'Now Boarding' May 19 To 21

EVANSTON, Ill. --- “Now Boarding” is an apt title for a concert celebrating soon-to-graduate Northwestern University dance majors about to begin their post-college lives. 

Performances will be held 8 p.m. Thursday, May 19; 8 p.m. Friday, May 20; and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 21, in the Ballroom Theater of the Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center, 10 Arts Circle Drive, on the University’s Evanston campus. The performances and a May 20 reception following the Friday evening concert are open to the public.

Graduating students choreograph, produce and perform under the guidance of School of Communication dance faculty advisor Jeff Hancock. The concert completes their undergraduate studies and introduces their work to the professional dance community.

This year’s senior choreographers are Cresence Birder, Juli Farley, Sarah Gallo, Maxine Hupy and Michelle Jacobs. An ensemble piece performed by the five seniors and choreographed by guest artist Margi Cole, artistic director of Chicago’s Dance COLEctive, will challenge assumptions about dance.

Each senior takes a different approach in her choreography. Birder’s dances traverse art and imagery. Farley explores gravity and outer space. Gallo raises issues about the male gaze and the female body. Hupy combines professional ballet training and her experience in the commercial world of Los Angeles dance. Jacobs recreates her “Mobile Landscapes,” and introduces a new, collaborative work.

Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for students at the door or at the Theatre and Interpretation Center (TIC) Box Office in the lobby of the Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston campus. Tickets also can be purchased through the TIC Box Office at (847) 491-7282 or online at www.tic.northwestern.edu.

For more information, contact the University’s Dance Program at (847) 491-3147, visit http://www.dance.northwestern.edu or e-mail nu-dance@northwestern.edu.

Nathalie Rayter, a senior in the School of Education and Social Policy, contributed to this story.

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