Two world premieres by nationally recognized choreographers will highlight the Fall Dance Concert at SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, to be held November 7-11 in the Bob Hope Theatre of the Owen Arts Center, 6101 Bishop Blvd. on the SMU campus. New works by Dr. Mel A Tomlinson, former soloist with the New York City Ballet, and Dallas’s own Bruce Wood will be presented along with a restaging of an award-winning work by Billy Siegenfeld, founder of the acclaimed Jump Rhythm® Technique.
The concert opens with Le Coeur de Ballet (The Heart of Ballet), an “homage to corps dancers past, present and future” by Dr. Tomlinson, an award-winning dancer/choreographer featured in the NBC documentary With a Clear Voice. The new work, set to Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5 and Eugene Onegin’s Polonaise, is a romantic celebration of the feminine and features 12 ballerinas in white tutus.
Next on the program is a restaging of Getting There by Emmy-winning artist Billy Siegenfeld. The music of Thelonious Monk and Count Basie provides a backdrop for eight dancers who evolve from isolation to a sense of community. Siegenfeld is founder and artistic director of the Chicago-based Jump Rhythm Jazz Project, a touring company that celebrates the fusion of jazz rhythm-based body-percussion and dance theater. Getting Thereearned the 1994 Jazz Dance World Congress’s Gold Leo Award for Outstanding Choreography, and was toured internationally by Gus Giordano Dance Chicago.
The concert concludes with the premiere of “Zing a Little Zong” by Bruce Wood, a new work set to classic American songs by Harry Warren. The music will be performed live by local professional artists Gary Floyd and Denise Lee. Wood is a nationally acclaimed choreographer of more than 75 works and the artistic director and choreographer of the Dallas-based Bruce Wood Dance Project, dedicated to cultivating original work and advancing professional dance in Texas.
Fall Dance Concert performance times are 8:00 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $13 for adults, $10 for seniors and $7 for students, SMU faculty and staff. Free parking is available at Hillcrest and Binkley or in the garage under the Meadows Museum. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 214-768-2787.
Story courtesy of SMU