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Companydance Spring Concert opens May 1

By John Andert '10
April 25, 2008

If you happened to see dancers moving to the beat of conga drums on the lawn outside St. Olaf's Dittmann Center recently, you were actually being treated to a sneak peek of the Companydance Spring Concert that will be held on campus May 1-3.

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Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. each night in Kelsey Theater, which is located in the Speech/Theater Building. Tickets can be purchased online or by calling 507-786-8987.

Companydance is an organization that offers students a range of dance performing opportunities. The company's primary aesthetic is grounded in the modern dance tradition, but it is by no means restricted to it. Companydance is offered to dance and non-dance majors alike, allowing students to explore their own specific interest. Their performances include improvisational dance pieces, works-in-progress showings, lecture-demonstrations, and special dances choreographed by faculty, students and guest artists. Companydance is frequently seen in various settings including public schools, church spaces, and formal and informal spaces on campus.

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Physical and emotional manifestations of time and space, closed doors of businesses under reconstruction, and desire and ambivalence in the pursuit of peace are just a few of the themes that have inspired in this year's Companydance Spring Concert. Guest artists Keith Johnson and Brad Garner will be sharing their newest choreographic works, along with St. Olaf faculty members Janice Roberts and Anthony Roberts. Several dance majors will also perform solos, says St. Olaf Professor of Dance and Chair of the Dance Department Janice Roberts.

Roberts says of the most thrilling experiences of putting together a show like this is the collaboration among guest artists, faculty members and students. "It really is wonderful how different and amazing each concert turns out to be just by the makeup of the students and choreographers," Roberts says.

Contact Kari VanDerVeen at 507-786-3970 or vanderve@stolaf.edu.