By
Vanessa Francis
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Dance department wraps up semester with dual-format show
The UA School of Music and Dance's end-of-semester "In the Season" concert continues through tomorrow, featuring, among other pieces, performances by university and international dancers.
In an even exchange with the UA, 10 dancers and three faculty members from Telford College in Edinburgh, Scotland will perform in four of the concert's performances, including the piece "Lost," which is the story of a group of British children who were given new identities and sent to live in Australia for 20 years.
Ten UA dancers and three faculty members held residency in Scotland and performed at the King's Theater, said Jory Hancock, head of the UA dance department.
"They (Scottish and UA dancers) will be sharing the stage in the truest of the sense," Hancock said.
Rather than one single show running on four separate days, "In the Season" is divided into two programs, program A and program B.
Program A debuted last night and will show again tomorrow afternoon. Program B will run tonight and tomorrow at 8 p.m.
The show will incorporate all areas of dance, including tap, ballet and modern.
"It's a very balanced show - some are a bit on the dark side, while others are more celebratory side," Hancock said.
Once piece, the comedic jazz performance "Tsetse Fly," tells the story of four tourists being pestered by giant Tsetse flies while visiting an undefined tropical place.
"The music really gave me the inspiration for the piece," said assistant professor of dance Sam Watson, who choreographed the piece. "It's music composed by Martin Denny, who is a 1950s composer and one of the first people to use synthesizers and exotic sounds."
"It's a pleasant performance and fun to watch," he added.
The song-and-dance routine "Mr. Bojangles," a senior project created by dance senior Tommy Stefanek along with his classmate, dance junior Chad Humphrey, will debut as part of program A.
"I was inspired by the Broadway show 'Fosse,' which had a number in it with the song 'Mr. Bojangles,' " Stefanek said. "I liked the music and the subtle musical style, and I felt the concert needed a song and dance number."
Dance professor John Wilson choreographed two pieces for the concert - a modern dance solo called "Persephone" and the ballet quartet "A Farewell."
The idea to create a piece with the character of Persephone, the demi-goddess of Greek mythology whom Hades took down to the underworld, has been on Wilson's mind for quite a while, he said.
Wilson said dance senior Stephanie Sandleben, who portrays the title character, embodies the ideal of Persephone.
"Stephanie is very slender, very lyrcial and has a wonderful seriousness and innocence at the same time," Wilson said. "It's so important that the students aren't just something from cookie cutters, but that we see them for the qualities that they bring to a performance - especially for a solo."
Graig Uhlin contributed to this story.
