CCM's Department of Dance Kicks Off Its 50th Anniversary Season with a Celebratory 'Fall Dance Concert' Nov. 16 & 17

The University of Cincinnati

College-Conservatory of Music Department of Dance (CCM Dance)

opens its 50th Anniversary Season with a demanding and impressive Fall Dance Concert on

Saturday, Nov. 16,

and

Sunday, Nov. 17,

in Corbett Auditorium. Department Chair and Professor of Dance Jiang Qi directs. As part of the department’s yearlong anniversary celebration, CCM Dance welcomes honored guests from Cincinnati Ballet for a special performance on Sunday.

The concert features George Balanchine’s ballet

Serenade

, restaged by guest répétituer and pre-eminent Balanchine scholar Joysanne Sidimus. Sidimus studied under Balanchine at the School of American Ballet and later joined him as a dancer at the New York City Ballet. This is the first ballet that Balanchine choreographed in the United States and is considered to be a masterpiece of 20th century choreography.

CCM seniors Ellyn McCarthy, Christine Humbach, Olivia Lafrenz, Kelly Korfhage and Martin Roosaare, as well as junior dance major Trevor Misplay and exchange student Haojun Xie from the Beijing Dance Academy, will be featured in

Serenade

. It is a wonderfully energetic piece set to Tchaikovsky’s composition of the same name:

Serenade

for String Orchestra in C Major, Op. 48. The audience will be delighted by the extensive corps work and enchanted by the poise and mastery of the dancers.

Assistant Professor Deirdre Carberry restages one of the most mesmerizing scenes in classical ballet, “The Kingdom of the Shades,” Act II of

La Bayadère

, with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Ludwig Minkus. “The Kingdom of the Shades” is a poignant and breathtaking scene in which doomed lovers are reunited after death. This expressive and heartbreaking tale will feature accomplished seniors Ellyn McCarthy and Martin Roosaare, junior dance major Regina DuPont and exchange student Haojun Xie.

CCM students will also perform the contemporary piece,

Unseen

, which was choreographed for CCM in 2007 by Victoria Morgan, Artistic Director and CEO of Cincinnati Ballet. This timely and relatable piece is performed to the lyrical Opuses from romantic composer Felix Mendelssohn’s

Songs Without Words

and is danced en pointe, meaning the female dancers’ bodies are balanced on the extreme tips of their toes.

Unseen

communicates the feeling of moving through society but being disconnected from it.

In addition to

Serenade

, “The Kingdom of the Shades” and

Unseen

, CCM students will gracefully explore the timeless notions of love and friendship through Associate Professor Michael Tevlin’s world premiere choreography,

Poetry from the White Pavilion

. Set to music by Gustav Mahler with lyrics based on Chinese poetry, audiences will be captivated by this original piece, which will be featured during the 2 and 8 p.m. performances on Saturday, Nov. 16.

For the matinee performance on Sunday, Nov. 17, CCM also welcomes Cincinnati Ballet to the stage to celebrate their shared 50th anniversary. Cincinnati Ballet will present a diverse mini-performance featuring professional company dancers. This collaboration will include a selection from

Caprice

, choreographed by Val Caniparoli, and choreography by Victoria Morgan including excerpts from

Frisch’s Presents The Nutcracker

and the world premiere of

King Arthur’s Camelot

. Company dancers from Cincinnati Ballet include Janessa Touchet, Patric Palkens, Abigail Morwood and Rodrigo Almarales alongside up-and-coming Cincinnati Ballet trainees and second company dancers.

The Fall Dance Concert promises to be a bold combination of choreography and talent by both students and professional dancers and will speak to the dance lover in everyone.

Performance Times

·      2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16

·      2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17

Location:

Corbett Auditorium, CCM Village

University of Cincinnati

Purchasing Tickets:

Tickets to the “Fall Dance Concert” are $15 for general admission, $10 for non-UC students and FREE for UC students with valid ID.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the CCM Box Office, over the telephone at 513-556-4183 or online at

ccm.uc.edu/boxoffice

.

Parking and Directions

Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit

uc.edu/parking

for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit

uc.edu/visitors

. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit

ccm.uc.edu/about/directions

.

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Sponsor: ArtsWave

The Dance Department gratefully acknowledges the support of the Corbett Endowment at CCM.