‘Soul Train’ vibe, more featured at MTSU’s Fall Dance Concert Nov. 21-23 at Tucker Theatre

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — Middle Tennessee State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance’s upcoming annual Fall Dance Concert will showcase the original choreographic work of students, faculty and guest artists for three nights Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 21-23.

The concert will be held at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre, located at 615 Champion Way, beginning at 7:30 p.m. all three nights. A campus map is available at http://bit.ly/MTSUParking.

The pre-professional company will feature choreography that explores a variety of themes ranging from a wide array of human emotions like joy, loneliness and negativity, to the exploration of funk styles and the hit 1970s dance show “Soul Train.”

Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors and $5 for K-12 students. MTSU faculty, students and staff can attend free with their current MTSU ID. Tickets can also be purchased online at https://bit.ly/MTFallDanceConcertTickets.

A silent auction will be held in the Tucker Theatre lobby to help raise funds for dance program scholarships. Doors open for silent auction bidding at 6:30 p.m.

With the generous support of the MTSU Distinguished Lecture Fund, the Department of Theatre and Dance was part of the creation of “The Train,” a new work with Florida-based guest artist Herman Ramos.

Director of Dance Jade Treadwell, assistant professor, described the choreographic residency with Ramos as “exciting to witness the students honoring and contributing their various movement backgrounds to the creative process.”

Treadwell added, “Ramos tapped into their familiar training pathways on the journey throughout the residency to engage them in funk styles introduced in his choreography. It was an honor to have him here for the residency experience to diversify the MTSU Dance student experience.”

About Ramos

Guest artist Herman Ramos, pictured here, is a dance performer and choreographer. He will perform at Middle Tennessee State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance Fall Dance Concert on Nov. 21-23 at Tucker Theatre. (Photo submitted)

Ramos received his initial training from local hip-hop crews of the Washington, D.C., metro area where he specialized in breakdance and hip-hop choreography. While he began his classical training in Florida, he simultaneously toured regionally with the Apocalypse Dance Crew and worked locally with the Danscompany of Gainesville Inc. He has frequently returned to the dance school as a guest artist.

Ramos has worked with dance departments at University of Tampa, Texas A&M and the College of Charleston to set new work and provide additional lectures in African Diasporic practices of jazz and hip-hop. He also received the Quattlebaum Guest Artist residency at the College of Charleston.

As a dance performer and choreographer, Ramos loves the Orlando contemporary dance scene and is a contributing artist with the nonprofit Emergence Dance.

Ramos also holds adjunct faculty positions at Santa Fe College and the University of Florida.

Other contributions

This year’s dance concert will also include a piece co-choreographed by Treadwell and instructor Kim Holt in collaboration with sound engineer Kevin O’Donnell who developed an original sound composition.

Treadwell’s “Featherlight,” a contemporary modern dance piece designed to explore the various elements of joy and memorable experiences that contribute to it, will also be featured.

Additional faculty works include assistant professor Jee Ahn’s “It Echoes Between,” a contemporary dance that takes the audience on a journey through the stages of grief, symbolized by the white chrysanthemum, a flower representing sorrow, remembrance and resilience.

Jee Ahn, an assistant professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Middle Tennessee State University, will perform a contemporary dance that focuses on the stages of grief during the upcoming Fall Dance Concert on Nov. 21-23 at Tucker Theatre. (Photo submitted)

Lecturer Alexandra Winer’s “(Don’t) Tell Me More”will also be featured and is a contemporary dance investigating the natural bias in humans and how we navigate the constant, and easy, access to all the stimuli thrown at us daily.

The Fall Dance Concert will also include “a soft place to land,” a new work by student choreographer Emma C.W. Loy. The piece is a reflection on feelings of loneliness and the importance of empathy using the aesthetics of outer space. The music is an original composition created by Briggs Copeland.

Loy began working on this piece at the American Dance Festival after being awarded an Undergraduate Research Experience and Creative Activity grant to complete her project titled “The Choreographer’s Toolbox: Developing the Creative Process.”

“This has been a uniquely enriching experience, where I feel true growth in my artistry and in the respect I hold for my creative process,” she said.

For more information on the upcoming performance, call 615-904-8051 or email dance@mtsu.edu. Visit https://bit.ly/4ewFxvQ for the show’s digital program.

— DeAnn Hays (deann.hays@mtsu.edu)