stanton, the dance is an “uplifting celebration of human relationships and connections.” A singer will perform a collection of Beatles tunes to accompany the piece.
Fusing heavy hip-hop vocabulary and modern dance, Seattle choreographer Markeith Wiley will present an excerpt from his evening-length work, “City Council.” Wiley pursues themes of hierarchy, struggle, alliance, and the destruction of the power in this innovative blend of breakdance, “krumping,” and other urban dance phenomena.
Dancers will also perform Stanton’s “Torque,” a new ballet by Michelle Walter, and Lisa Deyo’s delightful “Plaza de la Ville,” set to the music of Carmen.
Tickets for "Immersion" are $13 for the public and $10 for students. Tickets are on sale at the Performing Arts Center Ticket Office from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays. To order by phone, call SLO-ARTS (805-756-2787); to order by fax, call 805-756-6088; to order online, go to www.pacslo.org.
The Orchesis Dance Company concert is sponsored by Cal Poly’s Theatre and Dance Department, the College of Liberal Arts, and the Instructionally Related Activities program. For more information, call Stanton at 805-756-2039.
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