Audiences will have the opportunity to experience the world of dance in an up-close in November at SUNY Fredonia.
The Department of Theatre and Dance presents the Merrins Fall Chamber Concert from Nov. 12 to 15 in the James and Marcia Merrins Dance Theatre of Rockefeller Arts Center. Show times are 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 12; Friday, Nov. 13 and Saturday, Nov. 14 with a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 15.
Tickets are available online 24/7. Tickets may also be purchased on Monday, Wednesday or Friday by phone at (716) 673-3501 or in person at the Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center. Office hours are 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
More than 40 students — including 34 performers — are involved in bringing this New Works Series event to the stage. Among them is Genevieve Griffin, a junior Dance major, who in addition to performing serves as an assistant director.
Griffin noted the Merrins Dance Theatre is a special performance space.
“In Merrins, you definitely know the audience is there,” she said. “You can see their expressions. It’s an intimate space and it requires a lot of concentration.”
Director Angela DiFiore, a Fredonia Dance faculty member, said the program touches on a range of emotions and is designed to “offer something for everyone.”
Tap, hip-hop, house, contemporary and jazz are among the styles featured in the concert, which is part of the department’s New Works Series.
Students will perform two pieces created by guest artists. Cheryl Johnson, an instructor with the Dance program at the University of Rochester, has created a tap piece. Her participation is made possible by the Visiting Artist Program. James Levy Jr., a Buffalo-based dance artist, instructor and performer, has created a hip hop piece. He is participating through a Faculty Student Association Program Grant.
The concert also includes pieces choreographed by DiFiore and fellow Dance faculty members, Parisha Rajbhandari and Charles Fuller. In addition, there is a work choreographed by Otoha Asami, a Dance major from Tokyo, Japan. Asami’s piece, along with one of the pieces by Rajbhandari, will be presented at the American College Dance Association’s Northeast Conference at Slippery Rock University in March.
“I think this show is very diverse in style,” Griffin said. “It’s a great way to see many different forms of dance.”
The concert will also feature a guest performer, Destiny Hernandez-Diaz, a Fredonia alumna from New York City.
Auditions for the Merrins Fall Chamber Concert were open to all Fredonia students. Rehearsals began in early September.
“Counting the production/design students and other student volunteers, MFCC involves almost 40 students,” DiFiore noted. “That is so exciting.”
