“Scripps Dances,” the annual spring concert of the Scripps College Dance Department, takes place on April 13 at 8 p.m. and on April 14 at 2 p.m. and at 8 p.m. in Garrison Theater, Scripps College Performing Arts Center, 231 E. 10th St. The program features original dance pieces choreographed by students and faculty.
Tickets will be sold at the box office beginning at 6 p.m. on performance evenings, and at 1 p.m. for the matinee performance on April 14. General admission is $10, and $5 for seniors, students, faculty, and staff. Payment is accepted by cash or check only. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m. for evening performances and at 1:30 p.m. for the matinee. For general concert information call (909) 607-2934.
“Scripps Dances” is the highlight of the dance department’s spring calendar and presents a range of dance styles. This year several works take their inspiration from their musical scores. “The Cracked Kettle,” choreographed by Scripps College dance chairperson Ronnie Brosterman, is a collaboration between the choreographer, Harvey Mudd faculty member and composer Bill Alves, and joint music choral conductor Charles Kamm. The dance mirrors Alves’ original music to show how many disparate voices come together to achieve a whole. The intricate a cappella score will be performed live by the Claremont Chamber Choir. Scripps College senior Maggie Tietz offers a contemporary ballet piece on pointe entitled “Someone’s Muses.” The work is purely about using elegant, strong technique to embody a diverse selection of music. Scripps junior Avantika Saraogi’s “Kandisa” pays tribute to fusion Indian music and seeks to convey the frenzy of its beats and rhythms through movement.
Two additional dances use large props to challenge the dancers and choreographers. “In Other Words,” choreographed by Liz Casebolt, guest artist, and Joel Smith, Scripps faculty, is an adaptation of a 2008 duet for casebolt and smith. In this new version six performers, seated at a 3′ x 15′ table, vie for space on the limited surface in front of them through calculated hand placements and gentle swipes across the table that evolve into more and more complex maneuverings. The piece is performed to Michael Gordon’s dramatic “Weather.” In another vein, Pitzer College senior Victoria Wolfe presents her thesis project “perpetual surrender.” Using an array of cubes to construct a constantly shifting environment, she creates a structural exploration of water, inspired by both its molecular and qualitative properties. The cubes manipulate and are manipulated by the seven dancers to generate movement that would not otherwise be possible.
The program is rounded out by Pitzer College sophomore Emily Kleeman’s “Once Disenchanting,” a modern dance exploring isolation and support in dance and in companionship; Scripps senior Sara Cronin’s contemporary work addressing different forms of fear and strategies for coping; and Scripps senior Chanté Cruse’s movement study on building African American community through dance and meditation.