Southeastern Dance Performance Project to present two evening concerts, education outreach matinees
Thursday, October 9, 2014
by: Tonya Lowentritt
FLASHBACK THROUGH DANCE – Southeastern Louisiana University student choreographer and dancer Leah Reeb gets into the spirit of the 80s in preparation for the upcoming dance concert "It Was the 80s" on Oct. 17 at Vonnie Borden Theatre. The concert is part of Fanfare, Southeastern's annual celebration of the arts, humanities and social sciences.
HAMMOND – Southeastern Louisiana University's Department of Fine and Performing Arts' dance company, Dance Performance Project, will present two concerts as part of Fanfare, the university's annual fall celebration of the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Both concerts are directed by Southeastern Dance Instructor Keith "Skip" Costa.
The first concert "Danceapalooza" will take place on Oct. 14.
"This concert features dances created 'fresh on the spot,' in other words, dance improvisaton," Costa said. "The dances to be performed have not been rehearsed, as the dancers will only receive instructions outlined on paper. The program will showcase the dancers' ability to spontaneously create movement designs from a map or score structured by selected students and faculty."
The second concert, "It Was the 80s," is scheduled on Oct. 17. Costa said the performance recalls the 1980s with choreographed works by selected students and faculty. Themes include MTV, arcades, the "Fame" television series, Sun Myung Moon, AIDS, and Tiananmen Square.
Both concerts take place at 7:30 p.m. in Vonnie Borden Theatre in D Vickers Hall on Southeastern's campus and have a running time of one hour. General admission tickets for each concert are $5 and will be available one hour prior to the performance in the D Vickers lobby. For more information, contact Costa at Keith.Costa@southeastern.edu.
Costa said the Dance Performance Project is also performing two education outreach matinees at 9:30 and 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 17 in Vonnie Borden Theatre. The 9:30 program is designed for grades K-6, and the 11 a.m. program is designed for grades 7 – 12.
"Only age-appropriate dances will be selected from the evening concerts to be performed for both matinees. Each concert is one hour and will include a question and answer session," Costa said.
For matinee reservations and ticket information, email Dance Coordinator Martie Fellom at martie.fellom@southeastern.edu. The Oct. 17 matinees are also open to the public with a $5 admission.
In addition to Costa and Fellom, choreographers for the concerts include faculty choreographer Ashley Lewis and student choreographers Leah Reeb of Slidell, Lindsy Brown and Crystal Schayot of New Orleans, Faith Allen and Christa Clement of Ponchatoula, and Millenique Brown of Belle Chase.
Dancers performing in the concerts include Desiree Acosta of Destrehan; Allen and Clement of Ponchatoula; Stephanie Amerson and Jasmine Williams of Hammond; De'Shante Epps of Marrero; Kaitlyn Godin, Arianna Hodge, Samantha O'Neill, Reeb and Michaela Thanars of Slidell; Noah Guitroz, Brown and Schayot of New Orleans; Tyron'E Hawkins and Katelyn Thomas of Baton Rouge; Joseph Matherne of Luling; Whitney Robertson of Baker; and Jaquan Warren of Franklinton.
