CCBC Presents World Premiere Of MIGRATION as Part Of Baltimore Stories Project

Community College of Baltimore County presents Migration, an original dance production created by internationally known choreographer and CCBC alumnus Peter Pucci as part of the Baltimore Stories Performing Arts series at CCBC. The premiere of Migration will be performed on Jan. 28 at 2 p.m. at CCBC Essex, Wellness and Athletics Center, as Pucci returns to his Baltimore roots with a dance production exploring the interconnectedness of the human experience. The event is free, but tickets are required.

"Baltimore is my home town and I am honored to be granted this unique opportunity to work with more than 50 students from local high schools, colleges and community dance groups to bring 'Baltimore Stories' to life through dance," said Pucci. "I grew up in East Baltimore and attended a dance class at CCBC Essex, which launched my love for making dances."

CCBC has commissioned Pucci to create and articulate his vision of diversity and inclusion with a group of 50 dancers set to the music of Dawn of Midi's Dysnomia. The production of Migration will bring together dancers at different levels to choreograph, collaborate, and articulate through dance the unique views and perceptions of people from different backgrounds, which shape their world views based on personal experiences, language and culture. Participating dance groups include students from the CCBC Dance Company; three high schools, George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology, Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, and St. Timothy's School; the Towson University Community Dance Program; and The Collective, a Baltimore-based professional dance company.

Pucci's newest collaboration, Migration, is inspired by the work of geneticist Spencer Wells, founder of National Geographic's The Genographic Project, who is tracking the patterns of human migration over the past 50,000 years based on genetic information collected world-wide. Wells' study of genetics revealed that earth's human population shares a common origin and all humans are descendants from a single source and migrated across the globe.

Pucci is a Baltimore native whose family lived and worked in Baltimore for generations. He grew up with a single mom in the East Baltimore housing projects during a time of great racial tension. Pucci attended the former Northern High school and enrolled at CCBC, where he earned an associate degree in Physical Education. His Baltimore upbringing has helped Pucci form a deep respect for and understanding of how diversity and inclusion are essential elements in a community.

Pucci earned a bachelor's in fine arts from North Carolina School of the Arts. He served for nine years as a member of Pilobolus Dance Theatre, where he served as principal dancer, co-choreographer, and rehearsal director. Recent theatrical productions include Master Harold and the Boys directed by Athol Fugard at the Signature Theatre; Incognito, directed by Doug Hughes Off Broadway at the Manhattan Theater Club; and A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Ethan McSweeney at The Shakespeare Company in Washington, DC. Pucci has worked for 20 years as a choreographer with extensive credits in theater, ballet, modern dance, opera, fashion and dance education.

The Migration premiere is supported, in part, by a $15,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Cretella Mars Foundation for Baltimore Stories, a year of programming at CCBC School of Liberal Arts, Performing Arts and Humanities focused on stories about Baltimore told through dance, music and theater. The funding supports commissioned work by artists who live or have roots in the Baltimore area.

Free tickets may be reserved at the CCBC Box Office, 443-840-ARTS (2787).

Since 1957, CCBC has opened the doors to accessible, affordable, high-quality education empowering generations of area residents to transform their lives and the lives of others. Each year, more than 63,000 students enroll at the college's main campuses, extension centers and online to make their starts, earn degrees, launch and build careers. CCBC offers the region's most expansive selection of degree, certificate and workplace certification programs that prepare students for transfer, job entry and career advancement in such industries as business, education, health care, information technology, cybersecurity, construction and transportation. CCBC is nationally recognized as a leader in innovative learning strategies, among the nation's top associate degree producers, and designated as a Military Times Best College 2018.

CCBC is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, 3624 Market Street, 2nd Floor West, Philadelphia, PA 19104 (267-284-5000). The Middle States Commission on Higher Education is an institutional accrediting agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation.