November 2, 2006 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact:
Lara Hoyt, Coordinator for Public Relations and Alumni Affairs
"DancePlus Fall" at Mason Gross School of the Arts New Brunswick, NJ – The Department of Dance at Mason Gross School of the Arts presents works by internationally acclaimed guest artist Bill T. Jones, as well as distinguished faculty choreographers, in “DancePlus Fall.” Part of a semiannual series, “DancePlus” will be at New Theater from Friday, Dec. 1 through Sunday, Dec. 3.
Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company performed at New Theater in September as part of the Mason Gross Presents series. While in residence, Associate Artistic Director Janet Wong set Jones’ “Love Re-defined: King Kong” (1996) on Mason Gross students for “DancePlus Fall.” In this reworking of the 1992 piece, the dancers spill out like a bunch of sophisticated children across what might be a city playground. The piece is full of odd incidents, and the dancers are funny, smart and poignant. The music, a collection of bizarre but potent modern-dance folk songs by Daniel Johnston, sounds like cartoon balloon speech written by a too-observant child.
The concert will also include the premiere of Christian von Howard’s “Soul Serenade.” Powered by the electrifying timbre of Aretha Franklin, “Soul Serenade” is a dynamically rich ensemble work. Each section emulates the life, breath and impassioned spirit of the female character.
Julia Ritter’s “Blue Honey Sky, Last Spring” (2004) is inspired by the artist’s travels by train throughout Europe in 2002 and 2003. The work will include original text and video created by Ritter in collaboration with John Evans, who will also light the work. This abstract dance work was created in December 2003 and explores the idea of significant strangers—those special people one meets while traveling and whom one may never see again. The work includes music by composer Phil Kline.
John Evans’ “Far as the Eye Can See” will premiere with a cast of five alumni and five student dancers. The dance brings to life the mythical world of angels and their interaction with earthbound souls.
In “Unknown Horizon” (2003), Randy James' choreography reaches new levels with many intriguing moments of unfamiliarity. The dance was created for Randy James Dance Works and has separate sections that explore technical and risky combinations, as well as sensual and exuberant solos, duets and trios. The strongly charged quality of the movements builds in momentum, leaving little room for stillness. Composer Tigger Benford adds a terrific flair to James' choreography with an original score of jazz music. Robert Johnson wrote in The Star Ledger that the dance “shimmers with an urban cool” as it “reflects the sang-froid of dancers who toss off athletic stunts and challenging lifts as if they were nothing, with active episodes framing a slower scene of sensual luxury.”
Tickets to DancePlus Fall are $25 for the general public, $20 for Rutgers employees and alumni and seniors, and $15 for students (advance tickets only). The discounted student price expires two hours prior to curtain. New Theater is in the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center, 85 George Street (between Route 18 and Ryders Lane), on the Douglass College campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
For more information about any Mason Gross event, visit our Web site at www.masongross.rutgers.edu or call the Mason Gross Performing Arts Center ticket office at 732/932-7511. About DancePlus DancePlus is the semiannual concert of faculty work produced by the Department of Dance of Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The title DancePlus was given to the event for the first time in 1990 when the department was looking for a more attractive name than the previously used “Faculty Dance Concert.” Live music and film were used in the 1990 production, thus giving the faculty the idea of calling it DancePlus, the name associated with the event ever since. Each concert represents the work of four to six faculty members and, frequently including world premieres. When possible the work of a guest choreographer commissioned for University DanceWorks, the student touring dance company, is presented on DancePlus before it is taken to off campus venues for performance. Faculty choreography is most frequently performed by current BFA students, although faculty occasionally use DancePlus to present their professional companies as well as alumni as performers. On occasion, faculty perform their own or each other’s work. When an undergraduate choreographer creates a work of particular merit it is showcased on a DancePlus performance. DancePlus is usually scheduled within the last few weeks of each semester and runs for one weekend twice a year. About Mason Gross School of the Arts Founded in 1976, Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, and is home to the departments of dance, music, theater arts, and visual arts. Its faculty and alumni rosters include arts professionals recognized nationally and internationally. The school's enrollment of 625 undergraduates across four departments and 250 graduate students across three departments, combined with a faculty of 140, assures students the opportunity to work closely with accomplished artists within their fields.
About Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey A comprehensive research institution with more than 50,000 students on three main campuses in New Brunswick, Newark and Camden, Rutgers comprises one of the major state university systems in the nation. Chartered in 1766 in New Brunswick as Queen's College, Rutgers is the eighth oldest institution of higher learning in the nation and now comprises 29 degree- granting divisions, including 16 offering graduate programs of study.
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