The dance program at Colorado State’s University Center for the Arts presents the Spring 2015 Dance Major Capstone Concert, “Noise and Nothingness” on Friday, May 1, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, May 2, at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. in the University Dance Theatre at the University Center for the Arts, 1400 Remington St.
Noise and nothingness. Just think about that for a second. What does it mean to you, what images does it paint in your mind? For graduating seniors Samantha Purdy, Alexis Ward and Maggie Jung it means edgy, contrasting, minimalistic and overarching. In some ways this title suggests what it’s like to perform on stage.
This end-of-semester concert provides senior dance majors a chance to showcase their choreography, performance and production talents in this capstone concert event.
As the title for this spring’s Dance Major Capstone Concert, Noise and Nothingness features pieces created and performed by these three exceptional dancers. Each dancer has a group piece followed by a solo.
Changing the format of the typical concert flow, the format aims to achieve the feeling of a continuous, free-flowing production in which the curtain will not be pulled in between pieces. To intensify the edginess factor, these senior dance majors also add live music to broaden the audience’s experience of the dances.
The Works
Jung’s solo piece, which parallels the theme of contrast, is set to two live musicians playing Led Zeppelin. This piece is meant to be a celebration of movement, as her movement is purely motivated by the music and how it speaks to her.
Purdy’s group piece, entitled “Kenosis,” meaning self-emptying for clarity, explores a journey of emotions and life.
“My dancers go through different stages of being frustrated, satisfied and experiencing the hard work that goes into it all,” explains Purdy.
Ward’s group piece takes on a very large challenge – use of props – all of which are technology-based, including monitors, keyboards, phones, and more.
“The piece really explores how we are connected to each other and technology,” said Ward. “We are connected to one another in some way and we find comfort in that connectivity – the piece is raw, but has a warm feeling.”
The Dance Major Capstone Concert gives these artists time to look back on their growth and experiences as dancers in the program and their time at the UCA, while looking ahead to the exceptional futures in front of them.
About the Dancers
Samantha Purdy grew up in Durango, Colo., and began dancing at the age of 8. She studied at Dance in the Rockies on the competitive team in the tap, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop and ballet styles. At age 16, Samantha joined the Bella Dance Studio as an instructor, where she became more engrossed with contemporary and modern dance styles and attended conventions and competitions all over the western U.S. After graduation, Samatha looks forward to dancing professionally and traveling around the U.S.
Magdelena Jung is a Fort Collins native who, while beginning with gymnastics, started dancing in high school when her English teacher happened to be the dance team coach and invited her to try out. After joining the Poudre High School Poms Team she started taking some recreational classes at Inertia Performing Arts, which quickly snowballed into joining the performance company and competing in hip hop, jazz and contemporary. Maggie will graduate with a second major in liberal arts, where she focused heavily on psychology. After she graduates, Maggie plans to dance professionally with a modern or contemporary company and also plans to pursue a master’s degree in psychology.
Alexis Ward is from Boulder, Colo., where she performed with the Boulder Circus Center’s Imagination Circus Factory. During her time at CSU, Alexis has choreographed and collaborated on many dance concerts in addition to working on her double major in apparel and merchandising, where she has modeled and helped produce nine fashion show events put on by the Department of Design and Merchandising. Upon graduation, Alexis plans to continue pursuing her passions in fashion and dance, including performance and teaching.
Tickets
Tickets are $8 for CSU students, $8 for youth (under 18), and $18 for the public. Tickets are available at the University Center for the Arts (UCA) ticket office in the UCA lobby Monday through Friday, 3:30 – 5:30 p.m., and 60 minutes prior to performances, by phone at 970-491-ARTS (2787), or online. Youth tickets must be purchased in person at the ticket office. All tickets are subject to a $1 ticket fee for both online and at-the-door purchases. Advance ticket purchase is highly recommended to avoid lines and further at-the-door fees.
For a full performance and event calendar, more information, and to sign up for a free event e-newsletter, visit UCA.Colostate.edu.
