The Department of Dance will present its Fall Concert Thursday, Nov. 14, through Sunday, Nov. 17; it will feature four works choreographed by faculty and performed by students. Among the pieces on the program is a reflection, through contemporary dance, on the shooting that occurred at UNC Charlotte on April 30.
The concert will include tributes to two iconic artistic figures: Freddie Mercury of the rock band Queen and the artist, Frida Kahlo. “Queen City Rhapsody,” choreographed by Associate Professor E.E. Balcos, opens the program. Created for six dancers, the contemporary dance piece is set to three Queen hits: “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Who Wants to Live Forever?” and the David Bowie collaboration, “Under Pressure.”
“Frida’s Faces,” which closes the program, is an evocation of Kahlo’s fascinating life and work through a choreographic exploration of eight of her self-portraits. Created by Associate Professor Delia Neil, the work features five different “Fridas” and one “Diego Rivera,” Kahlo’s husband and fellow artist, who will bring the art and story to life as they dance before spectacular projections of Kahlo’s paintings (design by David Fillmore, associate professor of lighting design).
Between these two tributes, students will perform “Vendaval,” an Afro-Brazilian dance piece created by Assistant Professor Tamara Williams with Brazilian guest artist Flavia Nascimento, and “Luck of the Young,” created by Adjunct Professor and UNC Charlotte alumna Audrey Baran ’03.
Developed through a collaborative process with the student dancers, “Luck of the Young” reflects on the campus shooting, drawing from the dancers’ personal feelings and experiences and the responses of the wider University and Charlotte communities following the event.
Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m., Nov. 14-16, and at 2 p.m., Nov. 17, in the Anne R. Belk Theater in Robinson Hall.
The department will present a special education concert for middle and high school students at 11:30 a.m., Friday, Nov. 15.