The 2003 Emory Dance Company’s Spring Concert, “Naked,” will premiere Thursday, April 24, in the Schwartz Center’s Dance Studio. “Naked,” featuring 10 new works choreographed by students of the Emory Dance Program, overflows with diverse choreographic offerings ranging from contemporary ballet to dynamic modern works. It explores different methods of exposing human qualities through movement.

Choreographer Haley Byrd explores the process of self-discovery in her piece, “My Self Included.” Using mirrors and introverted movement, the dancers examine their own bodies and develop insight into their unique identities. Amy Gish’s “things fall apart” is a modern dance quartet based on Johann von Goethe’s novel Elective Affinities. Gish translates the characters as well as the concept of “elective affinities” into her choreography. The dancers move in and out of relationships with one another without a sense of rhythm or reason, and, in effect “things fall apart.”

Kieli Catherine Joplin began dancing about two years ago, and the choreography of her piece is inspired by the spiritual and sacrificial tones in Meredith Monk’s “Astronaut’s Anthem.” Anita Kim’s work combines strong balletic technique with expressive movement inspired by the sensations evoked by her musical choices for this performance. Her seven dancers will perform an energetic and exciting contemporary ballet.

Wesley Lim sets his work to Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concierto Nos. 1 and 3 and “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.” By adapting ballet technique to modern movement, he creates fresh, innovative choreography that explores the development of physical and emotional relationships.

Erin Miles’ choreography is set to Bach’s Fugue in A Minor as performed by Alirio Diaz. Her piece is based on six gestures that relay a sentiment of inner beauty through movement. Majoring in business and dance has inspired choreographer Nina Stratt to explore the inner workings of people in the business world. Set to a compilation of text from movies such as Fight Club, Office Space and Wall Street, the underlying rhythms within the score help create an atmosphere of chaotic energy that builds throughout the work.

Genna Swanson’s choreographic work strives to explore the nature of relationships between people. The dancers contributed a bit of themselves to this piece with their own ideas, movement styles and their unique personalities. Throughout Casey Viggiano’s “The Context-Content Battle of Hill 364,” nine dancers question which was stranger: the things we do when we dance, or the things we do as pedestrians.

Finally, Kathleen Wessel set her work to music by Philip Glass with cello solos by Yo-Yo Ma. She explores the idea that some people are inherently selfish beings full of secret hopes and unfulfilled dreams.

“Naked” will be performed at 8 p.m. April 24–26 and 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 27. Tickets are $8 general admission, $6 students. Advance ticket purchase is recommended as tickets have historically sold out for these popular performances. For
more information, call the Arts@Emory box office at 404-727-5050.