Modern Dance Program seniors present Xx
On February 28, March 1, and March 2, ten Modern Dance Program seniors will present the first weekend of their Senior Concert show, Xx, a show that highlights variability, exponential growth, and the undefined. Each evening of dance will culminate in a performance of guest choreographer Lauren Edson’s new work created on the senior class.
Xx represents the 2019 graduating class of Modern Dance Program seniors, a group of twenty rising women artists—all with two x-chromosomes. Beyond its aptness in its description of the graduating class, Xx also embodies the spirit of Senior Concert; it involves change, power, and development. Xx celebrates the artistic, choreographic, and technical prowess the senior class has cultivated during their time at the University of Utah.
Natalie Anderton’s piece started out with movement taken from traditional hip hop and other street styles. It has transformed into a style of movement she has never experienced before and she is excited to see how her dancers take on this “alien” inspired piece.
Alli Ball investigates the paradox of emotion throughout daily life. She asks how we are able to feel two contrasting emotions simultaneously.
Jessica Baynes presents a lively, contemporary quartet inspired by the mechanics of trains and explores the actions: attack, respond, and follow-through. It is performed to a Flamenco-inspired sound score and experiments with risk, athleticism, and contact.
Elissa Collins explores how mental health affects the way that we physically respond to our world.
Kaelin Kaczka pays homage to the MeToo Movement, drawing inspiration from the Sirens of Greek mythology and using movement to kinesthetically narrate the personal experiences of so many.
Ali Lorenz researches the similarities between our world’s natural phenomena and our own emotionality, working with concepts that are working deep within the earth and also within ourselves.
Madaline Maravillas’s piece has become an intimate look into how we view certain people in our lives and the visceral responses conjured by those people: people you miss, people you need, people you love.
Aileen Norris focuses on joy in absurdity, conflict in connection, and resolution in chaos in her new work.
Ruby Pfeiffer explores self-empowerment and how we are all fighting to find who we are while at the same time using the people around us as a gauge. There is uniqueness in all of us not just as a lone being but also as a being within a community.
Eliza Zenger’s piece brings three words to mind: individuality, bounce, and flow. She is interested in the dancers’ pathways, individually and collectively, and how that frames the space.
This evening of new dance ends with a performance by the senior class in a work choreographed by Boise-based Lauren Edson. The work explores themes of hope, desperation, and community.
Senior Concert I: Xx is free to University of Utah students through Arts Pass, and general admission tickets are $12. Showtimes are Thursday, February 28, at 5:30 p.m. and Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the Marriott Center for Dance.