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Dance Gala 2020 - IN MOTION

Nov 17, 2020

08:00 PM

Online venue,

University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242

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Dancer jumping, appearing to be running in the air.

Dance Gala 2020
IN MOTION
Friday, November 13 at 8:00 p.m. CST
virtualdance.studio.uiowa.edu

Celebrating the 39th anniversary of Dance Gala, the University of Iowa Department of Dance presents works in progress created by celebrated UI Dance faculty.

Take a leap and join us in this collective adventure on Friday, November 13 at 8:00 p.m. CST at virtualdance.studio.uiowa.edu.

Visit our Virtual Concert Venue in advance of the performance to learn more about the works, the choreographers, and all of the Dance Gala collaborators.

The following six works in progress will be presented:

Six Feet
Choreography by Eloy Barragán

Six Feet is an introspection of what has happened to everyone. 6 feet of distance, a barrier on space, on time. Can we exist or disappear between 6 feet? We will not disappear, we will prevail, by supporting and holding each other’s hands.

Anemones, 600 feet under 60 feet apart
Choreography by Armando Duarte, in collaboration with the dancers
Anemones, 600 feet under 60 feet apart is inspired by the flow of water, in creeks, streams, rivers and oceans; its constant motion, massive volume, and ever-changing motion. Based on the original work Mar (2016), the choreography is inspired by the soundscape provided by UAKTI's reinterpretation of Metamorphosis I by composer Phillip Glass.

A Year Ago October
Direction and Choreography by Kristin Marrs
Choreography by dancers Emily Gumal, Nicole Humpal, Sarah McClusky, Juliet Remmers, Sarah Skilling

A Year Ago October was co-created by choreographer Kristin Marrs and the five dancers. Our rehearsals were held either via Zoom or outdoors, masked and socially distanced, in Hubbard Park on the UI campus. In our Zoom rehearsals, we read, wrote, and created movement related to our shared texts and discussions of the themes that inspired the work. At the park, we then mined the material we had created in our own spaces via Zoom, re-working them and re-assembling to create an abstract narrative. The dancers were almost entirely responsible for choreographing the movement, while as director I curated and organized the movement into the 9-minute dance. The process was remarkably quick; we made the work in about 10 rehearsals equally split between Zoom and the outdoors space. The final filmed version will be a somewhat new work, in that the spatial relationships are different, the environment of the theater shifts the tone of the piece, and we are integrating music by composer Jacob Bancks. Although we always rehearsed in silence--except for the ambient noise of our home spaces and Hubbard Park--I had Jacob's music in mind from early on in the process.

Hyperdistanced
Choreography by Stephanie Miracle, in collaboration with the dancers

In this season of separation, sanitation and safety protocols Hyperdistanced was born. A dance film containing collective questions and playful investigations into the meaning of proximity and connection during this time.
From the very start, I committed our Gala process to have all rehearsals outdoors with the expectation of inclement weather in which case we would move things to Zoom.
Early into the research we discovered the empty top floors of a parking ramp. This place became the haven for our project, offering the safety of an open air setting and sense of privacy, without the interruption of random onlookers. This location gave perspective, higher vantage points and the ability to see far distances across campus. And most importantly it offered us a VAST space, both horizontally and vertically, for us to move together in.
As a counterweight contrasting the expanse of the parking ramp we harnessed the digital eye - iPhone, webcam (Zoom), and eventually Auden’s camera, as a tool for hyper closeness, and the possibility of proximity closer than the regulated 6ft social distance limit.
This dance film, co-directed by Stephanie Miracle and Auden Lincoln Vogel, with original composition by Ramin Roshandel is one of multiple outcomes of this work.

something we could do
Choreography by Melinda Jean Myers

Foramina
Choreography by Britt Juleen

Join us at virtualdance.studio.uiowa.edu for this free performance. Tickets are not required.

Individuals with disabilities are encouraged to attend all University of Iowa–sponsored events. If you are a person with a disability who requires a reasonable accommodation in order to participate in this program, please contact in advance at