New Alabama State University Dance Concert Black Love Opens Feb. 13 (3063 hits)
WHEN: Feb. 13-16 (Wednesday-Saturday) at 7 p.m. nightly WHERE: ASU’s Leila Barlow Theatre in the Tullibody Fine Arts Building, 845 S. Jackson St.
Alabama State University’s Department of Theatre Arts, Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) Dance program presents “Black Love: A Spring Dance Concert” on Feb. 13-16 (Wednesday-Saturday) at 7 p.m. nightly at ASU’s Leila Barlow Theatre in the Tullibody Fine Arts Building, 845 S. Jackson St.
Opening night also will be ASU Family Night for members of Hornet Nation only.
On closing night at 6 p.m., there will be a special VIP reception.
ASU Theatre officials said that its majors and jazz ensemble members hope to connect the community with inspiring, unforgettable performances through its upcoming performance.
"The fact that love is a universal language is what guided us as we created our pieces,” said Kavin Grant, associate professor of Dance. “We found inspiration in the music, and of course, our students’ gifts and talents motivated us, too.”
ABOUT THE DANCE CONCERT “Black Love,” is a beautiful celebration of love in its many forms, features, and various genres of dance, including ballet, modern, jazz, African and hip-hop. The choreography of faculty members James Atkinson, Lindsay Benton, Kavin Grant and Jerome Stigler, along with guest choreographers Germaul Barnes and Marsha Hardy is exciting. The stories they tell through dance honor traditional and contemporary representations of love.
Grant’s energetic and moving African and hip-hop choreography fuses his gift of storytelling with the precision required to prepare students for the professional world of dance or graduate study in the field.
Atkinson, whose area of specialty is ballet, focuses on the precise movement that is integral to this style of dance.
“I want the students to not only understand how to move their bodies in the ballet, but also to understand what they’re doing. Ballet is a beautiful art form and our students are focused as they go through very hard work to master it,” said Atkinson. “We’re very proud of them in the concert piece, which is a portion of a very well-known ballet. They have done extremely well.”
Benton, whose dance genre is modern, African and jazz, continues to challenge students to press beyond their comfort zones to embrace the uniqueness of different types of dance.
“My goal is to help prepare the students for their future. We want them to enjoy their time at ASU, and we always try to keep the future in view for them,” said Benton, assistant professor of Dance.“
Stigler, assistant professor of Dance, said she’s more than excited to be a part of “Black Love.”
“I love the students. They are very talented,” Stigler said. “I’m looking forward to continuing to share my experience with them as we create powerful, skilled dances such as the performances audiences will witness in the concert.”
PRICES Admission is $12 for adults and $6 for students with a valid ASU ID. Entry is free on ASU Family Night (Feb. 13) only for ASU students, faculty and staff with a valid ASU ID. The Special VIP Reception is $50 per person, which includes the reception, ticket cost and intermission dessert bar. Ticket price for groups of 10 or more is $10.