Statesman

Issue date: 2/10/10 Section: Variety

Media Credit: Brett Groehler/SUBMITTED (L) to (R): Emily Fournier, Kaitlyn Pommrehn, Aly Westberg (center), Kasono Mwanza, and Jarome Smith in "We Are Slowly But Surely Achieving Our Objective" choreographed by Edisa Weeks in collaboration with the dancers.

One of this season's main stage performances by UMD's Theater Department is dance concert Action/Reaction, that will "wow" and intrigue audiences with its captivating and thought-provoking ideas and subjects mixed with a strong theatrical sensibility and energetic movement.

Unlike many dance performances, this particular performance's theme is dance theater, which is described as the blurring of traditional boundaries between dance and theater that presents stimulating ideas while conveying a mood and telling a story through vibrant movement in contrast to solely emphasizing complicated dance steps. With performances choreographed by students, faculty and guest artist, New Yorker Edisa Weeks, this mixed bill concert will include 10 distinctly different theatrical dances, each with their own story to tell.

Preparation for the performance began in September when the choreographers held general auditions for the spots in their pieces. Call-back auditions were held in order to allow each choreographer to pick whom they felt fit into their particular piece best, considering many pieces not only have different moods and styles of dance theater but also because there is a wide range of different types of dance being explored including ballet, hip-hop, tap and modern dance.

Guest artist, Weeks, visited UMD for 10 days earlier this fall to teach her group of young performers the piece she had prepared for this event. Weeks is known for her work with Delirious Dances, in which she choreographs, and directs. Delirious Dances merges theater with dance to explore the beauty and complexity of life. As quoted from the New York Times, Weeks is described to have "a lot of imagination and a gift for simple but striking visual effects."

Weeks' background is in modern dance along with West African dance, however the piece she prepared for Action/Reaction will be a taste of her modern dance background.

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