Fall Appalachian Dance Ensemble to take place at Appalachian State University Nov. 16-19

View larger image — From “From Here I Saw What Happened and I Cried,” choreographed by dance studies major Juliet Irving and performed by Appalachian students as part of the 2016 Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble concert. This work will represent the university at the spring 2017 Mid-Atlantic South Regional American College Dance Association Festival in Charlotte. Photo by Lynn Willis

By Aaron Green, Krystopher Paschen and Megan Smalley

Posted Nov. 7, 2016 at 2:29 p.m.

BOONE—Appalachian State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance will premiere seven original dance works during the Fall Appalachian Dance Ensemble (FADE) Nov. 16-19 at 7 p.m. in Valborg Theatre on the university campus. Ticket prices are $10 for students and $17 for adults.

The 2016 FADE includes faculty pieces by Laurie Atkins, Emily Daughtridge, Susan Lutz and Sherone Price that focus on themes of kindness and compassion, listening to others’ stories, how clothes can make us feel, act and move differently and a piece about social justice, which uses both African and contemporary dance vocabulary.

The ensemble also includes three works by student choreographers Kathryn Wrenn, a junior public relations major from Fuquay-Varina, Phillip McRorie, a junior dance studies/recreation management double major from Kannapolis, and senior dance studies major Lucy Winsett from Hickory. The students’ works explore themes of energy its forms, apathy and the process of overcoming it and cell division.

The lighting design team for the concert includes junior theatre design/technology majors Lizzy Vasquez from Orlando, Florida, and Tim Travis from Raleigh, who worked with Associate Professor John Marty to create original lighting designs for each piece. Professor Sue Williams is the costume designer.

“As one who teaches classes that support the arts, I recognize that some audience members will be first-time viewers of the art form. Some think that performing is easy, that we ‘just’ dance,” remarked Associate Professor of Dance Studies Sherone Price when asked about the goals of FADE. “I hope that they’ll see the difficulty, but also the beauty of dance.”

Tickets for FADE are available in person at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts box office Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., by phone at 828-262-4046, at the Valborg Theatre box office Monday through Friday 1-5 p.m. and at http://theatreanddance.appstate.edu.

Valborg Theatre is located on campus at the north side of Chapell Wilson Hall on Howard Street in Boone. The theatre entrance faces the back of the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts on King Street. Parking is available after 5 p.m. on campus in faculty/staff lots and after 5:30 p.m. in the College Street parking deck near Belk Library and Information Commons.

About the Appalachian Dance Ensemble

The Appalachian Dance Ensemble, now more than three decades old, is a creative laboratory that takes place each semester for faculty and students in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Faculty conceptualize the dances, and students audition to choreograph for their peers, who are also selected to perform via an audition process. The original choreography for the ensemble is primarily modern, with influences from ballet, jazz, and pop culture. Dances range from abstract, to expressionistic, to rhythmic works of sheer physical energy. The result is a concert for all ages that celebrates the creative expression of dance.

About the Department of Theatre and Dance

The Department of Theatre and Dance is one of seven departments housed in Appalachian College of Fine and Applied Arts. Its mission is to facilitate transformative experiences for students and the public, which cultivate compassionate, creative and collaborative communities through theatre and dance. The department also offers coursework for integrated learning through the arts to the general university student population. Its dynamic co-curricular production program provides exemplary theatre and dance experiences to departmental students, the university community and the region.

About Appalachian State University

As a premier public institution, Appalachian State University prepares students to lead purposeful lives. App State is one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina System, with a national reputation for innovative teaching and opening access to a high-quality, affordable education for all. The university enrolls more than 21,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and 80 graduate majors at its Boone and Hickory campuses and through App State Online. Learn more at https://www.appstate.edu.