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Dance offers high-tech fall concert

Oct. 5, 2007

KALAMAZOO--A high-tech dance exploring the modern dating scene and other digital works await audiences when the Western Michigan University Department of Dance presents its Fall Concert of Dance.

This year's production is being staged Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 18-21, in the Multimedia Room of the WMU Dalton Center and is titled "SexyTeenLoveIdol.net and Other Digital Dances." The concert will be presented at 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 18-20, and at 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 20-21.

"SexyTeenLoveIdol.net" is a 45-minute, multi-technology exploration of the pitfalls of teenage dating in the 21st century. The dance is designed to be interactive, so audience members are encouraged to bring cell phones, blackberries, iPods and laptop computers with wireless Internet capability to the concert.

Other presentations in the concert include a duet choreographed by Sharon Garber, WMU associate professor of dance. Garber's ballet uses live motion capture to control and position digital images. The music for the dance is the third movement of Maurice Ravel's "Sonata for Violin and Cello" and will be performed by students from the WMU School of Music. The dance is based on the idea of a female muse in the form of water, who sparks a transformation within the male character. The transformation of the male figure is revealed by both his dancing and his digital representation. Digitally, he will evolve through the work from an awkward stick figure to a shimmering fully-formed image of a human. The female reveals the surrounding landscape with her pointe shoes, creating water effects such as splashes, spirals, drops, ripples, wakes and whirlpools, that help lead the male to his transformation.

Other digital works on the concert will be premiered by dance major Patrick Schultz and Kevin Abbott, one of the project's directors.

"SexyTeenLoveIdol.net and Other Digital Dances" is the final segment in the Digital Media Innovation Grant's 18-month exploration of digital media in performance. The $290,000 grant has allowed co-creators David Curwen and Kevin Abbott to develop the project over the last 10 months. Curwen is a WMU associate professor of dance, and Abbott is the project lead for special projects from the WMU Office of Information Technology.

Due to mature content, this program is not recommended for children.

Tickets are $15 for adults; $12 for seniors, Partners in Dance members and WMU faculty and staff; and $7 for students. Seating is limited. Tickets may also be purchased at the door. For more information or to reserve tickets, call the Department of Dance at (269) 387-5830.

Media contact: Mark Schwerin, (269) 387-8400, mark.schwerin@wmich.edu

WMU News
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