PLOTTING FOR THE FUTURE

The dance and choreography department presents “Human Maps” Friday and Saturday at the Grace Street Theatre. Aside from the Senior Dance Project Concert, the Student Concert is the only student-produced concert of the semester, showcasing the prowess of the department’s younger choreographers.

“Human Maps” boasts works by nine dance and choreography majors, ranging from issues of internal struggle to human relationships. Surviving a veritable gauntlet of adjudication, the works stood out among 20 pieces to make the final cut.

“There is a lot more range to the pieces,” production manager and dance and choreography major Korrine Bates said. “I feel like all the choreographers brought a different feel to the concert (compared to last year).”

Scheduling director and fellow student adjudication committee member Melodie Fais said the concert promises to display a high level of quality and craftsmanship.

“I feel really strongly about every piece in the concert,” Fais said. “There’s a high level of commitment and a lot of virtuosic movement.”

Several pieces address serious issues the dancers have experienced first hand, giving them the insight to appropriately express themselves through the movement of their dancers.

In “Cereal,” Felix Cruz takes on addiction through the movement of five vibrantly-dressed women who influence one another’s bad habits.

Tiffany Jones’ “Time Capsule” deals with the weighty subject of losing what some might consider the most dear to them: their parents.

“How would you feel if you lost two of the most important people in your life?” Jones stated in a press release. “What would your reaction be after you realize that you will never hug or talk to them again?”

Danielle Currica’s “Two-Sided” deals with the duality of the human condition.

“We have a dominant and recessive side that constantly struggle with each other,” Currica said. “My piece is about what happens in our thought process and how we end up expressing it.”

This year’s concert marks the second year the underclassmen have been charged with the duty of producing their own event. Bates and Fais say they are now running affairs more efficiently than ever, and both look forward to a successful show.

“Last year we didn’t really have that much to do because the upperclassmen kind of took the reins,” Fais said. “This year we’re in that position.”

Bates said, “The process has gotten much smoother this
year. We know what we’re in for and we have a lot more responsibilities.”

Fais and Bates say perhaps the greatest benefit of giving the students more responsibility is in the end product of the dance and choreography track.

“What’s nice about this concert is that it gives the underclassman a chance to perform their works before they have to do their senior projects,” Bates said. “It gives them a chance to get in the theater and get behind the scenes and work with Adam (Chamberlin) on the lighting.”

Fais said, “(The added responsibility) is going to make the senior projects much stronger.”

The department of dance and choreography will present “Human Maps: 2009 Student Concert” Friday and Saturday, Jan. 30 and 31 at 8 p.m. at the Grace Street Theatre, 934 W. Grace St. Tickets are $10 for general public and $5 for students with a valid VCU I.D., and may be reserved beginning Jan. 20 by calling the Grace Street Theatre Box Office at (804) 828-2020.