ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA – Winthrop University’s Department of Theatre and Dance will
present the annual Senior Choreography Showcase Friday-Sunday, Dec. 1-3.
Featuring the choreographic talents of senior dance majors and live music by music
composition students, this showcase of modern dance works will also include a performance
of Igor Stravinsky’s iconic “The Rite of Spring,” choreographed by Assistant Professor
of Dance Emily Morgan, with musical accompaniment by Associate Professor of Music
Tomoko Deguchi, Instructor of Music Adam Snow and William Fried, piano instructor
at Davidson College.
In conjunction with the performance, Morgan and Deguchi will present a lecture/demonstration
on Friday, Dec. 1 at 10 a.m. in Johnson Theatre. The lecture/demo is an interactive
presentation with audience participation and discusses the historic background, the
original choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky and the musical innovation of Stravinsky.
Titled “The Rite of Spring Unpacked!” this is a free cultural event and is open to
the public.
It also serves as a preview of the performance of "The Rite of Spring" scheduled
for Dec. 1-2 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 3 at 2 p.m., all in Johnson Theatre.
The original cast featured 20 dancers, 14 corps members and six soloists, and adhered
to the narrative of the pagan ritual in which a young person is sacrificed. Morgan’s
version adds to the piece’s already suspenseful nature: one of the five soloist’s
names is selected before each performance and that person will be the sacrificial
victim. The soloists do not find out if they are the chosen one until they are well
into the performance of the 30-minute dance. When their red sash is removed, they
are not the chosen one and may join the others.
Support for “The Rite of Spring” is provided by the Arts Council of York County Small
Grants Program, the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of the Coastal Community
Foundation of S.C., the Departments of Theatre and Dance and Music at Winthrop University
and the S.C. Arts Commission, the latter of which received funding from the National
Endowment for the Arts.
Show times are 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and a 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday. Tickets
are $5 with a Winthrop ID or $10 for the general public. Tickets can be purchased
online or at the Department of Theatre and Dance Box Office one hour prior to show
time or 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday-Friday. Free parking is available in the parking
lot between Johnson Hall and Alumni Drive.
For more information, contact Whitney Hough, director of communications and community
engagement for the College of Visual and Performing Arts, at 803/323-2399 or houghw@winthrop.edu,
or visit the website at www.winthrop.edu/arts.
