An Evening of Dance to blend the lines of classic dance with media, avant-garde style

If your ideal weeknight is watching people do two things — an athletic activity and the culmination of months of skillful multitasking — better than you can ever hope to do, then “An Evening of Dance” is just the event for you.

Throw aside your crippling procrastination and forget your lycra-tight hamstrings: from Feb. 23 to 25, Tulane University Department of Theatre and Dance students will perform in a dance spectacular, one of the department’s several major productions of the year. Made possible by months of preparation and rehearsal, the concert will blur the boundaries of classic dance with a melange of text, movement, video, and other media.

“I would tell people to come for a new experience because this bill has something for everyone,” An Evening of Dance student performer Dinika Singh said. “There’s ballet, contemporary, and modern, and each piece is very unique.”

The annual “An Evening of Dance” concert, choreographed by Newcomb Dance Program Faculty, is performed by the student-comprised Newcomb Dance Company. The company draws members from School of Architecture, School of Liberal Arts, the A.B. Freeman School of Business and School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.

Student performers have been rehearsing twice a week since preparation for the event began in September. As members of the Newcomb Dance Company, they are also expected to take additional company dance classes on top of technique classes.

“The preparation of the show was all about process rather than the final product,” student performer Hannah Broussard said. “The piece was constantly evolving and the finished product was something truly organic and specific to this group of dancers and this choreographer.”

For Singh, a senior pursuing a dual degree in Biomedical Engineering & Dance, the concert will be her last after four years with the company. Singh said that her last show, though a bittersweet end to her time with the company, makes her “happy that my last piece is so memorable.”

In her final show, Singh will perform in Tulane Dance Program professor Leslie Scott’s piece, which combines sound, projection, and dance.

“…we had the opportunity to work intensely with Jesse, Leslie’s video/projection conductor, on combining dance and projection,” Singh said. “Her piece is super unique and weaves all of these elements seamlessly.”

Broussard, a Cellular and Molecular biology and dance major from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, will perform in dance professor Michaela Cannon’s piece. Professors Barbara Hayley, Alice Paschal Escher, and Jeffery Gunshol will also be showcases pieces they choreographed at the concert.

“An Evening of Dance” will be held at 8 p.m. on Feb. 23 and 24 and at 2 p.m. on Feb. 25. The event is hosted in Dixon Hall and is free of charge.

“Come see the show! It’s free! Everyone loves a full house, too,” Singh said.

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