Illuminated Bodies

Hoerner Theatre

Previews Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Opens Thursday, December 8, 2011
Closes Sunday, December 11, 2011

Choreographers' Welcome!

Welcome to the ineffable and ephemeral world of dance! As Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Let your imagination lead you, let go of the need to know, and allow movement and music to move your mind, heart, and spirit. What is the meaning of a sunset? What is a forest saying? What does love look like?

Some questions need not be answered. Dance is evocative and springs from a well of inspiration. When choreographing, we often feel as though we are discovering or unearthing a dance, rather than creating it ourselves. When the Buddha gave his flower sermon, he held up a single flower, saying nothing. Those who understood grasped the totality of the flower, experiencing it directly, beyond words.

We hope that in experiencing the work of tonight’s stunning performers you see yourself reflected in each of them, connecting you to a larger human family. Across cultures we all recognize expressions of love, loss, fear, and hope in the body. A common theme runs through the four pieces tonight: emotion. We seek to express what cannot be said in words, by exploring how the body traps, disguises, and expresses emotions. Through movement we find a voice that cannot be confined to any one language. Movement is universal.

The four pieces of music you will hear tonight are original compositions created for this concert. Each choreographed movement is unique and has been discovered and rediscovered each night in rehearsal.

When asked by a student what we wanted the audience to take away from the performance, we were reminded of a quote by Joseph Campbell, the well-known scholar of mythology. To paraphrase Campbell, “People are not searching for the meaning of life, but rather for the experience of being alive.” We hope tonight that you leave the performance with a deep sense of being alive and a shared kinship with the performers and your fellow audience members.

Thank you for your presence tonight.

Enjoy,
Amy and Lindsay