Fredonia Dance returns to present Merrins Chamber Concert; Director Alterio reflects
After spending the 2020-21 season presenting its performances in a virtual format, the Dance program of the Department of Theatre and Dance has returned to return to live, in-person events with the Fredonia Dance Ensemble performing its Fall Chamber Concert in November.
There will be six performances over four dates - Friday, Nov. 5 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 6 at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Nov. 12 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, Nov. 13 at 2:00 and 7:30 p.m. in the James and Marcia Merrins Dance Theatre (Rockefeller Arts Center Room 258).
Tickets are available through the Fredonia Ticket Office in the Williams Center, online, or by phone at 716-673-3501.
Director Anthony M. Alterio, who is assistant professor of Dance, recently took the time to share his thoughts on returning to live performance in 2021-22 and offer insight into the event.
Q: How has it been getting back to working toward live, in-person events?
Quite simply put, it has been great. Students are excited to be back in the studio working with each other in person. Although Zoom rehearsals and performances were a great way to stay safe and learn different aspects of the dance discipline, live interaction and connections in rehearsals and performances provide a level that Zoom just cannot touch. Dance is meant to be seen and felt for the dancers and audience to enjoy and with Zoom rehearsals and performances people can easily check out if they are not 100 percent invested and focused.
This can still happen with in-person things or live events, but it is harder to zone out when something live is happening five feet away from you rather than through a screen. The students are eager to share the new works that have been created and to share them with audiences. Our BFA Dance majors love to perform and they are ready to go.
"Quite simply put, it has been great. Students are excited to be back in the studio working with each other in person." Director Anthony Alterio
Q: How many pieces will be performed and who are this season's choreographers?
There will be four pieces. One is choreographed by me and is titled “Dio,” which means God in Italian. The piece reflects on my Italian heritage and my personal reflection about where I am in my early 30s. The second piece is by Senior Lecturer Geli Summerton. Her piece is titled, “F.L.A.D.” Then we have two guest artist pieces. Naila Ansari, who is an assistant professor at Buffalo State, has choreographed a piece that goes into African American history/heritage within the United States and comments on popular culture and the impact the Global Majority have had on dance forms. The other guest artist is Christopher K. Morgan, who is the executive director of Dance Place, the critically-acclaimed dance performance space theatre in Washington, D.C., and executive director of his own dance company, Christopher K. Morgan and Artists. Christopher was able to come and set work on our B.F.A. Dance majors through a grant that Professor Paula Peters and I wrote that received a Carnahan Jackson Fund for the Humanities Award. Christopher was on campus setting the work, teaching classes, and doing a sneak preview of the work during his residency from Oct. 18 to 22.
Q: How many students are involved in the production?
Thirty B.F.A. Dance majors will be performing in the show and two B.F.A. Technical Production and Design majors will be lighting the show.
Q: What do you hope audiences will take away from the experience?
I hope the audience enjoys the return to live performance. And I truly hope audiences come out to support the arts. It has been tough over the past two years and the arts do not exist without its patrons. We have been extremely lucky to have the support of the campus and community in regards to the arts here on SUNY Fredonia’s campus and we need them more now than ever. Their unwavering support does not go unnoticed by the Department of Theatre and Dance and we thank all who have come to support our shows over the years.
So, go out to dinner in town and after come sit back, relax, and enjoy Fredonia Dance Ensemble's return to live stage with live performance! We have a great show for you that will make you smile, laugh, and most importantly think and feel. You should leave a performance feeling something when you leave a performance. You might leave a performance thinking, “I liked that or I didn't like that,” but I would encourage audiences to go beyond "liking" or "not liking" a piece. Again, dance should spark conversation. As long as it has done that, then we have done our jobs as artists.
