DALLAS (SMU) – The Meadows Dance Ensemble at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts will present a selection of ballet and contemporary works at its Spring Dance Concert, March 30-April 3 in the Bob Hope Theatre of SMU's Owen Arts Center. Vigeland's Garde The dancers are Sidney Anthony and Jamal Jackson White. (Photo by Brittany Nicole.) Camille...a Poem of Intimacy The dancers are Jessalyn Phillips and Joshua D. Deininger. (Photo by Brittany Nicole.) Prayers by New York-based choreographer Jessica Lang. Camille…a Poem of Intimacy by guest artist-in-residence Jean Paul Comelin, whose five-decade international career has included working with the greatest names in 20th century dance. Vigeland’s Garden by faculty member Christopher Dolder.Two special student performances of Martha Graham’s Panorama, a preview of the upcoming Martha Graham Dance Company performance at the Winspear Opera House on April 30 presented by TITAS in association with the AT&T Performing Arts Center. The SMU concert opens with Prayers, a soulful celebration of a supportive community of nine female dancers set to the music of Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Josquin Des Prez. Jessica Lang’s choreography seamlessly portrays the interpersonal relationships that inform, enliven and strengthen the community. The work was originally commissioned by NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and premiered in 2008. Next on the program is Vigeland’s Garden new faculty member Christopher Dolder, inspired by the seminal work of Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland. The Darwinian comedy/drama interprets the cyclical patterns of nature – birth, life, death and rebirth – as they play out in the animal kingdom. Camille…a Poem of Intimacy is a work in progress by guest artist-in-residence Jean Paul Comelin, an internationally renowned choreographer, director and master teacher who has created more than 70 works for major dance companies on five continents. Camille is a stunning pas de deux inspired by the sculptures of French artist Camille Claudel (1864-1943), pupil and mistress of Auguste Rodin. Also featured will be No Contact, a work choreographed by SMU dance student Jamal Jackson White and premiered at the university’s brown bag dance concert last fall. On Friday and Saturday evening only, SMU dancers will give a special performance of Martha Graham’s powerful work Panorama. The performances serve as a preview of the SMU Dance Ensemble’s presentation of Panorama as part of the Martha Graham Dance Company concert, in the TITAS series, at the AT&T Performing Arts Center’s Winspear Opera House on Saturday, April 30. The SMU students were invited by the Martha Graham Dance Company the oldest and most celebrated dance company in America – to perform the work, said Myra Woodruff, SMU dance faculty member and a former Martha Graham dancer. “It is a tremendous honor for our college dance ensemble to have been invited to perform with the Graham Company in concert,” said Woodruff. “It is indicative of the exceptionally high regard the Graham Company has for SMU’s Division of Dance.” Premiered in 1935, Panorama is a groundbreaking masterwork for 35 dancers, set to a score, which uses sheer numbers and geometric design to drive home Graham’s intense socio-political themes. Spring Dance Concert performance times are 8:00 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $13 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7 for students, SMU faculty and staff. Free parking is available at Hillcrest and Binkley or in the garage under the Meadows Museum.
