ASU School of Dance presents the Graduate Project Presentations

Who
Graduate students Julie Akerly, Helen Buck, Angel Crissman, Inertia Dewitt, Kelsey Finlayson, Amanda Ling, Britta Joy Peterson, Kristopher Pourzal, Tricia Ragsdale, Ashlee Jo Ramsey, Denise A. Stein, and Laurel Wall-MacLane in the ASU School of Dance in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts.

What
The Graduate Project Presentations concert features new and works-in-progress by Master of Fine Arts students in the ASU School of Dance. The 12 young choreographers from diverse backgrounds have created a wonderfully thought provoking evening of dance.

Julie Akerly's It's Always Too Late, uses multi-media projections to enhance character evolution and development of the main character, Mother Earth. Original music and costumes are contributed by collaborating artists Gil Dori, graduate music composition major, and Haley Peterson, undergraduate costume design student.

In Fingerdance: The Solo, Helen Buck performs a traditional Irish Step Dancing set, Planxty Davis, in an unexpected way. This piece is an offshoot of Helen’s thesis research.

Inertia Dewitt presents Swimming in the Psyche, a piece that captures the disorienting process of unpacking the details of the true self.

Although Breaking Bounds, choreographed by Kelsey Finlayson, explores concepts of abandonment and bondage it also uncovers ways to escape restrictions.

Amanda Ling’s solo, Grass and Gravel, is a self-exploration and reflection of home. Referencing her Southern roots, Ling's sparkling movement creates the essence of home and provokes nostalgia.

Violet Flight: Pursuit of Significance, a new work by Britta Joy Peterson, is an exploration of the conflicting desires to be one of, stand out from, and be significant to the rest of the flock.

Kristopher Pourzal presents in the middle of things, a conversation piece and improvisation score that subtly flexes its muscles at the futility/inevitability/substantiality of sense-making in an illogical world.

Tricia Ragsdale’s Envidia explores the inner ferocity that is sometimes hidden within women and what happens when that ferocity is released.

Ashlee Jo Ramsey presents a new solo that considers the human disposition to compare and classify individuals or cultural groups. Inspired by her experiences traveling in India for five months, Ramsey explores assumptions about beliefs and purposes as well as cross-cultural ideas of gender, race and sexuality. This work questions the boundaries between fascination and objectification, seeking and grasping, curiosity and voyeurism, self and other.

Lose Those Love Handles (so someone will love you), choreographed by Denise A. Stein, is a comment on the absurdity of cardio dance workout videos.

Laurel Wall-MacLane interweaves the cast’s stories of everyday life with quirky movement and full, expressive dancing in the closing piece speak/hear listen/tell.

Where
The Margaret Gisolo Dance Studio, 611 E. Orange St., in the Physical Education Building East (PEBE) No.132 on the ASU Tempe campus.

When
7:30 p.m. Oct. 20-21.

Cost
Free admission. Tickets are required and are distributed at 6:30 p.m. each performance night on a first-come, first-served basis each performance night at in the Physical Education Building East lobby. Only one ticket is issued per person.

Public Contact
Laura Donnelly
Academic Services Manager
480-965-1208
Laura.Donnelly@asu.edu

The School of Theatre and Film in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University provides a comprehensive range of courses in performance and directing; design and production; new work development; theatre and performance studies; film; and theatre for youth. Its Theatre for Youth program is nationally ranked in the top three and the dramatic writing/playwriting program is ranked 15th among public institutions by U.S.News & World Report. To learn more about the School of Theatre and Film, visit theatrefilm.asu.edu.

Media Contact:
Laura Donnelly 
Academic Services Manager
480-965-1208
Laura.Donnelly@asu.edu