Our Movement Matters: Student Choreographers Concert Fall 2024

Description

The SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to present the Fall 2024 Student Choreographers Concert: Our Movement Matters!

This dance concert delves into the raw and unfiltered emotions of a generation grappling with hardships from many avenues. Influenced by the violence of warfare around the world, social and class injustices, and the painful discontinuation of the Department of Theatre and Dance, choreographers embody their anxieties, hopes, dreams, and fears through movement. Audiences will experience powerful themes that reflect the anxieties and frustrations of today’s young artists, who are faced with overwhelming crises that shape their outlook on their futures.

Dates & Times:

• Thursday, November 21, 2024 | 7:30 p.m.
• Friday, November 22, 2024 | 7:30 p.m.
• Saturday, November 23, 2024 | 7:30 p.m.
• Sunday, November 24, 2024 | 2:00 p.m.

Featured Works Include:

As the Dust Settles by Dani N. LaCroix: " As the Dust Settles is a dance about two strangers who find each other after a devastating war,” notes choreographer, Dani N. LaCroix. “This dance is symbolic of the Department of Theatre and Dance, how we have lost the fight to keep our doors open, and now have to cling onto what we have left.”

Das Zahn (The Cog) by Emily R. Levy: A modern dance about the constraints of American capitalism that are brought to life as performers embody the turmoil that ensues when a cog falls out of the machine. Levy states, “I hope this invites audiences to reflect on the chaos and resilience found in the struggle against a relentless system.”

//geNEaLoGY// by Sophia N. DeGaetano: This dance is an expansion of her collegiate work/study with props, movement, storytelling, music selection, and choreography.

Veiled by Elaine R. Goris Luna: Choreographer, Elaine R. Goris Luna states, “I often find myself emotionally detached from any world issues regarding war or violence. This piece, Veiled, is a representation of the mental back and forth that I experience, from feeling overwhelmed and helpless to feeling numb and resorting back to emotional detachment. I wanted to reveal the idea of purposeful ignorance through movement.

Can I Speak? by Denaisha Clarke: Denaisha Clarke reflects on her dance, Can I Speak? noting, “Not everyone knows how to communicate their feelings verbally or even has the access or safe space to do so. When can I talk? Am I allowed to talk? Who is making that choice? These are questions that the dancers are portraying.”

This concert provides an intimate, thought-provoking look at the personal and societal struggles faced by today’s young artists.