A new work that layers dance, wearable art, film and music to explore chain reactions will debut at Danstage 2019 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point May 3-5 and May 8-10.
Performances of the annual dance concert will be held 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 3-4, and Wednesday through Friday, May 8-10, with a 2 p.m. matinee Sunday, May 5. The UW-Stevens Point Department of Theatre and Dance production will be held in the Studio Theatre in the Noel Fine Arts Center, with the debut of "Depth" by Associate Lecturer Pamela Luedtke and works by professors Michael Estanich, Jeannie Hill and Joan Karlen.
The May 5 matinee will include a 1 p.m. pre-show talk with the choreographers in Noel Fine Arts Center Room 221.
For the second time, "Danstage" will be presented in the round, with the audience seated on four sides. This gives the audience a chance to see the dances unfold with multiple fronts and the choreographers an expanded approach.
"Staying Power," Estanich's new dance work, uses physical stamina as a metaphor for the emotional, spiritual and intellectual energy needed to promote social change. A new score by John Strassburg, a senior instructional specialist and accompanist, integrates machine rhythms, crashing waves, the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. and layers of original musical motifs.
Danced among 22 hewn logs, "Tacit" pays homage to the necessary relationship with nature. Karlen first conceived the work in 2013. This 2019 incarnation is athletic, playful and reflective as well as being a meditation on silence, privacy and what people are willing to reveal.
Hill's new work, "LOL…did you really?" explores distraction in the digital age. Lured in many directions by attractive options, it takes perseverance to settle into the truly gratifying moments that allow people to simply connect.
Danstage 2019 tickets are $23 for adults, $13 for youth and $11.25 for students with UW-Stevens Point ID. First Nighters tickets, which includes dinner, also are available. Get tickets at the UW-Stevens Point Information and Tickets in the Dreyfus University Center concourse, by calling 715-346-4100 or http://tickets.uwsp.edu.
Watch a promotional video on the show here.
Skip to main content
