UM School of Theatre & Dance to Present 2014 DANCE NEW WORKS, 5/6-10

The University of Montana School of Theatre & Dance presents its annual production of Dance New Works, May 6-10. The concert offers two full programs of dance created by 10 student choreographers and a visiting dance artist.

Through alternating programs, these concerts showcase the latest work from the University's Dance Program and offer audiences a vibrant blend of dance styles including contemporary modern dance, ballet, lyrical, musical theatre, dance theatre, and dance for camera.

Highlights of this concert include:

Visiting dance artist and UM dance program alumna Jes Mullette offers the audience a sneak peak at the excerpt Lineage from her evening length work Blank Paper, premiering in Missoula next month. Lineage is informed by each dancer's investigation of their dance heritage and how one constructs her or his artistry from one's roots.

Senior dance major Morgan Mull-Osborn continues to explore merging the mediums of dance and paint in her duet Gestural Abstraction. Morgan's interdisciplinary work was featured as part of UM's September 2013 TEDx event. In Dance New Works, audiences can expect another visual feast where luscious, sustained, and graceful movement is decorated by pouring and smearing of paint.

Ellie Weinman takes the audience through an exploration of a female relationship through a nonlinear lens. Where We Left It, collaboratively created and fiercely performed by UM dance program alumna Allison Herther and senior Claire Christensen, is a compilation of gestural movements and dynamic and abandoned partnering that is sure to impact the senses.

Dance for Camera continues to be an exciting mode for experimentation in the UM Dance Program. Following a screening at the recent Northwest Regional Conference of the American College Dance Festival, Chasing Rabbits, by dance minor Brooke Carlisle, will make its second appearance for Missoula audiences. Set in beautiful and mystical Greenough Park, Chasing Rabbits is a fantastical dance twist on the classic Alice in Wonderland.

UM School of Theatre & Dance's Dance New Works

When: May 6-10 at 7:30 pm; May 10 at 2:00pm

Program I: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday at 7:30pm

Program II: Wednesday, Friday at 7:30pm, and Saturday at 2:00pm

Where: The Open Space in the PAR/TV Center on the UM campus

How much: $9 general admission /$6 required students

How: UMArts Box Office: 406-243-4581