Release date: March 25, 2004
Contact: Sally Corbett, Director of Public Relations, Arts,
at 404-727-6678 or sacorbe@emory.edu

"Voyeur" Performance To Provide Peek at New Emory Choreography

The Emory Dance Program unveils "Voyeur," this year's spring performance showcasing the Emory Dance Company's student dancers and choreographers. The diverse themes of the new works in the program range from Christianization to tango, gender to hip-hop. Performances are April 22-24 at 8 p.m. and April 24 at 3 p.m. in the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, Dance Studio, 1700 N. Decatur Road, Emory University. For tickets and information, call the Arts at Emory box office at 404-727-5050 or go online to www.emory.edu/ARTS.

Emory senior Meg Baker based her work on her history thesis about pagan conversion and Christianization in the late Roman Empire. Baker's goal is to apply societal principles, such as support through structure and assimilation of practices and values, to individual relationships. Her movement vocabulary consists of modern, jazz and ballet techniques.

Keisha Calderon is the youngest of the participating choreographers. She is an Emory sophomore, and her choreographic process is influenced mainly by hip-hop and classic jazz. Calderon lets the movement guide the direction of her piece and her goal is to create a stimulating aesthetic work.

Rosanne Benavente is the only choreographer for the concert who also will perform in the program. The working title for her piece is "Namaste." She is creating an original score for her work with Phil Sims, a composer and music theory lecturer in the Department of Music at Emory. Benavente is interested in breaking gender and relationship stereotypes through her piece that is a blend of theater and modern dance.

Lillian Ransijn, a dance and movement studies major, believes that "everyone moves, therefore everyone is a dancer." She finds beauty in the human body, and her piece will express the uniqueness of different bodies and personalities. Ransijn is working with eight dancers and focusing on the interaction in female relationships.

Erin Miles' second work for the Emory Dance Company showcases the music of Taylor Jones, an Emory student who will perform his compositions live for the concert. Miles believes "that the choreographic process should challenge the brain as well as the body." Her goal is to explore the dynamic between dancers that manifests itself through a sense of rivalry.

Maecy Spirito from Panama, the only international student choreographer participating in the show, has created "Momentos de Intimidad." This contemporary ballet is inspired by Argentinean tangos. Spirito draws from passion, sensuality, suffering and other feelings involved in relationships. The piece will be performed to the song "Por Una Cabeza" by Carlos Gardel.

Emory senior Myisha Rodrigues-Scott connects the body, mind and spirit in her choreography. She wants the audience to feel an intimate connection with the dancers. Rodrigues-Scott says she is interested in "exploring the 'self' the dancers present to others and the ultimate acceptance of their spirit." Her piece is dedicated to James Rodrigues (1935-2003), who inspired her with his belief that "one's true acceptance of himself or herself would be achieved through the support of others, a deep spiritual foundation and the discovery of that which makes one truly happy."

Regular admission tickets are $6. Discount tickets for students, children, faculty and patrons older than 65 are $4. Emory Dance event tickets normally sell out quickly. Tickets are on sale now and can be ordered by visiting the Arts at Emory box office in the Schwartz Center, by calling 404-727-5050 or going online to www.emory.edu/ARTS.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For more than a decade Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, a comprehensive metropolitan health care system.

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