Purdue Contemporary Dance Company to present virtual Winter Works dance concert

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Contemporary Dance Company will present its virtual Winter Works dance concert Dec. 3-5.

The dance company will present seven new selected works by dance faculty and student artists. All of the dances use original sound created by sound students in the Patti and Rusty Rueff School of Design, Art, and Performance. For the first time ever, the Purdue Contemporary Dance Company concert has created one of its works for film and not for the stage.

Registration for each show will end at 3 p.m. on the date of the event and will be followed by a virtual performance at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults and $11 for students. Tickets are available at Purdue box office by phone at 765-494-3933.

The dances are as follows:

• Faculty member Kathleen Hickey explores the concept of a dancer's relationship with oneself while dancing among others in her first dance film, “The Torrent.” This film features six female dancers grasping for balance, breath and stability, while dynamic spirals, force and nature shape their movement through various locations in Greater Lafayette. 
• “A Sudden Close Rush” was created this fall by faculty member Holly Jaycox and her group of primarily freshman dancers. This energetic piece invites viewers to feel what is underneath the sometimes frenetic, otherwise sustained motion.
• “Grasping at One Lost, Hopeful, Moment,” choreographed by dance faculty member Renee Murray, is a thematic piece created with seven dance division students. This work explores how our sense of time and space has shifted significantly while living with the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Mary Beth Van Dyke, a dance faculty member, drew inspiration from the visual artist and author Chanel Miller, who recently created an exhibit for the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco. The new work, titled “am imaging,” explores the timeless process of becoming. Van Dyke created this modern dance work using only the stage apron as the performance space.
• Lane Terry, a senior majoring in chemistry and French with a minor in dance, choreographed a new work titled “Wistful Optimism.” The piece explores finding moments of happiness even during difficult or stressful times.
• Lauren Weglarz, a senior majoring in corporate communication and minoring in dance and organizational leadership, created a playful piece titled “Houp-là.” Inspired by silent film comedies and classic cartoons, this work is an exploration of the curiosity in the inanimate coming to life.
• “Rebirth” was choreographed by Shuting Yang, alumna of the Division of Dance minor program and current first-year master’s student in aerospace engineering. “Rebirth” is an abstract work which interweaves the past experiences and dreams of six dancers with her own. This work aims to rewrite life with dance.

Contact Sally Wallace, 765-494-5993 or dapdance@groups.purdue.edu, for more information.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 5 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://purdue.edu/. 

Writer: Bella Vina 

Media contact: Amy Patterson Neubert, apatterson@purdue.edu

Source: Karla Welchans, kwelchan@purdue.edu

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