CCM's Department of Dance Presents Nine Student-Created Original Works March 11-14

The University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)’s Department of Dance proudly presents its annual Dance Student Choreographers’ Showcase from March 11 – 14 in UC’s intimate Cohen Family Studio Theater. Dance Department faculty members Deirdre Carberry and Andre Megerdichian direct this exciting production.

This year’s production will feature pieces by eight undergraduate women: Emily Chu, Katie Norton-Bliss, Scarlett Rustemeyer, Christine Settembrino and Katelyn Somers, along with a work by guest choreographer Tian Tian.

Senior Katie Norton-Bliss will debut her 10-minute piece,“Po$t $omething.” Her  piece was inspired by the similarities between trends found in pop culture and in dance. “Trends run the pop culture world, and often they are updates of older styles…Trends come and go in the dance world, but we don’t usually refer to them as trend. Instead, we consider them to be genres of dance. For example, there was modern dance followed by post modern dance. This makes it harder and harder for styles of choreography to be defined,” she explains.

Norton-Bliss describes her choreographic style as an amalgamation of many different influences. Her movements are inspired by “ballet, contemporary ballet, modern, contemporary, hip hop, and even current dance trends like the Schmoney dance or classics like the moon walk.” She also generates a good deal of her choreography through improvisation. Her piece will feature three different songs: “Gooo” by TNGHT, “Dawn in Luxor” by Shabbaz Palaces and a remix of “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus. Additionally, she will be mixing in audio from a YouTube video called “Making Dances: Seven Post Modern Choreographers.”

Senior Emily Chu discusses her 13-year-old sister as inspiration for her currently untitled piece. Chu says she has always tried to be a role model for her sister and has made sure that her sister is exposed to a variety of strong women. And “it’s worked,” says Chu. “She dressed up as Amelia Erhart for Halloween.” Other women that will be represented in Chu’s choreography include Joan of Arc and Gertrude Etterly, the first woman to swim the English channel.

Chu’s approximately 10-minute long contemporary ballet piece will feature eight talented female dancers, not on pointe. They will perform to a mix of strings and an electronic song called “See the Sea Red” by Vitalic.

All of the pieces this year represent a huge diversity of styles and are a compliment to the broad range of experiences and teachings available to CCM’s dance students.

Performance Times

• 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 11
• 8 p.m. Thursday, March 12
• 8 p.m. Friday, March 13
• 2 p.m. Saturday, March 14

Location

Cohen Family Studio Theater, CCM Village

University of Cincinnati

Reserving Tickets

Admission to the Dance Student Choreographer’s Showcase is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 9. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

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

.

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

Community Partner: ArtsWave

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