MTSU students, faculty present ‘enriching’ Fall Dance Concert Nov. 16-18

MTSU Dance Program students performing in the 2023 Fall Dance Concert are, from left, Rachel Osucha, Trey Kirris and Avery Biddle. (Photo by Martin O'Connor/Illustration by Aaron Johnson)

Bright lights will set the stage this month for MTSU Dance Theatre’s collaborative performance of “Moth to Flame,” a new work by Houston-based artist Colette Kerwick.

The 2023 Fall Dance Concert featuring Kerwick’s work will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, Nov. 16-18, at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre in Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building, 615 Champion Way on the Middle Tennessee State University campus.

With help from the university’s Distinguished Lecture Fund, MTSU Dance Theatre members engaged in the creation of “Moth to Flame” alongside Kerwick.

“It was enriching to observe the growth in our students as artists throughout the various movement layers of complexity designed by Colette Kerwick,” said Department of Theatre and Dance assistant professor Jade Treadwell, who also serves as MTSU Dance Program director.

General admission tickets for each performance are $10 for adults; $5 for K-12 students and seniors; and free for MTSU students, faculty and staff by presenting a current university ID at the theater box office. Guests can purchase online at https://bit.ly/MTFallDanceConcertTickets. A campus map is available at http://bit.ly/MTSUParking.

Houston-based artist Colette Kerwick worked alongside Middle Tennessee State University Dance Theatre members to produce “Moth to Flame” for the 2023 Fall Dance Concert, which will take place Nov. 16-18 in MTSU’s Tucker Theatre. (Submitted photo)

The venue is fully accessible for people with disabilities, including those with hearing, vision and mobility impairments.

Performances by the MTSU Dance Program’s pre-professional company include choreographed dances by faculty, students and guest artists that explore a variety of themes ranging from uncertainty, desire and transformation to the music and dance of the historical Harlem Renaissance period.

“It was an honor to have Colette to share her creative process within the artistic aesthetic of NobleMotion Dance, founded and co-directed by Andy and Dionne Noble,” Treadwell explained.

Kerwick works with NobleMotion Dance company, where she has danced for six seasons and currently holds the positions of programming director and co-artistic director of the pre-professional company, NMD2.

Her work has been showcased at numerous prestigious festivals, including the Dance Gallery Festival in New York and Texas, the Keshet International Dance Festival in New Mexico, and the William Evans Somatic Festival in New York. She has also presented twice at the American College Dance Festival Gala Performance and was selected as an alternate for the National Festival in 2015. Throughout her career, Kerwick has had the privilege of performing for highly acclaimed artists such as Mike Esperanza, Gabrielle Lamb, Andy and Dionne Noble, Jennifer Mabus, and Joshua Manculich, among others.

This year’s fall dance concert will also include Treadwell’s “596 Lenox Ave.” Treadwell’s jazz and tap piece was inspired by foundational rhythms of jazz from the era of swing music. Lindy Hop dancers Frankie Manning and Norma Miller, as well as the “Queen of Scat” Ella Fitzgerald, were the impetus for choreographic development of this piece.

Other works in this fall’s dance program include:

***“Unknown Places,” a contemporary dance by MTSU assistant professor Jee Ahn, will be featured in the 2023 Fall Dance Concert Nov. 16-18 in MTSU’s Tucker Theatre. (Submitted photo)***

• Assistant professor Jee Ahn’s “Unknown Places,” a contemporary dance that dives into difficulties of uncertainty.

• Lecturer Alexandra Winer’s “Clasts,” an exploration of the beauty and destruction of nature.

• Guest artist Molly Peña’s “Rouse,” an athletic and energetic dance that blends commercial and concert dance genres.

• Student-choreographer Lily Hall’s “The Garden,” a dance inspired by the goddesses and humans depicted in Renaissance paintings.

The Fall Dance Concert is continuing the 12th season of the College of Liberal Arts’ “MTSU Arts” brand for the university’s fine arts programs.

MTSU offers the only full Bachelor of Science degree in dance at any public university in Tennessee, guiding students in dance technique, history and theory alongside kinesiology, anatomy and healthy training for the body.

For more information about the MTSU Dance Program or the MTSU Dance Theatre, which are part of the Department of Theatre and Dance in the university’s College of Liberal Arts, call 615-904-8051, email dance@mtsu.edu, or visit www.mtsu.edu/dance.

For details on MTSU Arts events and supporting its student arts programs in the Patrons Society, visit www.mtsu.edu/mtsuarts.

— Nancy DeGennaro (Nancy.DeGennaro@mtsu.edu)