Principia's Annual Spring Dance Production Showcases Student Work

ELSAH - Principia College’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present its annual spring Dance Production Thursday, April 12, through Saturday, April 14, in Cox Auditorium, nightly at 8 p.m. with a matinee on Saturday at 2 p.m. 

This year’s production highlights five student choreographers, including senior Kristen Oyer, who designed the dance-for-camera piece Rue in collaboration with videographer and fellow senior Vince Lomascolo. Junior Lauren Weiss co-choreographed the upbeat swing piece Time for Tea with alumni choreographer Max Bruch. In its entirety, Dance Production will feature 27 dancers, showcasing mimedance, hip-hop, rhythmic tap, swing, modern, and contemporary styles. 

Dance Professor and Director of Dance Production Erin Lane will present an adapted excerpt from her master’s thesis performance Beyond the Divide, depicting how women’s stories are communicated and perceived. Lane holds a BFA from New York University and an MFA from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She has danced professionally in New York City and St. Louis for modern and contemporary dance companies and currently dances with Leverage Dance Theater. This is Lane’s first year directing Dance Production.

Dance Production will also feature the work of professional choreographer and Visiting Professor Karen Montanaro. Montanaro danced professionally with the Ohio Conservatory of Ballet and the Darmstadt Opera Ballet in Germany. She is a world-renowned mime artist, award-winning choreographer, and the innovator of mimedance, the fusion of two classical art forms. Her pieces Help, The Race, and Soccer bring a comedic element to this year’s production.  

Ashley Tate, also a visiting choreographer, will present work as well. Tate serves as Chair of the Dance Department at the Grand Center Arts Academy, is on the citizen review panel at the Regional Arts Commission, and sits on the board of the Missouri Dance Organization. Tate also directs City Studios, where her company Ashleyliane Dance Company is in residence. Principia senior Natalie Cooper will premiere the contemporary solo piece Cage of Bones, choreographed by Tate.

“Student choreographers and dancers are zooming in on themes of communication, women’s empowerment, support systems, individual struggles within the human experience, and the unity that can be found after the struggle,” Lane says. “They are digging into poignant topics to show that dance is a powerful medium for individual expression through artistry and technique.”

Seating is general admission. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students. Cash and checks will be accepted at the door, or you may order online.