The SIUE dance company’s Dance in Concert will feature dramatic and original works. (Photos courtesy of SIUE)

Original, creative and dramatic works of dance will be showcased during Dance in Concert 2017 at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Katherine Dunham Theater.

The evening of dance will display the artistry of nationally renowned choreographer Jon Lehrer, based in New York City; J. Calvin Jarrell, SIUE Department of Theater and Dance emeritus professor; Kristin Best-Kinscherff, head of the dance program at SIUE and assistant professor; Kevin Paul Hockenberry and Omar Olivas, assistant professor and instructor, respectively in the Department of Theater and Dance; and Jermaine Shelton and Brian Lynch, SIUE students.

“I love having our faculty create works as an extension of classroom activity,” Best-Kinscherff said. “They are able to challenge their students to use what they learn in class and apply it on stage.  Our faculty members are also highly regarded professionals, and Dance in Concert is an opportunity for them to share their artistic works with the SIUE audience.”

“I selected J. Calvin Jarrell and Jon Lehrer as our guest artists,” added Best-Kinscherff. “Both of these individuals are known for creating works that students absolutely love to perform.”

Shelton has also earned a reputation as a choreographer. His thought-provoking work, “Severance” with music by Indoor Chasing by Roque Banos and Brink, earned the Outstanding Student Choreography Award in spring 2017. With the award comes the honor of presenting in a Dance in Concert program and at the American College Dance Association’s Regional Conference, according to Best-Kinscherff.

Also part of the evening will be the work, “Kanashibari” by Best-Kinscherff, Olivas and the dance ensemble. The Japanese word translates to “the state of being totally bound, as if constrained by metal chains.”

“Audience members tend to want to use dance as an escape mechanism,” said Best-Kinscherff.  “They also want to figure out what the piece is about quickly or find a narrative to a piece that does not have one.  We challenge the audience to just experience this concert.”

For more information, call the Box Office or visit SIUE’s Calendar of Events.

SIUE’s Department of Theater and Dance presents four plays and one dance concert during its October through April season.  All productions are open to the community at large.

PERFORMANCE TIMES

Dance in Concert 2017 will be held this week beginning at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 8. The show will continue at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 9-11 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12.

Ticket prices are $12 for adults 18 and older, and $10 for seniors and all others.

Tickets can be purchased by phone at (618) 650-2774 or by visiting the SIUE Department of Theater and Dance Box Office, located in Katherine Dunham Hall

— SIUE’s theater presents evening of Dance in Concert —-